Record HDTV, For A Price

[Gregg Lengling]

Arik Hesseldahl, 02.07.03, 10:00 AM ET Forbes.com

NEW YORK - Time is short for the VCR.

If you've noticed that old-fashioned videocassette recorders don't take up much space on the shelves of electronics retailers, it's no accident. DVD players, including a few that can record, along with personal video recorders like those from Tivo (nasdaq: TIVO - news - people ) and SonicBlue's (nasdaq: SBLU - news - people ) ReplayTV, are increasingly popular.

 
 Marantz MV8300 D-VHS VCR
 
But if you've jumped ahead of your neighbors and invested in high-definition TV, recording HDTV programs in their native format can be a challenge. TiVo, for example, just announced a new model of its recorders that can record HDTV and should be available by the end of the year.

So it turns out that your best bet for recording HDTV is a VCR. But not just any VCR. You'll need a VCR that supports a new tape format called D-VHS. Marantz, the high-end audio and video manufacturer just announced its first D-VHS VCR last month. It's called the MV3800, and it supports several videotape formats. It will play all those old VHS tapes that have been collecting dust since you switched to DVD.

But if you have an HDTV set, this unit will also record your favorite programs, provided they're actually available in HDTV format. It also supports Super VHS and Super VHS ET playback.

It also comes with a full complement of digital and analog connections so it can integrate with your existing home entertainment setup. It has a video navigation feature that encodes tapes by category, recording date and ID number, which is intended to make locating tapes easier. It also supports VCR Plus recording.

But like we said, it isn't an ordinary VCR, and nowhere is that more apparent than with the price. It carries a suggested retail of about $1,600 and will be shipping to specialty retailers during the first quarter of this year.