While it's rather strange for Sony, who's constantly promoting its expensive Blu-ray recorders, to come up with a less-expensive device, it seems that the weakening demand and the economic crisis are making them rethink their marketing strategy as they go. So, the company has decided to play it safe and has just announced for the Japanese market the BRX-A320, a new HDD recorder designed to work with its Bravia line of HDTVs.

As the name hints, the fresh device from Sony comes packed with a 320GB HDD, which allows it to record up to 27 hours of HD television digital broadcasting or up to 55 hours of standard-definition broadcasting. However, the device can go as high as 249 hours, in LP mode (standard-definition picture quality).

As you might have guessed, the BRX-A320 comes packed with a high-end digital tuner, which makes it compatible with terrestrial digital and BS 110 degree CS digital broadcasts. It only sports one output interface, though, namely an HDMI connector. Power consumption is relatively low (around 30W), while the form factor is rather classic, the recorder measuring 25.5 cm x 5.2 cm x 14.8 cm.

One of the strangest things about the new HDD recorder from Sony is its compatibility range. Hence, although we really expected it to work with pretty much any Bravia model, the truth of the matter is that the device works only with a limited number of models, namely X7000/X5050/X5000/W5000/V5000/V3000/J5000/J3000/XR1/X1/W1/F1/V1/J1/V5/J5 Series. While the company doesn't point out what the exact reasons behind this decision are, it might actually have something to do with the fact that the BRX-A320 sports just a single HDMI interface.

Given this situation, plus the fact that the BRX-A320 will only be available in Japan for around 50,000 Yen (415 US dollars), it's very likely that the fresh HDD recorder from Sony will not record a huge level of success.

 
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