Pioneer Corporation announced today the introduction of the BDR-WD900, a Blu-ray Disc (BD) Recorder equipped with a 1-TB hard drive, and the BDR-WD700, a BD Recorder equipped with a 500-GB hard drive, for the Japanese market.

With digital terrestrial broadcasts becoming increasingly common, requirements of TV viewers are undergoing a change. Whereas previously viewers wanted to record as much high-definition content as possible, and as easily possible, they now want to record content in the highest quality possible. Thus, the market for BD recorders is rapidly expanding. Pioneer aims to meet this demand by launching its first HDD/BD recorders that can record two digital high-definition programs simultaneously for longer hours in the HD picture quality.

The Pioneer BD recorders BDR-WD900 and BDR-WD700 will be available in Japan in the early of October, 2008 (with no retail price suggested).

Main features

• 5 times longer recording of high-definition content (in HE mode/about 4.8 Mbps): The new HDD/BD recorders employ the latest movie compression technology - MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 - that features a greater compression rate than MPEG-2. This enables the recorders to record high-definition broadcasts in the high resolution of 1980 x 1080 for about five times longer than with previous Pioneer models onto the hard drive: up to about 450 hours with the BDR-WD900 and up to about 220 hours with the BDR-WD700. For 5.1ch surround digital broadcasts, the surround sound can be recorded as it is, as well as complementing the stunning high-definition images.
• Interactive control with KURO LINK-compatible plasma TVs: When connected to KURO LINK-compatible plasma TVs via a HDMI™ cable, it is possible to record and play content via the TV's remote control. By pushing the "Disc Navi" button on the BD recorder, the TV automatically turns ON and the display changes to the recorder screen. The recorders also feature the "KURO Picture Quality Adjust" function that automatically sets the video output for the connected KURO TV to the optimum level. Thus, users of the new recorders can comfortably enjoy the KURO's beautiful images with simple operation.
• High-grade, glossy black finish blends in with KURO plasma TVs

• Double digital tuner enables users to record two different digital broadcasts.
• "Scene View" divides each of the recorded content on the hard drive into 28 segments and displays the results in an index. Viewers can quickly locate the desired scene to playback.
• "Quick Startup" allows the recorder in standby mode to turn on or display the home menu or TV program in approx. 0.8 sec.*3
• High picture and sound quality technologies, including high-performance IP conversion LSI for 1080/24p high picture quality output, and HDMI™ (Deep Color, x.v.Color™, lip-sync) technology.
• Pioneer newly-developed BD Drive corrects numerous optical aberrations to provide high accuracy recording
• "High-definition Just Copy" automatically selects the optimum recording rate from 10 steps based on the recording time when copying high-definition programs onto a BD disc.
• "Photo viewer" to enjoy pictures on a large-flat panel screen
• BONUSVIEW™ BD video supported. A small sub-screen can be displayed on the TV screen to view special content, such as interviews of actors staring in the movie.
• Next-generation audio format - Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™ lossless audio -bitstream output (via an HDMI connection) supported
• The power consumption in standby: 0.9 W (Clock display OFF, Quick Startup OFF, Antenna Power OFF)

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