How does the acronym AVCHD grab you? I have no idea what it stands for. Maybe it’s not an acronym at all and it’s a word in some weird freaky language, like German.

But I do know what it is: a new HD camcorder format from the minds of Sony and Panasonic. It uses MPEG4, which is more efficient at compressing video than good old MPEG2. And it also uses standard 8cm DVD’s. So the camcorders will record HD content onto standard a DVD using MPEG4, giving you about 20 minutes of video.

What’s that? I don’t know about you, but 20 minutes is a piddling amount to me. Why would anyone bother with a camcorder that can only record 20 minutes of video? Even if it is in HD?

Sony and Panasonic announce camcorder HD format

Sony’s coming out with another HD camcorder, and it’s badder and better at the same time. And by “badder” I just mean, well, “better”.

Sony has shrunk its high-definition camcorder in both size and price - the new HDR-HC3E is now 25% lighter and 26% smaller than its predecessor, HDR-HC1E. Weighing just 510g, the HD Codec Engine in HDR-HC3E records in 1080 effective scanning lines, twice as many compared to Standard Definition and captures 4 times more video information on every single minor detail for a vivid memory for the pleasure viewing on HDTV. Its multi-connectivity HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) connects to any digital visual interface devices like a television or a home theatre system with the same cable, to enable instant viewing of movies in high-definition quality.

This little wonder has an MSRP of $2699. Still on the expensive side for a camcorder, but it is HD after all. And prices will come down. Now if only they could invent software that sucks in all your camcorder tapes and spits out nicely edited family videos…

Sony Launches Lightweight and Compact HD Camcorder with HDMI

When my brother first told me about this camera, I thought it was a hoax. You know how before the Xbox 360 or PS3 designs were revealed, lots of computer-rendered shots of supposed “official” versions of the consoles were “leaked”. And they all turned out to be fakes, of course.

Well, it looks like this thing, as crazy as it looks, might actually be the real deal. It’s an HD video camera, but man it looks funky! It has a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor to make this camera truly HD.

You can reserve one of these baby for a paltry $1000. (Refundable, of course.) Final MSRP is tentatively set at $17,500.

Whew!

Red One Camera - Now With Mysterium!

With the NAB conference going on this week, there are many new announcements of new hardware and software.

A couple pieces of software of note are Scenarist 4 and CineVision HD authoring. Seems that beta of these packages were used for many of the HD-DVD titles out there. Most of us will never use this in our homes, but it definitely confirms that all those people with HD-DVDs are running beta software.

Sonic Ships Scenarist 4 and CineVision HD Authoring Systems

Mike at HD for Indies writes about an HD camera shootout, and it makes for interesting reading. It has lots of goodies in there, including what kind of video you can get from these cameras. For example, the Panasonic HVX200 gives you these formats:

When shooting:
720p24 - you get 720p60 coming down the wire with 2:3:3:2 or 2:3:2:3 repeating pattern, not sure which at the moment, gotta look it up - that’ll make life interesting in post…

720p60 - is 720p60 coming down the wire - whew! At least there it is 1:1

1080p24 - comes down the wire as 1080i60 with classic 3:2 pulldown, mixed fields. I dub this 1080p24on60

1080i60 - comes across as 1080i60, 1:1, so that the fields will match between live and tape capture
…so clearly a little research or documentation to be done here

This camera has no HD-SDI output, so we used either the Multibridge Extreme (I dub it MB-X for short) or an AJA HD-10A to convert the HD analog outputs to HD-SDI for input into either the MB-X, an AJA Kona2 card, or a DeckLink HD Pro Dual Link card (have to check notes to see exactly what used)

He mentions the Panasonic HVX200, JVC GY-HD100U, Sony Z1U, Canon XL H1, Sony F350, and Panasonic Varicam. He also talks about post considerations. Neat stuff.

Texas Shootout Status Update and Post Considerations

Ulead, who was going to include a bunch of Blu-ray Disc (BD) authoring functionality in their DVD Movie Factory 5 software, has backpedaled the decision. It looks like the BD component isn’t quite ready yet, so they won’t be including it after all. They hope to include it in a future version.

“We remain committed to providing customers the best video experience no matter the next generation disc format they choose and look forward to re-instating support for Blu-ray Disc when the current verification process is complete”, Eldon C. M. Liu, president of Ulead said.

Ulead and InterVideo are confident that the testing process will conclude smoothly and that Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 will earn the distinction of being the first Application Software to receive full Blu-ray Disc verification.

