Hitachi introduces 1080p Blu-ray camcorder

Hitachi has introduced the world's first camcorder that can record directly to 1080p Blu-ray disc.

The camcorder will record to small, three inch BD-R/RE discs that are capable of storing up to 7GB of data. Although that number is far smaller than what regular sized Blu-ray discs can handle, 25-50GB, it is still much higher than a three inch DVD.

The device has a 5.3-megapixel CMOS sensor that can capture images in full blown 1080p and so the camcorder should take full advantage of Blu-ray. The device will also use AVC/H.264 MPEG-4 encoding for better compression but it is also equipped with MPEG-2 as a standard definition fallback.

No word yet on the release date or price, but insiders believe it will be out before the holiday rush.

Source:
Electronista

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Jul 2007 14:09

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14 comments

limelight

7gb of hi-def video cant be very long i would think, plus the fact that the full size are still $25 a pop isnt good either.

22.7.2007 15:21 #1

akaangus

I think 7GB would be about 45 minutes to an hour of video. My MiniDV camcorder only gets about 45 minutes or so in good quality so 7gb isn't really that bad.

22.7.2007 17:31 #2

spydah

Sounds cool but im certain the price is gonna burn a hole in your sole and pockets.

22.7.2007 17:38 #3

rihgt682

"Blu ray is great cause it has 50gb"
What's the point of having 50gb disc if you can't even USE IT.

22.7.2007 18:10 #4

lxfactor

Originally posted by rihgt682: "Blu ray is great cause it has 50gb"
What's the point of having 50gb disc if you can't even USE IT.you can use it with other things. not just this gadget here. and besides 7gb is plenty for now.

22.7.2007 19:26 #5

klassic

Everyone wants smaller electronics these days. So to keep with the current size of most camcorders they had to use the smaller BD. Do you want to lug around a big a$$ camcorder that uses a full size disc? And what are you recording that you really need more than an hour straight of footage? You can just switch disks.

22.7.2007 19:36 #6

c.trigger

Originally posted by akaangus: I think 7GB would be about 45 minutes to an hour of video. My MiniDV camcorder only gets about 45 minutes or so in good quality so 7gb isn't really that bad.mini dv can hold 60 minutes worth of footage and that is 13gb worth of space.

22.7.2007 22:04 #7

hughjars

It technically interesting and I guess it's a start down this road but......

Does anyone have any idea how much DL 50gb Blu-ray media costs right now!?

You're not going to find too many takers for filming their usual home-movie stuff when DL Blu-ray discs are so incredibly expensive.

23.7.2007 04:03 #8

ville30

Bah a 60Gb HDD would have been great.

23.7.2007 05:51 #9

emugamer

Originally posted by ville30: Bah a 60Gb HDD would have been great.lol...yeah, if they can squeeze and 80GB HDD in an iPod, why not throw one in a camcorder?

23.7.2007 08:01 #10

stumpied

Yes, very good point about the hard drive. And what about these mini disks, can they be played in a normal blu ray player? An what about hooking it up to your television. What kind of conections are coming from the camcorder? No use using 1080P if you can't make use of it easily.

Interesting none the less, but doersn't seem very feasible.

23.7.2007 08:54 #11

ugc

Plus, they have USB flash drives that are 16 gb now. Why not use those instead?

23.7.2007 10:31 #12

borhan9

Only 7 gigs worth on the new HD Blu-Ray DVD's thats a shame they should have made it standard DVD definition so i can store much more on it.

23.7.2007 20:47 #13

hughjars

Originally posted by borhan9: Only 7 gigs worth on the new HD Blu-Ray DVD's thats a shame they should have made it standard DVD definition so i can store much more on it. - The irony, huh?

lol

.....I wonder why they seem to have set their faces so dead against the BD9 standard (Blu-ray - like HD DVD - also has a part in the spec where use of 'regular' DVD9s to store BD is supposed to be possible); I wonder why they refuse to use it?

Too much competition from the much cheaper DVD9 compared to the BD discs?

24.7.2007 15:07 #14

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