Sony's RDZ-D97A, RDZ-77A, and RDZ-87 HDD/DVD recorders record directly to PSP

Sony just announced three new HDD/DVD recorder additions to their RDZ series. The new RDZ-D97A (pictured) and 77A bring 400GB and 250GB of storage respectively, to the show with one digital Hi-Vision (1080i HDTV in Japan) tuner and apparently two-analog tuners allowing you to record not one, not two, but three teeveelicious broadcasts simultaneously. They also feature the ability to record directly to your PSP to take your recordings on the go. And in what appears to be an industry first for HDD / DVD recorders, these two also feature DTCP-IP (Digital Transmission Content Protection over IP) to legally stream Hi-Vision recordings to other designated, media kickin' boxes on your home network. Rounding out the lot is the RDZ-87 which packs in a 500GB disk like the D97A but lacks direct PSP recording and DTCP-IP support. Expect these to drop for an as of yet unannounced price on May 19 in Japan.

[Via Akihabara News]

[Kevin Duvall @ Apr 10th 2006 11:17AM]

When did Sony start supporting HD-DVD? Am I missing something here?

[Kevin Duvall @ Apr 10th 2006 11:18AM]

Opps. HDD/DVD Haha...

[Rory @ Apr 10th 2006 12:14PM]

Curious,

Does it save it onto the memory stick on the PSP? Or, are they going to have burnable media disks for the PSP?

Also, How many shows could you store on say... a 1gb Memory stick?

[SectionZ @ Apr 10th 2006 2:10PM]

hrm ... 1 + 1 here ...

Bad sales and this product probably sealed the UMD movies fate .. IMO

[Kamalot @ Apr 10th 2006 3:40PM]

What good is it if you have to leave the PSP plugged into the DVR in order to get shows on it? That means your PSP is at home recording shows when it should be out with you.

If it recorded directly to Memory Stick, you could come home and swap sticks with the DVR.

With this setup, you'll not only have to have 2 memory sticks, but 2 PSPs, one to take on the road and one to leave at home recording shows.

[Amy @ Apr 10th 2006 4:28PM]

Not sure where you're getting the idea that the PSP has to remain plugged into the DVR - the DVR records the shows, and then allows you to transfer them directly to your PSP in .mp4/AVC format. It may not be spelled out in the article, but if you do any amount of research on the technology it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that they don't expect you to leave your PSP tethered to your entertainment center. That would make the PSP a Playstation Not-so-Portable, and defeat Sony's entire cross-marketing strategy for the PSP and this lovely new toy.

[Matt @ Apr 11th 2006 2:51PM]

How much you think this will cost? Like 1k

[Schnazer @ Apr 11th 2006 6:06PM]

I don't think the shows record directly onto the PSP. They are saved on the HDD and then converted to PSP video format (AVC) and loaded onto the PSP memory stick. Kinda like plugging your ipod into your itunes to download off of it. I have a Sony TV/PC combo and it is already able to do this... the only thing it can't do is the 3 recordings at one time. wow :-). Good to see the PSP is getting more and more support!

[Tim @ May 19th 2006 12:22PM]

I found this for 142,600 Yen at nifty.com today. I think that translates to $1,275.61 USD.