Sony Unveils New Blu-ray Recorders to Fight HD DVD

Sony said it will launch four models of new Blu-ray high-definition optical disc recorders in November in Japan, as its format battle with the HD DVD camp heats up.

Sony, along with Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, promotes the Blu-ray technology, which competes with the HD DVD format, backed by Toshiba Corp and Microsoft Corp.

The new models, capable of storing up to 16 hours of high-definition programmes on a dual-layer, 50-gigabyte (GB) Blu-ray disc, will go on sale on November 8. Sony’s previous models, launched last year, were unable to record on a dual-layer disc.

The top-end machine of the four, which comes with a 500-GB hard disk drive, is expected to sell for about 200,000 yen ($1,752), roughly in line with Toshiba’s flagship HD DVD recorder.

Reuters