In 1999, Sony introduced the HSR-1P digital hybrid recorder, a new type of surveillance recorder that overcomes the limitations of both analog and digital recorders. The HSR recorder provides better picture quality, longer recording, and greater reliability than analog recorders. It also eliminates some of the common problems with digital recorders such as long upload times.

Sony now further strengthens its position in the surveillance recorder market by introducing the improved HSR-1P and the new HSR-2P recorders. The HSR-2P offers two exciting new features: increased recording capacity on a much larger hard disk drive and the ability to playback-during-recording.

New Features of the HSR-2P

The HSR advantage: HDD/DV Hybrid recording
The HSR recorders use both a hard disk drive (HDD) and a DV (digital video) tape drive for storage. Images are first stored on the hard disk and then, at given intervals, are automatically transferred to DV tape. Unique DV tape technology adds the advantages of high-density recording, large storage capacity and superb picture quality-in other words innovative video performance. The hybrid approach of this system dramatically reduces the burden on the tape drive and minimizes maintenance.

Why the hybrid recording system is superior to conventional digital recorders?
To many, digital recording means recording directly to a hard disk. But that is not the whole story: even digital systems can compromise picture quality because of storage-capacity limitations. Both for archiving purposes and to make space for new recordings, data on the hard disk must be transferred to another medium such as DAT. With the HSR's hybrid recording capabilities there are no compromises: the large storage capacity provides high picture quality, and archiving from the HDD to DV tape is done automatically while the unit continues to record.