Toshiba: first setop that burns high-def to red-laser DVD

[TheResonator]

Instead of paying $0.25/gigabyte for HD-DVD blanks, you can use $0.05/GB DVD's:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/02/toshibas-vardia-rd-rx7-hd-dvd-recorder-burns-hd-video-to-dvd-t/

[trhouse]

All the new recorders with ATSC tuners convert HD to SD for recording to dvd.

[TheResonator]

That's great if you want standard-def video on DVD, but this Toshiba recorder (Japan only so far?) will record full high-def to a DVD-5 (known as "3X DVD" within the DVD Forum community). This is similar to how AVC-HD camcorders record 1080i/720p onto red-laser DVD mini discs... though not all that much storage time.

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray media economy is worse than I thought: their prices are between $0.50 and $1 per GB.
A Taiyo Yuden DVD-R, perhaps the best blank disc formula available, can cost only $0.05 (5 cents!) per GB.

[Krispy Kritter]

All of the information I've seen so far on HD recorders (mostly concerning Blu-Ray), is that they are and most likely will remain a Japan only item. They have no plans of releasing this hardware outside Japan.

This is mostly a byproduct of cultural differences. The Japanese are a very tech savy culture. While Americans (and other countries as well) like all of the tech gadgets, we aren't willing to spend as much money for them, and those that do are a very small part of the market. Just look through the forums at the number of posts from users looking for the "best" dvd player on the market that supports every disc type and file format available, and they want it for under $50.