Toshiba announces 3D Blu-ray recorders & upgrade kit

Toshiba has announced quite a new lineup of Blu-ray products for the Japanese market. The company has unveiled four HD Blu-ray recorders that will be available this fall, one of which is 3D capable out of the box.

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The flagship model in the lineup, the RD-X10, will feature a 2TB internal hard drive and two HDMI ports. The other three models will each have one HDMI port, with the RD-BZ800 containing a 1TB HDD and a 500GB HDD in both the RD-BZ700 and RD-BZ600.

The RD-BZ800, RD-BZ700, and RD-BZ600 will be capable of playing 3D movies with the purchase of a separate “upgrade kit”. There is no word yet on what exactly the kit will contain or how much it might cost.

The translated press release from Toshiba regarding the launch of the new Blu-ray recorders states that the “RD series” of Blu-ray products have inherited “unique editing features”. It appears that the devices have a built-in ability to edit during playback and divide recorded programming into chapters. There are also playlist editing and library features mentioned.

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The 2TB 3D HD-ready RD-X10 will be $2,500 when it goes on sale in Japan this September. The 1TB RD-BZ800 will be $1,700, while the 500GB RD-BZ700 will be $1300. The RD-BZ600, also 500GB but without simultaneous recording capability, represents the entry-level market at $1000 and will go on sale in October.

There is no word on when or if Toshiba plans to sell the RD Series Blu-ray recorders outside of Japan.

The upgrade kit Toshiba is launching here seems like a good idea for consumers who don’t want to take the leap at this point to spend money on a Blu-ray recorder or player that has 3D built-in. The option to upgrade later might make customers more interested in the product since it will expand the overall longevity of their purchase.

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