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Blu-ray and HD DVD disc players have hit the US market already, not to mention PC Blu-ray writers, the one thing that remains besides HD recorders is the ability to shoot your own HD footage using optical media. Well, Sony has recently decided to work on a high definition camcorder that uses 8cm recordable discs, much like how DVD camcorders use 8cm DVD recordable media. However, rather than wait until Blu-ray matures, they have decided to develop yet another high definition format specifically for use in its camcorders.
Sony's new HD video format for HD camcorders is AVCHD, which has been developed by Sony and Matsushita Electric Industry (Panasonic). Its licensing has already reached version 1.0 and Sony plans to unveil its first high definition camcorder to use the AVCHD format on Wednesday next week. The purpose of this format is to give the convenience of DVD based camcorders, but with the ability to capture footage in high definition.
An 8cm recordable DVD holds up to 20 minutes of AVCHD footage using the standard play mode, however unlike 8cm DVDs recorded in existing DVD camcorders, these discs can only be played back on equipment capable of handling this format. While Blu-ray players can play AVC content, it is unclear at this time whether this disc format will be compatible or if a software update will become available.
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AVCHD has been developed by Sony and Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic) as a way to allow high-definition video to be stored on 8-centimeter DVDs. Conventional DVDs don't support high-definition video, but the new HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc optical disc formats are not yet mature enough for use in camcorders. Further details on the AVCHD format can be read here. |
With a very limited recording time per disc even in standard play, it will be interesting to see how well these compete with HD camcorders that use existing DV tapes as their storage medium. However, if these discs cannot play in set-top Blu-ray disc players, this would rule out the convenience of the format, since most consumers who buy DVD camcorders do so in order to be able to play their recordings in their DVD player without having to worry about transferring their footage off their camcorder to another medium.
Source: CIO Tech Informer
