Sony Whale of a DVR.

October 12, 2004 -- SONY has unveiled the ultimate digital record ing device — a monster machine that can record six TV channels for almost a week straight.


The 1,000 gigabyte hard-drive device attached to the new recorder, called the Vaio Type X, makes TiVo and the DVRs (digital video recorders) distributed by cable companies like Time Warner look like pocket calculators.


But there's a catch. It costs a whopping $4,700 and will only be available in Japan for now.


The machine has its own software that displays recorded programs like a personal on-screen TV guide, with content grouped into different categories like sports, drama or comedy.


The Vaio X uses six TV tuners to record six channels at once for a week, swallowing more than 19 hours of programming a day. Or it can be set to run for five and a half days of continuous recording.


Compared to TiVo, the Vaio X is a whale.


A deluxe version of TiVo runs about $300 and can record just one channel for 140 hours, or roughly six days.


With a few million customers around the U.S., digital recording is being touted as the wave of the future — at least for the moment.


Users can set their machines to automatically record their favorite shows each week, with programming being stored on a hard drive instead of video tapes.