Digital recorders bump old VCRs off the shelf
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If you&#39;re replacing an aging VCR, a recorder that uses digital technology now deserves first consideration. The reasons include picture quality that can exceed that of a
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The device lets users save videos downloaded onto a personal computer and move them to a traditional television.
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Integrated video engine to offer DVD quality on a handheld
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We sold off our albums years ago, but analog die-hards will love the spectacular performance of VPI Industries' H-16.5 record cleaner. In Gadget Lab.
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Dual-layer disc to smooth hi-def format adoption
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JVC is introducing two camcorders that abandon tape and discs altogether, recording onto removable hard drives.
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Don&#39;t you think it&#39;s time to retire that VCR? You probably have a DVD player or two, so you already know videocassettes are fast becoming obsolete.
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Wega TVs, Vaio systems, DVD recorders and camcorder highlight HD product lineup.
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(InfoWorld) - It's an interesting contrast: consumers are fast ditching videotape for DVDs and hard disks, but the people who make TV shows are sticking to tape for some cutting edge applications. When it comes to recording broadcast-quality HDTV, today's optical disc systems just can't spin fast enough to keep up with the video -- but that may be about to change. Current optical disc systems are speed-capped at about 10,000 rpm (revolutions per minute.) Spin them any faster and there's a danger the discs will physically disintegrate in the drive leaving nothing but a pile of sharp plastic splinters and data that is gone forever. And even if they don't break apart the disc can begin to wobble making reliable recording a problem. Engineers at the Science and Technical Research Laboratories (STRL) of Japan's public broadcaster, NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai), are working on an optical disc recording system based on consumer Blu-ray Disc technology that can spin as fast as 15,000 rpm without these problems and demonstrated it last week. It's needed because broadcast quality HDTV signals of the type NHK records stream at 250MbpsÂ making a fast-spinning optical disc a necessity. A 1X Blu-ray Disc records at 36Mbps so the new system is equivalent to 7X speed. NHK has gotten around the stress problem by making a flexible disc that is just 0.1 millimeters thick. The disc, which was co-developed with Ricoh, is essentially the recording layer from a Blu-ray Disc without the 1.1 millimeter plastic substrate that is used to give the disc rigidity. It won't break apart at higher speeds but is not rigid enough to be useful in a drive at any speed. To solve this second problem a thick stabilizing plate has been added into the drive. When spun, the disc is kept steady by the stabilizer and can be used up to 15,000 rpm, said Daiichi Koide, an engineer at NHK STRL. The set-up is similar to Hitachi Maxell's Stacked Volumetric Optical Disc (SVOD) that wasÂ introduced in prototype formÂ at last year's Ceatec exhibition in Japan and shown again at Cebit in Germany this year. SVOD packs several 0.1 millimeter thick optical discs into a cartridge and holds them against a stabilizer in the drive to keep them steady while in use. However there is a key difference between the two, said Koide. In the NHK drive the stabilizer doesn't rotate. If it did it would be susceptible to the same stresses that as the discs. The result is that NHK can spin the disc up to 15,000 rpm without any mechanical problems. The system is still under development and there's no word on when it will literally be ready for prime time. NHK envisages cartridges stuffed with a number of the thin discs that can replace videotapes. Â
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Are you holding out on DVD technology by holding on to your VCR? If so, you may soon be two generations behind the curve, some industry experts said.
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DVD recorders are getting cheaper and easier to use, but that may not be enough to spark demand for the sluggish selling devices.
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Plus: Mashups for the masses and HD video in a digital camera.
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Toshiba Corp. will launch this month two digital video recorders (DVRs) that combine HD DVD with high-definition hard-disk drive recording.
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TiVo Inc.  on Tuesday started  selling its latest digital video recorder which is capable of  displaying high-resolution TV signals, as the recording  technology company seeks new subscribers among buyers of  premium home theater systems.
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New device offers 1TB of storage, can record seven channels simultaneously.
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Call it TiVo for the radio. A new &#36;70 device called RadioShark lets you record your favorite AM and FM radio shows to your home computer and enjoy them later either from the desktop or a portable device.
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The ideal DVR kit for low-horsepower Macs? Review When we reviewed Elgato's EyeTV Hybrid almost a year ago, we found it a darn fine analogue and digital TV tuner. With its analogue input port, it's a pretty good way to digitise your old VHS tapes and feeds from set-top boxes. The company has now released the EyeTV 250 Plus, which replicates the Hybrid's feature set. Did it need to bother?â¦