JVC brings Blu-ray burning set-tops to the U.S., leaves all the fun overseas
By Richard Lawler 
posted Sep 10th 2009 12:33PM
posted Sep 10th 2009 12:33PM
SR-HD1500:
JVC TO UNVEIL BLU-RAY AND HDD RECORDER
COMBO DECKS AT CEDIA EXPO 2009
WAYNE, NJ (September 10, 2009) – JVC Professional Products, division of JVC U.S.A., will introduce its new SR-HD1500 and SR-HD1250 Blu-ray disc and HDD recorders at CEDIA EXPO Sept. 10-13 at the Georgia World Conference Center in Atlanta (Booth 1043). The latest in JVC's series of high performance professional combo decks, the units feature a built-in Blu-ray recorder and an internal hard disk drive for easy duplication and disc authoring without a PC. COMBO DECKS AT CEDIA EXPO 2009
With the SR-HD1500 and SR-HD1250, users can record and author professional BDMV (with menu) or BDAV discs. Advanced MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (H.264) encoding provides support for HD and SD sources, and a built-in format converter can downconvert HD content for recording to a standard DVD. The units support BD-R or BD-RE (erasable) Blu-ray discs.
The decks offer a variety of digital inputs, including USB and i.Link (IEEE-1394) ports and an SDHC card slot, for wide compatibility with today's digital SD and HD camcorders. Composite and S-Video inputs provide interfaces for legacy analog devices as well.
Users can transfer videos from a camcorder or other device to the internal hard drive. Then, using a simple, menu-driven interface, edited clips can be assembled into a completed project and recorded to Blu-ray discs. Discs can also be authored for auto-start or repeat playback, which provide ideal options for presentations, kiosks, and point-of-sale displays.
Unprotected DVD and Blu-ray discs are easily duplicated as well. Simply insert the original disc into the drive, then specify how many copies to make. Disc content is temporarily stored to the hard drive, then burned to blank discs.
Both models include component and HDMI outputs for flexible monitoring options. The SR-HD1500 features a 500 GB hard drive, plus an RS-232C terminal and support for .MOV files (for Apple Final Cut Pro), which makes it compatible with footage recorded with JVC GY-HM100 and GY-HM700 ProHD camcorders in the SP (19/25 Mbps) mode. The SR-HD1250 has a 250 GB hard drive, but does not include RS-232C connectivity of .MOV support.
The SR-HD1500 has an MSRP of $2,550 and the SR-HD1250 has an MSRP of $1,995. The combo decks will be available in October 2009.
Meh
Looks like a VCR from 1987.
This!
To be honest it looks more like a Betamax form 1987.
I really wish they used different controls, they take away from the sleek of the device. But the price....pay attention to the word I'm about to type.............Pro (hehe)
and I said that because I've seen Blu-ray players with FiWi, USB and SD for at least $400, soz..
What about a PC with a Blu-Ray burner? More flexibility, upgradeability, and connectability, for about half the price?
Dude, people who buy this have more money than sense.
looks like a VCR
only bad thing about this is that jvc is dumping the srdvm700us and 600us for these they look good and im sure they will sell but they did not put a minidv deck in them ( there are still hdv camcorders out there ) that people could use -- hell there is not an hdsdi out put on the deck!!!! come on jvc if you want to go to the blu-ray lets at least be able to use it in a pro setting!!!!
If it is not a DVR, then I have no use for it.
I hate my country. No, that's not true. I hate my government. No, that's not true either. I hate the stinking lobbyists that buy the politicians and the stinking politicians that get bought by them and the stinking laws that they pass to neuter the technology that would make my home entertainment experience more enjoyable. There, that's the truth.
If you can't use this the same way you would use a DVD recorder, then this is basically useless to a typical consumer. Not that it's all JVC's fault. Hollywood has way too much power.
Somebody needs to make one of these with an HDMI input. Then we could record AND SAVE hi-def broadcasts. Unfortunately, the powers that be, aka the WCN (Worldwide Copyright Nazis) would never allow that to happen.
Thats cool they recycled an old VCR with new parts. Now thats Tech Saavy
Sigh, I've come to expect these comments from the Engadget peanut gallery, but seriously, did you all not see the fact that this is a PROFESSIONAL BD deck? Unlike most consumer gear, function trumps form. So what if it looks like an old VCR? Everything else in the editing studio does. What is wrong with minimalistic, usable designs?
This is not a DVR, the hard drive is there for duplication and production of BD discs. Consequently, there is no tuner. And no HDMI input either since there are other professional devices for that type of use and those decks use much better connectors better suited for that task than HDMI.
And this is designed to replace a PC in situations where a PC is overkill. If I want to make a copy of a finished disc for a client it's easier to switch this on and dump the contents to the HDD, put a blank in there and out pops a 1:1 copy. And unlike a PC, you don't have to worry about software/hardware incompatibilities, viruses, drivers, and lengthy boot-up times.
The lack of a MiniDV or HDV deck isn't a biggie to me since you can easily connect one via Firewire/iLink. Although HDSDI output would be nice.
Like I said, a similar device with an HDMI input would be really great for anyone wanting to archive their DVR recordings. As far as I know, there is no such device, nor will there ever be one, at least not in the US.