Personal video recorders (PVRs) integrated directly into TV sets are likely to become more common this year, according to hard disk manufacturer Seagate, which could reap big sales from the market.
Seagate says it is working with Humax, which already sells a PVR-equipped model, to integrate its latest 40Gb 2.5in LD25 hard drive directly onto the chassis of a flat-panel TV. This will provide classic PVR functions such as the ability to pause, rewind and fast forward Ð plus the ability to transfer recording to a PC.
Rob Pait, Seagate’s director of global consumer electronics marketing, expected other manufacturers to follow suit this year. He added: “It’s about eliminating wires and clutter and making the products a lot easier for customers to use.”
The LD25 itself looks like a laptop disk, except that it lacks anti-shock features to reduce cost. A version is used in the Xbox 360 games console for which Microsoft, in one of its few announcements at CES, is offering an HD-DVD drive.
PVR functionality is not the only way in which TVs are getting smarter. Late last year Acer announced a 37” model, the AT3705W, that can access video, stills and web radio over a home network.
Other Seagate products launched at Cebit included what the company claims is the world’s first portable drive to use perpendicular recording that increases data density. It features a capacity of 160Gb drive.
The company also unveiled a 500Gb ‘Pushbutton Backup Drive’ with an ESata (External Serial ATA) link that can transfer data up to five times faster than is possible with USB 2.0 and 1394a links.
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