Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Wednesday it will release on July 31 a next-generation DVD recorder that can record high-definition TV programs.
The product, to be released under the Panasonic brand, will be the second recorder with the Blu-ray Disc format to hit the market following one launched by Sony Corp. in April 2003.
Blu-ray is one of two next-generation formats. It is promoted by Matsushita and Sony, while the HD DVD format is promoted by Toshiba Corp. and NEC Corp.