Gizmodo: hd dvd recorder

Toshiba RD-A1 HD DVD Recorder Ships in Japan [Home Entertainment]

Charlie White — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 12:32:14 EDT

The on-again off-again saga that has been Toshiba's RD-A1 HD DVD recorder continues, and it's now shipping in Japan. The $3408 recorder was originally set to ship in mid-July, so Toshiba only missed the target by a couple of weeks. To refresh your memory, the RD-A1 is the first HD DVD recorder to hit the market.

The device uses the preferred H.264 and VC-1 codecs for compression of the HD signal onto either single or dual layer HD DVD-r discs. If you don't want to record all that HD goodness onto currently-expensive removable media, there's a terabyte of disk space on board to accommodate quite a few recordings, too. It can also record on DVD-RAM/R/W disks, too, if anybody is still interested in doing that. No word on when it will be available in the US, but it will probably be soon. – Charlie White

Toshiba RD-A1 HD-DVD recorder finally goes on sale [Newlaunches]

Toshiba RD-A1 HD DVD Recorder Shipment Delayed [Home Entertainment]

Charlie White — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 09:53:51 EDT

Since we tipped you off last month about the Toshiba RD-A1 HD DVD recorder that was set to ship in mid-July, we figured you might appreciate an update on that, where now it's mid-July and the RD-A1 is not going to be shipping just yet. Toshiba has reportedly run into a glitch in the production process, delaying the shipment of the world's first HD DVD recorder until the end of this month. Perhaps this time they decided to correct firmware problems before shipping, unlike the unfortunate unpleasantness encountered with the HD-A1 HD DVD player.

When it does ship, the $3462 recorder will be nicely appointed, using superior codecs such as H.264 and VC-1 to compress video into either single-or dual-layer HD DVD-R discs. It will also be packing a terabyte of storage inside, and will be stoked with HDMI and digital audio inputs and outputs. Maybe if this product actually works as advertised, ships fairly soon and experiences a quick price drop, it could be an opportunity for vindication for Toshiba. – Charlie White

2 Weeks delay for the RD-A1 HD-DVD recorder [Akihabara News]

Toshiba to Ship RD-A1 HD DVD Recorder [Home Entertainment]

Charlie White — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 09:34:02 EDT

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]