Philips Blu-ray recorder and 250GB discs unveiled

With Hollywood studios releasing Blu-ray films in the coming months, the next logical question is what to play them on?

Joining Sony's BR-compatible PlayStation 3, will be Philips' range of Blu-ray (BR) players that will begin to hit UK shores this year. 

Its first device will be the TripleWriter SPD7000. This internal optical drive can record and playback all disc formats and features a 2x read and write speed for BD-R and BD-RE discs. This equates to a 9MB/s continuous data rate.

The SPD7000 comes out in November and is expected to cost €799 (£538) with 25GB and 50GB discs ranging from €15 (£10) to €25 respectively. Double-layer BR discs with capacities reaching 250GB are expected in the first half of 2007. Pricing is yet to be decided.

In early 2007, Philips is bringing out its first standalone BR player for HD-ready televisions, the BDP9000. It supports full 1080p resolution and will also upscale to 1080p using the Faroudja engine.

Both HDMI and component outputs are featured as are memory card slots for viewing pictures and video recorded from digital devices. Final pricing is yet to be confirmed but our spies at the IFA consumer electronics show tell us it will be around the €1,000 (£672) mark.

The Showline Media Center MCP9480i will be Philips' first standalone Blu-ray recorder. Launching early 2007 and expected to cost a whopping €2,500, the device will contain a 320GB hard disk, two hybrid TV tuners (potentially capable of receiving BBC's free-to-air HD broadcasts in the future) and will be Vista-ready.

An HDMI output on the back will mean easy connections to compatible televisions.

More stories from the IFA consumer electronics show:
Philips claims first in race for first PC-less Skype phone
Sony wants Blu-ray in two million homes by April
Philips looking to take a bite of Apple's Nano 
TDK unveils 50GB Blu-ray discs 
Sharp unveils high-def projectors
Beg and Gravel for Commodore's media player