Sharp unveils HDTVs with Blu-ray recorders

It’s no big news that Blu-ray adoption, at least in the US, is far from ubiquitous. Not everyone has an HDTV and the players can be expensive. While DVD adoption was partially attributed to the PS2, the PS3 hasn’t sold nearly as well as its predecessor with the HD standard. However, as DVDs grew more commonplace TVs with DVD players built in became common as well, putting DVD players into the rooms of even more people. Perhaps Sharp’s new HDTVs can do the same for Blu-ray.

Sharp Japan has introduced five new HDTVs in its AQUOS DX2 line, each equipped with a Blu-ray recorder. While the recorders can obviously play Blu-ray discs, they’re even more impressive with their ability to record up to 30 hours of HD video onto one dual-layer Blu-ray disc. It does this by recording the video in the MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format. The recorder can be set to automatically record anything from the program guide for each of the two digital tuners and single terrestrial one.

In terms of other features, the HDTVs support Internet via the ethernet port, and can connect to BD-Live, Yahoo Japan, and IPTV. There’s also an included ambient light sensor which will adjust brightness according to the brightness of the surrounding light, which is a pretty cool idea.

At the moment there’s no word on when, or even if these particular HDTVs will make it to the US market. With the cheapest model, the 26-inch, costing the equivalent of $1,787 whether they would sell well in the US is debatable. However, considering that price includes an HDTV and Blu-ray player, it might be a great idea for those many who still haven’t adopted either standard. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, and just hope they came here fairly soon.

Read [Electronista]