Sony has announced the much awaited BDZ-V9 and BDZ-V7 Blu-ray disc recorders in Japan. Both the recorders were unveiled during a news conference at the Ceatec show, which opened on Tuesday and runs until Saturday at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo.
The Sony BDZ-V9 incorporates a 500GB HDD, 1080p output (the BDZ-V7 only does 1080i), Sony PSP memory stick video export and video serving via LAN. On the other hand the BDZ-V7 comes with a relatively smaller 250GB hard-drive. There are two digital tuners in each recorder so that two high-definition programs can be recorded simultaneously.
Both the Sony Blu-ray recorders support BD-R and BD-RE discs and feature the Sony XMB user interface known from the PSP and coming on the PS3.
The higher capacity BDZ-V9 will be launched on Dec. 8 and the BDZ-V7 will follow about a week later on Dec. 16. They will cost ¥300,000 and ¥250,000 (US$2,541 and $2,118) respectively.
There is no information yet if and when Sony is releasing Blu-ray disc recorder outside of Japan. Launching the recorders internationally is possible but nothing has been decided as of yet, Sony said.