Sony Japan unveils latest Blu-ray recorders with CREAS upscaling

Japan has only a few weeks to prepare for the latest Sony 6X Blu-ray recorders, ready to hit the streets in a wide array of sizes and features. All pack BD-Live support as well as the company's latest "CREAS" upscaling technology -- Resolution+ vs. CREAS, fight! -- promising 14-bit "HD Reality enhancement" and "Super Bit Mapping for video" with only high end X series models seen fit to include DRC-MFv3 image processing already seen in the latest BRAVIA LCDs, plus the ability to transcode and transfer video to PSP / phone / walkman. From the high end BDZ-X100 (1 TB, ¥280,000, $2,574 U.S., September 27, pictured) to the bottom BDZ-T55 (320GB, ¥110,000, $1,011 U.S., October 10) there's a DVR to fit your 15 h.264 HD channels in here somewhere. wondering about a U.S. release? Don't hold your breath.

[gb @ Sep 3rd 2008 8:30AM]

actually that sounds resonable 1000$ is 670euros that's ok i paid almost the same for my tivo clone......
if i could use that over the network to burn files from my pc to br it's a go

[Rob @ Sep 3rd 2008 8:31AM]

Well, considering Sony's extremely slow pace to bring prices down, if ever, for Blu-ray, I'd probably have to wait till 2013 before these recorders hit the sweet spot of $125 for stand alone units, and $30 for PC. Sony is playing the same MiniDisc b.s. games of keeping the prices artificially inflated so they can recoup their investment within the first few years and keeping licenses high so no one else can offer a competing product cheaper. But, they're forgetting that that was part of the problem with MiniDiscs not gaining any ground here in the USA and becoming a complete failure. But, we'll see.

[eiki @ Sep 3rd 2008 10:35AM]

nope, blu-ray is very far from proprietry, panny and samsung have invested heavily, I agree these prices are silly, but those are launch prices (probably store prices) Japan also has something like 18 digital TV networks so 1TB makes more sense there, hopefully they allow the option of MP4 encoding to HDD, these recorders have a minumum of 320GB, they will never hit $125 before being discontinued (if they make an equiv US model)

[SimbaDogg @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:38PM]

i think you're a bit misinformed, comparing a unit like this, or even anything that records in high def to a basic dvd recorder. hell, you'd be hard pressed to even find a decent dvd recorder (other than a htpc setup) that records in 480p. Most damn dvd recorders you're stuck w/ 480i...which makes me sick.

[SimbaDogg @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:48PM]

shit dude...now that i re-read the article again, about 1000 bucks for:
- a DVR w/ a 320GB HDD (bigger than direct tv's dvr)
- a 6x blu ray burner (one of the fastest speeds you can get on the market),
- a fully compliant bd live player (with super duper upconversion)
- and the ability to take some of the stuff you record and transcode it...

for an unsubsidized product, that is a hell of a lot for 1k. shiet, the hd dvr from direct still goes for a few hundred bucks, and doesn't include any of this good stuff.

[dan2600 @ Sep 3rd 2008 8:59AM]

Hmmm....why are we investing so much into upscaling? Aren't people buying "HD" equipment for true "HD" media? No matter how you do it when you upscale you are doing either a 200% increase in resolution and 400% increase... and even MORE if you consider the change from going from 480i to 720 p or 1080p no matter how you do it...its not going to look that good...even using the most advanced upscaling techniques you are always going to have high image quality loss (because the image quality isn't there in the first place). people should stop wasting all this money on up converting and focus on better compression of HD content so that it can become more widespread.

[Homeboy @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:31AM]

I'll be purschasing a full HDTV in three weeks and have planned on hopping on the Bluray wagon but I'm hesistant in doing so. Yesterday I took a tour around London and paid a visit to various retailers. Unsurprisingly the experience with various Bluray demonstrations left with me a sour taste in my mouth. Pretty much non of the Bluray films playing offered a jutter free experience. It was if there was a bandwidth issue of something, the movies didn't playback as smoothly as a DVD. I'm a HiFi/Video geek and the jutter was quite a problem since I couldn't get my mind off it, especially since Bluray players aren't exactly cheap.

Therefor I wonder if this is the case with all bluray players? Cause I don't want to pay £300 for premature technology. As much as a want to watch bluray films I'm contemplating holding off until next year in wait for bluray players what offer jutter and lag free experience. Does bluray players installed in computers use the harddrive as a buffer?

[dan2600 @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:36AM]

a clean bluray plays just fine

a dirty/scratched disk will have jitter issues, however UNLIKE DVDs they don't skip...the video might slow down for a second but the audio track remains in tack and there is no macroblocking

if anything its' a good thing, ive been very happy with my PS3 (the best Bluray player you can buy).