The Toshiba RD-X2 is the the world’s first DVD video recorder with an integral 80 GB hard disk. The $1499.00 unit uses DVD-R and DVD-RAM technology and allows the user to time shift in real time with the PVR features of the hard disk. The unit also features four – count ’em – four inputs, which means that it should be easy to compile material from multiple sources and record it onto a DVD.

The only downside I can see is that the product doesn’t seem to included a Firewire (IEE1394) port, only S-Video, composite and RF. This is obviously to avoid easy digital piracy, but it’s a shame. However the really cool thing is that the RD-X2 supports up to 8x high speed dubbing from the hard disk to DVD – with no loss of quality – as well as double sided DVD RAM recording.

The hard disk will hold up to 36 hours of material at standard quality, and the software included a library function which can store and catalogue up to 3000 titles in the database. Phew! [via TechHeadNews.com] And here’s the Japanese site!