Toshiba is jumping all over this HD DVD format, where first it stumbled onto the market with its lame-ass HD-A1, and now it's going to be first to market with an HD DVD recorder, the RD-A1, which it will offer under the Vardia brand. The RD-A1 uses those two superior codecs, H.264 and VC-1 to record its video onto either single- or dual-layer HD DVD-R discs, and it's capable of recording on DVD-RAM/R/W discs as well. If that's not enough, there's a terabyte of storage packed inside for plenty of HD TV show recordage.

Looks like it's well-equipped with all the usual suspects when it comes to inputs and outputs, too, with HDMI, optical and coaxial Dolby Digital 5.1 audio outputs, and even network connectivity. Unfortunately, you'll pay for the privilege of recording onto those HD discs, because pricing is set at a steep $3462. Ships mid-July. – Charlie White

Toshiba RD-A1 the first HD-DVD recorder [Newlaunches]

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