Sony unleashes smorgasbord of DVD recorders

Posted by Duncan Madden on Wed 23 Apr 2008

Eight new hard disc spinners flood Dixons

Now Sony has finished that pesky HD-DVD format like a horse swatting a fly with its tail, it's time to turn its hand to more pressing matters. Like unveiling eight new hard disk drive DVD recorders.

We're most interested in the flagship model, because we're shallow and ostentatious. The RDR-HXD1095 houses a humungous 500GB memory capable of recoding and storing a not inconsiderable 1,420 hours of TV. That's got to be roomy enough to save the entire back catalogue of Diagnosis Murder. Plentiful.

While they all sport Full HD 1080p playback and upscaling, BRAVIA Sync and direct HDD camcorder connection for digital dubbing, the lowly quartet of RDR-HX680, HX780, HX980 and HX1080 house only analogue TV tuners. The RDR-HXD790, HXD890, HXD995 and HXD1095, meanwhile, are fully buffed with DVB-T digital goodness.

Every member of the extended family has a USB and PictBridge port alongside the all-new and exciting "X-Pict Story" feature that lets users create slide shows with music and store them on the hard disc for a rainy day.

Typically well-styled and typically no ruddy prices, we do know they arrive here July time.