

The smaller D-B305K comes with a still spacious 320-gigabyte hard disk, while the bulky D-BW1005K is in essence a D-B1005K with a VHS video recorder mixed in for good measure. All three of them are intended to make it easy to record from DVDs to Blu-ray discs, using the hard disk as temporary storage while the footage is moved from one type of disc to the other.

Interestingly, the new Vardias come with a remarkable seven TV tuners (a pair of terrestrial digital tuners, a pair of BS tuners, a pair of CS tuners and one analog TV tuner). The trio of paired tuners allow users to record one program in that format while watching a second. The three recorders also each have an HDMI interface, a USB port, LAN connectivity and an SD memory-card slot for playing video off a memory card.

Again, the D-BW1005K bulks up, to 7.2 kg. Despite their different sizes, all three have the same dark look, which shows that digital-recorder makers put as much thought into appearances as most PC makers do. Toshiba's products are heavy on the features, a fact reflected in their price tags. The D-B305K quite naturally is cheapest at ¥99,800, with its big brother costing ¥129,800. The D-BW1005K carries the highest price tag of ¥139,800.


The adapter works on 100-240 volts, measures 128.8 × 70 × 23.6 mm and weighs 263 grams without the cables. It also has four types of surge protection built into it. The mCube90 costs $99.99 (¥9,000) from the Innergie Web site. If you travel with a lot of devices then the mCube90 makes sense. But first check out the Innergie Web site as to whether your gadgets will work with the mCube90. (The Japan Times)