Tokyo – Hitachi Maxell introduced here removable hard disk drives, billed as the first to be capable of recording copyright protected high definition content without quality loss, and announced plans to include them a line of Hitachi flat-panel televisions.
The Maxell hard drives, which are called the Removable Hard Disk Drive iV, will come in storage capacities of 80GB and 160GB. Pricing will run about $170 and $300, respectively. They are said to be the world’s first appliances employing iVDR, a standard developed by the iVDR Consortium, which lists over 50 member companies.
Both are said to be small enough to fit in the palm of the hand, and list data transfer rates of 540 Mbit/s, which is 7.5 times faster than Blu-ray Discs.
Employing SAFIA copyright protection technology, the information Versatile Disk for Removable usage (iVDR)-compatible hard drive is capable of recording and transferring copyrighted HD and standard definition content.
The Removable Hard Disk Drive iV will be included in select Hitachi Wooo flat-panel TVs, which will feature an iVDR-compatible slot iV pocket.
Devices using iVDR will be used as bridge media to record HD and SD content that can be viewed on a player or in a car, the company said.
The Maxell hard drives feature glass-fiber plastic cartridge housings that protect vital internal parts while withstanding a wide range of ambient temperatures, the company said. Shock resistance is said to be high enough to withstand external shocks that may occur with normal use. The hard drives come with storage cases.
According to a Reuter’s report from Japan, Hitachi plans to equip plasma and LCD TVs with 250GB internal hard drives and the new removable 80GB or 160GB drives, starting April 20 in Japan.
The company plans to market the sets overseas in one to two years, Reuters reported. Queries to U.S. Hitachi executives were not answered as this was posted.
