Sony, Hitachi and Panasonic release DVD based camcorders

December 19, 2003

While DVD recorders are proving popular in PCs and as beginning to take off as standalone units, camcorders are next to take on DVD recordable technology. While DVD recording technology in camcorders is not new, only Hitachi had offered it in camcorders back to 2000 and never took off. Now, Sony, Hitachi and Panasonic have joined in offering DVD camcorder products.

The aim of using DVD recordable technology in camcorders is to make it as simple as possible to play it back on standalone equipment without having to first re-tape the content to VHS or transfer to the PC for conversion & recording to DVD. The idea is that one can film as with any other camcorder, remove the recorded DVD and pop into any DVD player for playback. Pricing does not come cheap ranging from $ 900 to $ 1,100 for the products currently available. As with any other new technology, prices are expected to fall over time.

All brands use 8-cm (3 inch) DVD-R's and are capable of recording from 20 minutes of sharp high quality footage to 60 minutes of low quality footage. Rewriteable DVD recordable discs are required for editing on the camera itself. Unfortunately, these camcorders are not aimed at those who take footage for editing on the PC as the only gain is that one does no have to connect a cable up to the PC to transfer the content. GristyMcFisty submitted the following article from Yahoo via our news submit :

With DVD players now in about half of U.S. households, the idea makes sense. Why shouldn't camcorders record directly onto a blank DVD, sparing users the trouble of transferring images from a tape to a computer hard drive and then to a disc?

Sony has now joined
Hitachi and Panasonic in offering DVD camcorders. Hitachi was first, in
2000, and is on its third try. Panasonic jumped in last year, and Sony's
models began shipping in October.

Their pitch: just shoot, pop out the
disc, drop it into a DVD player and hit play.

Well, almost. The 3-inch discs must be
"finalized" before they can be shown on a DVD player, a fairly simple
exercise that entails following a few prompts and usually takes only a few
minutes.

The convenience comes at a hefty price.
All three manufacturers offer models for $ 900. Hitachi also has one for $
1,000, with sharper images in the built-in still camera and a color
viewfinder. Sony has models for $ 1,000 and $ 1,100.

Compare that to the many high-quality
digital camcorders for under $ 600 using other formats, such as Mini-DV
tapes, and you may want to wait a year or two for prices to fall.

Another drawback is the limited editing
features. You can delete or rearrange cuts, but for more creative work,
like blending scenes and adding music, files must be transferred to a hard
drive, just like Mini-DV tapes and other formats available at much lower
prices.

Read the full article
here.

While these look like the ideal replacement to VHS-C and 8mm camcorders, prices will certainly need to come down in order to compete. Due to the lower quality of DVD compared with DV recordings, it is unlikely that they would compete against DV camcorders for the professionals, particularly those who need very high quality footage such as for public broadcasting and so on. They would come in handy for making permanent recordings such as at weddings and holidays with virtually no risk of accidental deletion on DVD-R's.

Discuss and read more about video editing and authoring on our Video (e.g. MPEG-4), (S)VCD Editing and Authoring Forum.

Source: Yahoo Technology News