CE giants &#39;readying Blu-ray camcorders&#39;
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Sony, Sharp and Matsushita plan to offer camcorders based on a cut-down version of the Blu-ray Disc, and could announce product as early as next year.
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Sony, Matsushita and other firms are planning to launch camcorders using next-generation, smaller DVDs in the Blu-ray format as early as 2005 to win a lead over a rival offering, a report said today.
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CHIBA, JAPAN -- Two companies supporting the Blu-ray Disc optical disc format unveiled prototype players at the Ceatec 2004 exhibition, taking place here this week.
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Latest camcorders enable users to record on formats ranging from mini-DVDs to memory cards to hard drives. With Hitachi, users get all three.
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The Blu-ray Disc Association has added the MPEG-4 AVC and VC-1 video codecs to its specification for prerecorded Blu-ray Disc media, it says this week.
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Sony's first consumer HD camcorder is expected to arrive in the U.S. soon.
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Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. showed Tuesday a camcorder that takes video at digital high-definition quality for the home.
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Many of Sony's new Cybershot cameras offer an output for HDTVs.
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Execs from the biggest studios talk business and technology at CES.
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(InfoWorld) - Sony announced Tuesday at the Ceatec show in Tokyo the addition of Blu-ray Disc to more PCs in its Vaio line. The Vaio Type-R master is an Intel Core 2 Duo-based machine loaded with high-definition editing and authoring software. With the new computers, Blu-ray Disc is now available in four of Sony's Vaio product lines. The systems will be available from Oct. 28 at prices between Â¥230,000 ($1,952) and Â¥550,000 ($4,664)depending on system configuration. A Blu-ray Disc drive will also be offered as a build-to-order option with Sony's Type-L computer. Sony also will launch a pair of Blu-ray Disc video recorders in Japan this December, the company said Tuesday. The machines both feature hard-disk drives for day-to-day recording and a Blu-ray Disc drive for longer term storage. The BDZ-V9 has a 500GB drive and the BDZ-V7 has a 250GB drive. There are two digital tuners in each recorder so that two high-definition programs can be recorded simultaneously. The recorders are designed to appeal to videophiles with demands for high specifications, including Linear PCM audio and 1080p (1,080 lines progressive scanning) output, which is the highest of several image levels judged to be high-definition. The recorders can also be connected to Sony's recently launched high-definition camcorders by a Firewire connection and can playback the AVCHD-format discs used in the cameras. The higher capacity BDZ-V9 will be launched on Dec. 8 and the BDZ-V7 will follow about a week later on Dec. 16. They will cost Â¥300,000 and Â¥250,000 ($2,541 and $2,118) respectively. The machines fill an important gap in Sony's high-definition strategy, which by now has HD-capable products in several parts of the consumer video market including televisions and video camcorders. These will be joined in November by the PlayStation 3 game console and then in December by the two new recorders announced Tuesday. Launching the recorders internationally is possible but nothing has been decided as of yet, Sony said.
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(InfoWorld) - Nothing's worse than delays when you're waiting for a hot new gadget. Just ask the tens of thousands of people who queued up all night for the PlayStation 3 when it made its global debut here in Japan Nov. 11. The console had originally been due out in the early part of the year but was held up by several problems. Judging by the lack of stock in stores, it's still difficult for people who want one to do so before the end of the year holidays. So it's nice to see Panasonic living up to the promise it made at this year's Ceatec show with the HDC-SD1 camcorder. This small-size high-definition video camera records straight to an SD card. If you hate dealing with tapes but want home movies in high-def glory this might be just the thing .... if you can afford it. By comparison, you could pick up three PlayStation 3 consoles for the price of this camcorder, assuming you can get your hands on them! Panasonic HD Camcorder The HDC-SD1 from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.Â (Panasonic) records AVCHD-format video directly to a SD (Secure Digital) memory card. A 4GB memory card, which costs around $200, can accommodate about 90 minutes of video when recorded at 6Mbps. The video is 1080i (1,080 horizontal lines, interlaced scanning), which is just below the 1080p (progressive scanning) system judged to be the highest of several video quality levels that fall within the high-definition bracket. It also has a 3CCD (charge coupled device) sensor behind the lens. It goes on sale in Japan in December for Â¥180,000 ($1,527) with a bundled 4GB card. Overseas launch plans have not been announced. Kenwood Media Keg Kenwood Corp.'s Media Keg provides yet more evidence that music players will get smaller and smaller until we can't see them anymore. The device, which has the snappy HD10GB7 model name, contains a 10GB hard-disk drive, measures just 44mm by 62mm by 17mm, and weighs 78 grams. It has a 1.5-inch OLED (organic light emitting diode) display on its front with a small keypad positioned directly under the display. You can play MP3, WAV and Windows Media audio files including those with Windows Media DRM10 digital rights management. It will go on sale in Japan in early December for around Â¥40,000 ($344) and while no international launch plans have been announced, the on-screen menu supports Japanese, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, and Spanish. TurboLinux Wizpy TurboLinux, perhaps