After beating competitors out of the gate with a high-definition video disc player, Toshiba launched its first high-definition recorder in Japan in July.

Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. ("Toshiba"), announced today its 2006 line-up of new digital video recorders. As a market leader in the DVD category, the highlights of the new line-up include an expansion of models with High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and hard disk drive models with TV Guide On Screen® Interactive Program Guide.

The new RD-XS54 Multi-Drive from Toshiba seems to be an upgrade from RD-XS34 which had similar features but no network capabilities. The RD-XS54 is meant to let you schedule recordings via your home PC or email. It also allows easy dubbing from one network DVR to another, when they are connected in the same network. Plus, most people will find a PC scroll mouse controlled DVR more easy to use when editing video materials.