OK, so this is a tough one — Blu-ray recorders haven’t really entered our market yet. In fact, the only supposedly available is the Sony BDZ-EX200, with a price tag of $2800 and no vendors actually selling it. Others for sale exist, but they all have B region codes, so if you import one, you’ll have trouble with voltage requirements and other concerns. And your menu will likely be in Japanese.

A Blu-ray recorder works like a DVR, but usually with a larger hard drive, the ability to record more than one program at one time, and sometimes even readiness for Blu-ray 3D. It also plays blu-ray discs, DVDs, CDs and sometimes streams content from the internet, just like a Blu-ray player. Expect a steep price tag for Blu-ray recorders once they hit American shelves.

If you’re really clamoring for one now, you can probably somehow find the Sony BDZ-EX200. Its features include a 2 terabyte hard drive, 1080p/24p video resolution and Dolby Digital, DTS and AAC sound playback. Its other capabilities remain unknown, but certainly for this price it must support other sound systems. It has Ethernet and FireWire connections and probably streams a host of providers, although this is unknown as well. In fact, a lot of information is missing on it. Probably it’s out there somewhere… but where? Not even the Sony website offers insight.

If you can wait until April 23rd, the street date announced by Panasonic, you’ll have not one but three 3D Blu-ray recorders from this company from which to choose. Look for the 2 terabyte DMR-BWT 3000, the 1 terabyte DMR-BWT 2000 and the DMR-BWT1000, with a 750 gig hard drive. They all have Ethernet ports, SXDC memory card slots, VIERA links and live streaming capabilities. The 2TB and 1TB devices have 2 HDMI ports, while the other has only one. Speed rates for burning seem high: BD-RE at 11x and BD-R at 6x.

The VARDIA

If you seek smaller hard drives at better prices, then Toshiba has three new Blu-ray recorders coming out soon as well. Branded VARDIA, they represent Toshiba’s larger jump into the Blu-ray market. Set to offer a 320 GB one (the D-B305K) for $1100, Toshiba might capture the audience looking to jump on the technology quickly and somewhat affordably. The 1TB D-B1005K will also be available at only $1400. And if you still love your VHS tapes, you can even get the $1500 D-BW1005K, which features a dual deck VHS player/Blu-ray recorder with which you can burn your VHS cassettes onto Blu-ray discs. These allow you to copy from DVD to Blu-ray and vice versa and feature HDMI interfaces, a USB port and LAN connectivity, as well as an SD memory card slot.

The Toshiba D-BW1005K offers the ability to record VHS cassettes onto Blu-ray format. Since it’s hard to know which of any of these will prove to perform best, it’s impossible to recommend one over the other. It all depends on the price you want to pay, the size of the recorder you want and the brand name you most trust.

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