Sharp Corp said it would launch a Blu-ray high-definition DVD recorder with a 1-terabyte hard disk drive (HDD), the world's largest storage capacity on any Blu-ray recorder, as it competes with the HD DVD camp. Sharp, along with Sony Corp and Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, promotes Blu-ray optical disc technology, while Toshiba Corp and Microsoft Corp back the rival HD DVD format.

The 1-terabyte model, capable of recording 127 hours of digital high-definition programs, will go on sale on December 1 in Japan for about 300,000 yen ($2,616).

Sharp also plans to offer eight other new Blu-ray recorder models by the end of the year in Japan in a bid to replace video cassette recorders and conventional DVD machines.

The Osaka-based company said on Wednesday it has no specific plans at the moment for overseas launch of these products.

Video rental chain Blockbuster Inc, the largest U.S. provider of home movie entertainment, in June came out in favor of the Blu-ray format.

But Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc signed exclusivity deals last month to distribute their next-generation discs on Toshiba's HD DVD format for the next 18 months, a move that evened a contest where the Blu-ray camp appeared to be pulling ahead.

($1=114.68 Yen)

Japan Electronics Sony