best known for its Linux operating system, has a new MP3 player that is sure to interest geeks everywhere. The Wizpy does all the kinds of things you'd expect from a music player these days -- MP3, AAC, Ogg, JPEG images, and Divx videos -- and has a surprise: A partition with an install of the TurboLinux Fuji operating system. This means you can hook this up to a PC's USB port and boot into Linux and access installed applications. TurboLinux advertises it as your own OS in the palm of your hand and it certainly looks that way. The Wizpy will be out in Japan in February with no word yet on availability in other markets. There's no word yet on price. It weighs just 60 grams, which makes it lighter than most cell phones. Toshiba 8GB SD Card Hot on the heels of Panasonic's SD Card camcorder (see above) comes word from Toshiba that it will soon begin sellingÂ an 8GB high-speed SD (Secure Digital) memory card. The card will be available in January and supports the "class 4" high-speed data writing specification. Toshiba's new card should be able to hold about three hours of high-definition video from the Panasonic camcorder. The card will cost about Â¥40,000 ($340) in Japan. It will go on sale in Japan, North America, and Europe in early January. NEC Tough Laptop Drop it, freeze it, drench it -- do whatever you want to thisÂ new laptop from NEC. Well, almost anything. The "Shield Pro" FC-N21S laptop can withstand dust, extreme temperatures (between -20 and 50 degrees Celsius), water and drops of up to 90 centimeters -- just make sure that the machine is switched off and the lid is closed. The convertible-type PC has a 12.1-inch touch panel LED-backlit screen and runs on an Intel Core Solo processor at 1.2GHz. It will be available in January for between Â¥250,000 and Â¥300,000 ($2,165 and $2,600). A model with an 8GB solid state disk made up of flash memory chips will also be available. IOData Bath-proof HDD So, you're in the tub and have an urgent need to back-up data? Not to worry, IOData Device Inc.'s latest hard-disk drive is just the thing. There's a 1-inch hard-disk drive inside the case, which is waterproof and shockproof to one meter. Connection is via USB 2.0. There are two versions, one with 8GB of capacity and one with 12GB, and both will be available in Japan in mid-December for Â¥15,700 and Â¥21,000 respectively. IOData didn't announce international launch plans. R&D Corner: Samsung develops thinnest LCD Holding out the promise ofÂ even thinner cell phones, Samsung ElectronicsÂ said it has developed a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen that is no thicker than a credit card. The panel is 0.82mm thick and means, according to the company, that manufacturers will be able to trim up to 2.4mm from the thickness of a cell phone. That's good news for consumers looking for slimmer and sleeker handsets. The LCD panel should be in production in the second half of 2007 so will likely turn-up in cell phones late next year or in 2008. Â
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The company's latest digital camera includes advanced video features.
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In addition to introducing a long list of HD TVs and camcorders, Panasonic on Sunday announced that it will participate in a new company designed to help collect and recycle such products when consumers are done with them.Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba have jointly formed a new company, Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company (MRM), to provide services to other companies as well as governmental bodies that must comply with recycling mandates in the U.S.The company has already started working in Minnesota, which recently enacted new rules for electronics recycling. MRM has collected about 750 tons of used products there.The company plans to expand its programs to other states this year and next, including Connecticut, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Washington.So far, MRM has set up collection and recycling agreements with Hitachi, JVC, Mitsubishi, Philips, Pioneer, Sanyo and others, Panasonic said.Before figuring out their new recycling opportunities, consumers will be able to choose from a long list of new HD camcorders and flat panel TVs that Panasonic also introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Panasonic said that it plans to adopt its Viera brand name for all sizes of flat panel displays going forward.The company expects that as consumers in the U.S. begin the countdown to the switch to digital broadcasting, they&#39;ll upgrade to new HD TVs. &quot;In this final year before the digital transition, more and more people will approach this new way of living,&quot; said Shiro Kitajima, president of Panasonic&#39;s consumer electronics business.Users will be able to control those TVs along with their related components through a single remote. Viera Link lets users easily do things like play back photos from an SD card that slides into Panasonic&#39;s plasma TVs.Consumers will be able to store more on those SD cards, since Panasonic plans to launch later this month a new 32G-byte HD SD card, one of the largest available. The card will hold five and a half hours of full HD video, Panasonic said.Users of the cards can plug them directly into a new Blu-Ray disk player that Panasonic is introducing at the conference and watch HD footage directly from the card.Panasonic hinted at other announcements to come on Monday, when Panasonic&#39;s AVC Networks Company president delivers a keynote address.
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Prototype Blu-ray Disc, HD-DVD players were shown at CES.
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The electronics maker is poised to become the leader in high-definition following the demise of HD DVD.
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Ahead: larger HDTV sets, better color, more playback and recording choices.
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Sony is previewing a new camcorder that takes video in digital high-definition quality for consumers. The four pound (HDR-FX1) device is set to go one sale next month in Japan and around the world by the end of the year.