Blu-ray recorders in USA?

[ferrari.forever]

Are there any Blu-ray recorders in the US?
If not, when is the expected release date?
There are many BD-RE media, but can only be used on computer Blu-ray burners...

[gekke henkie]

Yes, there are BD-recorders in the US on a professional level (expensive), not on a consumers level (besides the BD-replicators, HTPC's, etc). You will have to buy a consumer-level BD-recorder online (from overseas), if you want an affordable one.

One question though, since the HDMI-in function is disabled on many of those recorders, what would you like to do with it? A BD-burner hooked-up to a computer (with HD-tuner) makes much more sense IMHO. Just my $0.02.

[LordCrumb]

this ones in NZ so it must be the US too;

http://www.panasonic.co.nz/at-home/e...-bw850gzk.html

[ronjones]

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

this ones in NZ so it must be the US too;

http://www.panasonic.co.nz/at-home/e...-bw850gzk.html

No Panasonic or any other brand of consumer BD recorder is being sold in the USA. Perhaps someday!

It seems the manufacturers fear the movie studios and their strong position on digital copyrights.

[AKORIS]

sorry I don't have anymore info because I don't remember where I read this but--

I just read this past week that a new line of SHARP tv's are going to have
blu-ray recorders built into them.....

[gekke henkie]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

I just read this past week that a new line of SHARP tv's are going to have blu-ray recorders built into them.....

Yes, that is right, but ONLY in Japan for now and maybe later on a few other markets (like Australia, New Zealand, UK), but most probably NOT in North America ; link: SHARP TV's with BD-recorder.

[Jeff Kleist]

It seems the manufacturers fear the movie studios and their strong position on digital copyrights.

Nothing to do with copyright, everything to do with the fact that DVD Recorders barely sell in the US.

[LordCrumb]

I guess a lot of people have that Tivo thing and other built-in PVRs to recievers, so they might not see the need to burn it to disc.

[Jeff Kleist]

Most people only used VCRs for timeshifting. The amount they would actually save was miniscule, a few movies taped off cable typically. The DVR has pretty much killed the market entirely

[mugupo]

blu-ray recorder is not that good idea, since blu-ray blank disk are very costly still, hd dvr is better resolution, but i agree they need to be more flexible allowed you to play in pc and transfer.

[ronjones]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Nothing to do with copyright, everything to do with the fact that DVD Recorders barely sell in the US.

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Most people only used VCRs for timeshifting. The amount they would actually save was miniscule, a few movies taped off cable typically. The DVR has pretty much killed the market entirely

DVD recorders certainly are not really big sellers in the USA, but I own two and have a few friends that also own them. However, they are popular enough that retailers including Walmart and Best Buy stock them. I also agree that DVRs, including HD-DVRs, have become very popular for time shifting and short-term archiving (I own 5 HD-DVRs between my two houses). However, I do believe that copyright issues are at least one significant factor why BD recorders are not yet being sold in the US. Since only 15% of the US households rely on over-the-air reception that means just adding an ATSC tuner to a BD recorder is not enough in the US. For cable TV subscribers, and to gain any significant market, the BD recorder would need to support CableCard and be certified by Cable Labs in order to get other than a few local HD channels that the cable company may send out in "Clear QAM" mode. Also, cable companies are required by the FCC to offer at least one model of HD-STB that has an active IEEE 1394 (aka Firewire) port which could be connected to a 1394 input on an BD recorder. I used this approach for recording HD from cable using a D-VHS VCR for a couple of years but its really not a user friendly approach and too complicated and with too many issues for timer recording for most consumers to deal with. For Directv and Dish Network subscribers a BD recorder would not be able to record any content in HD as these satellite providers will not offer their HD receivers with a suitable digital output (i.e, IEEE 1394). So unless Directv or Dish Network were to decide to offer their own BD recorder, or perhaps a HD-DVR with a built-in BD recorder, then satellite subscribers won't be able to made BD HD recordings. I believe that both Directv and Dish Network would get a lot of opposition from the movie studios and premium movie channels (and probobly others with original programming such as USA network, SyFy and TNT) with any plans to offer the ability to make HD copies of their copyrighted HD material.

