Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC) is pleased to announce the Japanese launch in early March of the "GR-HD1" high-definition digital video camera, the first consumer digital video camera in the world to record and play back digital high-definition images, and to be announced in the United States later this year. By utilizing a newly developed 1/3 inch-type 1.18 million pixel progressive scan CCD and JVC proprietary processing, the new camera records and plays back 750/30p (1280x720/30p viewable) digital high-definition and 525p progressive wide images to mini DV tape. Adding to the traditional way of enjoying high-definition content by "viewing" and "recording", the "GR-HD1" offers a new way to enjoy high-definition images through "creating."
The first consumer digital video camera in the world to record and play back digital high-definition images (750/30p). The "GR-HD1" records digital high-definition images (750/30p) to mini DV tapes using MPEG 2 compression, while maintaining conventional 525i DV standard recording times.
The "GR-HD1" comes with an optical 10X zoom lens and built-in optical image stabilizer. It also uses a newly developed 1/3 inch-type 1.18 million pixel (1.14 million effective pixels) progressive scan CCD. Because of its JVC original signal processing circuitry and driving system, it can record multi-format high-quality, high-resolution images.
3 recording modes ("HD mode", "SD mode", and "DV mode") "HD Mode" records 750/30p digital high-definition images, "SD Mode" 525p progressive wide images, "DV Mode" in the conventional 525i DV standard. Users can freely select among the 3 modes according to their requirements. "Down converter" and "Up converter" functions adapt the camera to any monitor. Up converter converts 750/30p digital high-definition images and 525p progressive wide images to the 1125i high-definition standard; Down converter converts images to the conventional 525i broadcast standard, enabling images to be enjoyed on any monitor. The camera's grip section rotates by up to 90 degrees so camera operators can film at low angles without removing their hand from the grip. The grip adjusts its position to suit the operator during filming, enabling more stable filming at all times.
The accessory kit sold separately includes "MPEG Edit Studio Pro 1.0 LE," an MPEG2-HD editing software package for digital High-definition images. This is the first consumer MPEG2 software to provide frame accurate editing capabilities.
Digital high-definition broadcasting and high-definition displays such as PDPs, as well as terrestrial digital broadcasting scheduled to launch in Japan in December 2003 are expected to expand the high-definition market even farther.
In anticipation of these changes in the high-definition environment, JVC, with its slogan of "communicating excitement via music and images" has already launched a number of high-definition technologies enabling users to enjoy high-definition video. On the recording side it offers D-VHS high definition VCRs; on the viewing side high-definition televisions and PDPs with DIST (Digital Image Scaling Technology). The "GR-HD1" represents the next step forward from "recording and viewing" to "creating" high-definition video. It is a new evolution in the "JVC high-definition world."