Occasionally, I check European AV threads and browse the region-specific Amazon sites dedicated to UK, Germany, etc. to get an idea of recorder trends outside North America. The last few months I've noticed a steady drop in availability of PAL-format DVD/HDD recorders to the point where almost none are promoted anymore (while last year Panasonic alone fielded a half-dozen models). It appears the extended honeymoon of non-USA DVD/HDD recorders is over: global consumer indifference has caught up to North American malaise.
At the moment, the most commonly available PAL recorders are the pricey Panasonic BluRay/HDD machines (in several variants of tuner qty, satellite compatibility, HDD size, etc). But these already seem to be on the verge of decline after just a couple years on the market. The hot new recorder product springing up from several brands is a more affordable configuration that none of us anticipated: BluRay players with built-in hi-def HDD tuner/recorders (no disc burning feature). Whether these will turn up in North America is anyone's guess: they rely on uniform gov't-sponsored EPG and satellite standards overlapping several European countries (standards conspicuously absent from USA).
Versions made for USA would be no different from a Magnavox 515, aside from the additions of HiDef recording to HDD, and BluRay playback (we'd lose the DVD recording/dubbing option). There would still be the same issues that plague all non-subscription recorders in US/Canada: lack of convenient EPG, and no cable/satellite integration whatsoever. By the time such BD Player/HDD recorder models turn up at Best Buy, the price point might be around $299 (they currently run the equivalent of $399 in Europe). Pitched as an upgraded BluRay player with hi-def time-shifting capability, these might just succeed where the standard-def DVD/HDD recorder failed. No joy for those of us who need disc burning, unfortunately.
