[MacDV] JVC $3K HD DV miniDV Camcorder

[Thubten Kunga]

This just in. I've read negative skeptical analysis about JVC's 
proprietary HD DV compression scheme. Any thoughts?

Kunga

VS NEWSWIRE
A PRIMEDIA Property
January 21, 2003


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http://enews.primediabusiness.com/enews/videosystems/v/60



TOP STORY

--JVC Offers Consumer HDTV Camcorder
Sometime soon, at a camera store near you...consumer HD camcorders from 
JVC? That's right. A January 15th release from JVC Company of America 
(that's the consumer, not pro side of the company) spots the 
highly-capable camcorder as ideal for that everyday user -- or at least 
those that can afford those fancy home HD theater systems.

"Now the consumers that have invested in HD display devices can create 
their own HD content, worthy of the display it is being shown on," says 
Jerry Barbera, vice president, consumer video at JVC.

The camcorder was initially announced last August at CEATEC Japan, a 
consumer show. Expected to price under $3,000, the camcorder records 
both 720p and 480p in a native 16:9 format. The cassette holds 
specially formulated but otherwise standard miniDV tape. The 480i 
recording employs standard DV compression.

Playback at 480i integrates with 4:3 NTSC displays, but the camcorder 
also turns out 480p, 720p, and 1080i. JVC will offer Firewire and 
component video out for monitor hookup.

Nothing more specific was available at press time, but a JVC spokesman 
said a more detailed announcement is coming January 22nd, the day after 
this newsletter hits the wires. The camera, which comes out later this 
year, would be a boon to everyone who's bumped up against the limits of 
the 480 interlaced image.

This announcement is another example that JVC doesn't plan to take a 
back seat in the HD world to come. Last April, Cortland, New York-based 
Photon Vision Systems announced that JVC would integrate Photon's 
unique 8.3 million pixel CMOS QuadHDTV sensors into a hi res camera 
under development. The JVC Ultra High Definition TV camera, said 
Photon, would include three of the CMOS chips to deliver a resolution 
of 3840 x 2160 pixels.

Expect an interesting NAB 2003.

--By Dan Ochiva, senior technical editor of Video Systems and 
Millimeter magazines.