Panasonic has announced its first stand alone Blu-Ray Disc Recorder, the DMR-BW500. The DMR-BW500i can record up to 72 hours of Full High Definition 1080p recording onto the built in 500GB Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or 6 hours 40 min on a 50GB double layer Blu-ray Disc. In addition to video, it can record 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound broadcasts and Blu-ray movies are played in studio-master quality at a frame rate of 24 frames per second. The new line of DVD and Blu-ray recorders and players are currently only available only in Japan but will be available in other markets in August. [panasonic]