Originally Posted by mugupo

blu-ray recorder is not that good idea, since blu-ray blank disk are very costly still, hd dvr is better resolution, but i agree they need to be more flexible allowed you to play in pc and transfer.

As for the price of blank Blu-ray Discs, single layer BD-R have dropped in price from nearly $20 two years ago to around $4 (street price today). While read-write and dual layers BDs are still fairly expensive, their prices are also falling. The prices for BD media today are similar to the price of DVD blank media in the first year or two of that technology was first introduced. If BD recorders were ever to becomes really popular (or PC BD burners), then the price of the BD blank media will surely continue to drop.

[gekke henkie]

These BD-R discs are only $2.80 per disc (they are even 4x speed):
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch...iteria=AA75602

[Jeff Kleist]

Seriously, it's the fact they don't sell. In contrast, Japan is a recorder ONLY market. No one will buy a deck that doesn't record.

Yes, the need to alter existing designs to accomodate CableCard would certainly be a potential factor, because the volume isn't high enough to justify producing another board that can accept it. That's where the HDMI IN on the current Japanese decks comes into play. All the needed protections are already built in, and it'll cut off the recorder if required. All the current flags are already present to turn off the ability to record

[tron3]

Originally Posted by mugupo

blu-ray recorder is not that good idea, since blu-ray blank disk are very costly still, hd dvr is better resolution, but i agree they need to be more flexible allowed you to play in pc and transfer.

I downloaded the manual for one of Panasonic's blu-ray recorder (815?) models. Not impressed with the bit rate. The best recording level was only 12 Mbit. What kind of crap is that? DVD is 10.2 Mbit. But I think it was because of the codec they used.

Yet, I am still DYING for a Panasonic blu-ray recorder.

[Jeff Kleist]

If you want a BD Recorder, right now that's far cheaper than any model on the market, just build an HTPC, get a PC based cable card or digital antenna receiver and build a PVR with a BD-R drive. Whole thing shouldn't run more than 6-700

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/05/12...-media-center/

It's a lot more cost effective, and you can save the streams directly to your HD and burn them later to a BD-R

[Frederico]

Originally Posted by gekke henkie

Yes, there are BD-recorders in the US on a professional level (expensive), not on a consumers level (besides the BD-replicators, HTPC's, etc). You will have to buy a consumer-level BD-recorder online (from overseas), if you want an affordable one.

One question though, since the HDMI-in function is disabled on many of those recorders, what would you like to do with it? A BD-burner hooked-up to a computer (with HD-tuner) makes much more sense IMHO. Just my $0.02.

HI gekke,

I've been looking around for a professional BD-recorders, do you know where I can purchase one?

thank a lot

[gekke henkie]

Originally Posted by Frederico

HI gekke,

I've been looking around for a professional BD-recorders, do you know where I can purchase one?

thank a lot

I think you have two options. If you are in a hurry, you can buy online and you might even get a nice deal, but you will probably need to buy it as a business. I would suggest you use google maps to find a nearby Pro-audio store and pay them a visit (they usually sell music-instruments, PA-equipment like mixing-tables, microphones, lighting/theatre/recording equipment, etc). They can help you with a few options (single BD PC-burners, stand-alone BD-recorders, or BD-duplicators). I would write down the options they mention and back home you'll go online and do a search on them (including pricing), so you can go back and try to arrange a deal. Good luck!

[Frederico]

All right, thanks a lot gekke

[gekke henkie]

Originally Posted by Frederico

All right, thanks a lot gekke

Please share your experiences on here, so we can learn from it and maybe even help you with some guiding or considerations.

[[1080-p]]

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would like to know where are the settop box blu-ray recorder are myself or are they a myth because i haven't seen any

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10065439-1.html
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/08/26...derhdd-combos/
http://www.gizmag.com/go/8117/