If you’ve resisted the temptation of digital video in the past, the latest products will give you the perfect reason to splash out with your cash. From video devices with hard disks to DVD players with network connections, the choices are increasing every year.
We’ve already seen a few products that begin to mix digital content from television services with local area network and computer technology, and 2004 is sure to bring a lot more.
Throw away your VHS tapes: The new way to record all your favourite programmes is to invest in a hard-disk recorder. NEC’s latest video recorder, the PX-AX300H, went on sale in Japan in January and packs an impressive 300Gbyte of hard disk recording space. In real terms, this means you can fit about 423 hours of video on to the device when you use the lowest quality setting (an MPEG-2 1.2Mbit/s stream). If the thought of lowering the quality makes you fear for your favourite films, recording at the highest quality 8Mbit/s MPEG-2 stream won’t fill the disk for a while.
There’s also a DVD RAM/R recording function and the more technically inclined can plug it into a computer network and watch recorded TV shows from a PC with software supplied by NEC. It comes with a hefty price tag though; it costs around ¥160,000 (€1,190) and a version with 160Gbyte hard disk costs around ¥120,000 (€892). NEC has no current plans to sell it overseas.
Getting connected
Next on the list is IO Data’s AVLP1/DVD player. It may look like a conventional DVD player, but if you peer a little closer at the connectors on the rear, you’ll notice something you don’t usually see on the standard devices: An Ethernet socket. This allows the device to be connected to a home network and for users to watch or access content from PCs on the network.
The player supports a host of formats: MPEG-1/2, Div X and Xvid video; Windows Media, MP3, MP2, AAC, AC3, PCM and OggVorbis audio; BMP, JPEG, GIF and PNG still images. Disc support is equally good, although the DVD RAM cartridge media is not accepted. You’ll need a computer running Windows 98SE or later, or Mac OS X 10.2 or later operating systems. The best thing is that you get the network connection and support for a whole range of audio, video and image formats for not much more than you’d pay for a conventional player. The machine is on sale now in Japan and costs ¥29,800 (€222).
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, there were other new products unveiled. Sharp’s DV-HR300 (DVD-R/-RW recording) will ship in the US this month; it comes with an 80Gbyte hard drive, though it lacks a program guide (it does support VCR+). It offers standard analogue inputs, as well as FireWire, and should sell for $799 (€632).
Toshiba will also have a new hard drive-based recorder, due out in March. The RD-XS32Multi Drive DVD Recorder should sell for $600 (EUR*474) and, like the Sharp unit, will have an 80Gbyte hard drive, but no EPG. It will record to DVD-R/-RW as well as to DVD-RAM.
Raising the stakes a little is Panasonic, with its 120Gbyte DMR-E85, shipping in May. You can also record to DVD-R and DVD-RAM. The unit will include TV Guide’s EPG, which gives you eight days’ worth of advance programming information. It should sell for about $800 (€631).
Samsung’s DVD-HR800 offers the same hard drive capacity, and DVD-R/-RW and -RAM recording, but it also adds on a slot that takes most flash media (CompactFlash, SD, and the like), making it easier for you to show your pictures on your TV, for example. It should sell for $600 (€474).
And there’s more to come: On the horizon are DVD write-once discs from both major rewritable camps (DVD-R/-RW and DVD+R/+RW) that nearly double current capacity to 8.5Gbyte, up from 4.7Gbyte. By year’s end, you may also start to see DVD recorders using blue laser technology, which can raise capacity to a whopping 23Gbyte per single-sided disc.
Portable player
High definition is the name of the game these days. Last year, JVC launched its GR-HD1 high-definition camcorder; this year, the company has teamed it up with a portable video player. The CU-VH1 accepts MiniDV format cassettes and has a built-in 3.5in LCD panel for onboard playback. Supported formats are NTSC 4:3 and MPEG2 16:9 standard definition 525-line, and MPEG2 16:9 high-definition 750-line video. Like the camera, the player is aimed at both professional and amateur users. At 1.1Kg (with batteries), it’ll hardly weigh your bag down. The video player went on sale in Japan in January for around ¥250,000 (EUR*1,860) and JVC plans to put it on sale in the US shortly.
Not to be outdone, NEC has unveiled a prototype optical drive that uses a newly developed optical head to offer compatibility with both conventional DVD discs and next-generation HD-DVD (High Definition and High Density DVD). HD-DVD is a new format that can accommodate up to 20Gbyte on rewritable discs, and either 15Gbyte or 30Gbyte in a read-only format. The format is mainly aimed at high-definition video applications and commercial players, which could include NEC’s new drive. The product that is due to emerge from prototype development is expected to reach the market in late 2004 or 2005.
29/03/04
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