Sony's 50GB Blu-Ray video recorder

We don't anyone who has even gotten around to buying a first-generation Blu-Ray video recorder, which can pack up to 23GB onto each disc, but Sony is already planning to have the second-generation out by the end of the year (pictured at right, their first-gen player, the BDZ-S77). The new version can squeeze 50GB, more than double that of the first-gen recorder, onto a single Blu-Ray rewriteable disc. The new players will also support playback of pre-recorded BD-ROM discs, and Sony says they'll be releasing high-definition movies on BD-ROM discs around Christmas of next year. Which is excellent, because it means we'll have yet another high-def format out there to compete with all the other high-def discs trying to replace the DVD.