Sharp readies Blu-Ray DVR with 1TB of storage

Sharp today launched a slew of AQUOS-themed digital video recorders designed for the most adamant of home theater enthusiasts. The BD-HDW20 is the first to combine a Blu-Ray drive with a full 1TB of storage. Viewers can now capture as much as 127 hours of HD video and record to a disc that will play at the full resolution. With support for writing 50GB dual-layer discs, even movie-length shows can be recorded, according to Sharp. The new AQUOS is also one of the first to explicitly support Blu-Ray's newer Low-to-High (LTH) blank discs which cost less than normally pricey BD-R or rewritable BD-RE discs. Dual digital TV tuners as well as a single analog tuner let users record a show in one format while viewing another; twin FireWire ports provide capture from some video cameras.

Due to ship by December 1st, the BD-HDW20 will sell for approximately $2,621 in its native Japan and will be accompanied at the same time by a 500GB version, the BD-HDW15, for $1,747. These should be preceded by BD-AV1 and BD-AV10, two models that drop the hard drive and instead record directly to either a single-layer (AV1) or dual-layer (AV10) BD-RE disc. Either sheds all but a single digital TV tuner and should be available October 27th for $874 and $1,048 respectively. [via Impress]