RSSJVC Introduces Hard Disk Camcorders
By Ed Oswald | Published June 14, 2005, 12:13 PM
Electronics maker JVC on Tuesday announced it will launch the largest hard drive based video camcorders available, which require no tapes and will record at near-DVD quality for around $1,000. The models will include either a 20 or 30GB hard-disk, capable of recording 7 or 10.5 hours of high-quality video.
"To put the storage capacity in context, it would take 22 DVD camcorder discs to hold seven hours of video," the company said in a statement. There will be two models of each capacity, a standard model, and another that adds a 1.33 megapixel CCD.
The camcorders are lightweight and roughly the same size as standard mini DV cameras. Like most modern camcorders, the units will include a flip out LCD monitor for easier viewing. To transfer the movies taken from a camera, a user will be able to connect the camera to a PC or Mac, or directly connect it to a DVD-burner to record movies straight to disc.
The movies will be recorded in MPEG-2, which JVC says saves time over competing models, as there is no conversion needed. MPEG-2 is the format used for DVD video and audio.
JVC says that hard drive based recording offers benefits over traditional tape, such as easier location of recorded video and the ability to rearrange playback on the fly for dubbing purposes. Also, there is no risk of accidental erasing of video as each new recording is saved to a new file.
The hard drive camcorders are expected to hit retail shelves this August.
No mention about battery expectancy hopefully 7-8 hours.
The hard drives could be bigger thou so if your on vacation you dont have to worry about taking a external hard drive with you mind you a portalble media center would go good with it they have 60 megs i think so you can still view the files but they to cost a small fortune and would require a usb conection to the camera.
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near dvd quality? hope someone can come out with a true dvd quality
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Im exited. I hope that these will be capable Firewire 800 so that you can transfer videos back and forth quickly. I have one problem with this though. They should have it about 60 gb so that you can actually replace mini DV. If i were to go on vacation for a week i may record more than 7 hours and if i did i wouldn't be able to record more than that because you cant simply buy more tapes. This is a very good idea though now i dont have to worry about organizing and labeling tapes.
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Cool! I want one. No tapes, no disks nothing to buy or lose. This is great!
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