Retail customers who purchase Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 online or through traditional channels during the Blu-ray Disc Verification Program will be offered a download the BD DiscRecorder module at no cost from the Ulead Website after testing is complete.

Pocket-lint - Ulead ditch Blu-ray support in DVD authoring software news story in Home entertainment

Want an HD camcorder that fits in your pocket? Or how about just a review of such a camcorder? Engadget points to the article which is just that. The camcorder has a 10x optical zoom lens and uses CMOS image sensors. The camera performs well in daylight, though there is some noise when using it in dimly lit rooms. (Just like my traditional camcorder.) The reviewer said that it is a little awkward to hold at chest height, which is weird because a lot of camcorders are like that. The camcorder use MiniDV tapes and records in the HDV format. Interestingly, there are HDMI, Firewire, and analog HD outputs, which is handy. The camcorder still costs $1700, but if you want a consumer HD camcorder, it’s one of the best deals around. And anyway, it’s still cheaper than the HC1 pictured here.

Engadget - Sony HDR-HC3 HD camcorder reviewed

It was only a matter of time. Samsung is releasing a digital camera with an HDMI output for viewing those high res photos in HD. Isn’t that great? I think it’s a cool idea, and if didn’t already have a digital camera I’d look for one with a feature like that. Neato.

HDTV UK - Samsung’s Digital Camera with HDMI Connection

Sony yesterday announced the Sony HDR-HC3 HDV 1080i camcorder. This little cutie is 26% smaller than it’s predecessor, and is cheaper to boot. It has an HDMI output, a Carl Zeiss lens, and a CMOS sensor. The camcorder also shoots 4 megapixel still images and stores them on a much-maligned (though I like them) MemoryStick card. The camcorder uses miniDV tapes, and has that ever-so-handy image stabilization feature.

This camcorder will be available in April for $1700 which, unfortunately, is still out of my reach. I’m currently in the process of buying a new car (probably a Jetta 2.0T) and I don’t think my wife would appreciate my coming home with one of these. (Never mind the fact that I’d have to give up my leather seats to do so.)

eCoustics - Sony HDR-HC3 HDV 1080i Camcorder Announced

Engadget has a sneak peak at the new Sony camcorder, the HDR-HC3. It’s somewhat of a little brother to the HDR-HC1, with a lower gross pixel count, but it has higher resolution stills and a higher res LCD display.

I have a Sony camorder, but as yet my video escapades still reside in the real of SD. One day…

engadget - Sony’s HDR-HC3 HD camcorder leaked

Yahoo! has an article about HD camcorders, and they point out a couple interesting things. Like the fact that buying an HD camcorder is still an expensive affair. And the fact that editing video requires a beafier computer:

You need a powerful computer with plenty of memory to deal with this extra data and compression. For example, Pinnacle recommends a minimum of 512MB of system memory and a graphics card with 128MB of RAM for standard-resolution video, but that goes up to 1GB of system memory and a 256MB graphics card for working with 1080i HD video. That’s a minimum requirement–the more memory, the merrier.

Luckily there is plenty of software to edit HD video. But what are you going to do when you’re done editing your video? You can watch it back on your computer, sure. Or if you find some way to transfer it to a DVHS HD tape, then you got it made. But who has a DVHS player? You’ll have to wait for BD and HD DVD recorders and players to hit the market before your lovely vacation in Bermuda can be shown off in HD on your HDTV. But wait - there is another option. There are a couple DVD players out there than can play HD from normal DVD’s, stored in the WM9 format. But this will also probably end up being a solution just for yourself. Not many people have those compatible players.

Yahoo! News - Making Movies: HD Camcorders not Ready for Prime Time?

I just bought myself a 1GB memory card for my new digital camera. (The camera was a surprising gift from my wife. It’s a wonderful Sony CyberShot 7.2 MegaPixel affair.)

If I owned a new Sanyo VPC-HD1 camcorder, that 1GB of memory would hold 21 minutes of HD video. Yup, the camcorder can record directly to a memory card (SD cards in this case). And for just $800. (Well, “just” is a relative term. Still too expensive for me.)

The VPC-HD1 weighs just 8.3 ounces (235g) and measures 3.1 by 4.7 by 1.4 inches (7.9 by 11.9 by 3.6 cm) and features a 5.3 Gross Megapixel CCD, a 2.2-inch flip-out OLED display with 210,000 total pixels, as well as a 10x optical zoom, and a docking station with a USB 2.0 port for transferring video to a computer.

Designtechnica - Sanyo VPC-HD1 to do HD Video for $800