CVS Offers One-Time-Use Camcorder
By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 6/20/2005
Woonsocket, R.I. — CVS announced that it will roll out a single-use video recorder based on the Pure Digital Imaging platform to 4,500 of its stores by the end of the month. The $29.99 video camera records 20 minutes of video which CVS then burns to a DVD for $12.99.
According to both companies, the CVS rollout represents the first time that video recording has been incorporated in the single use business model. According to Pure Digital, CVS will be the exclusive distributor of the product initially “but not indefinitely.”
The camcorder features VGA resolution, a three-button operation (on/off, record and delete), a 20 minute recording capacity and a 1.4-inch color LCD for framing and reviewing video. Users can delete unwanted video clips.
Once recorded, consumers return the device to CVS where a DVD is created using Pure Digital's imaging platform — the same system which creates prints from the Pure Digital single-use digital still camera.
The DVD features a main menu and individually titled scenes to delineate each video clip. The DVD also offers an application for e-mailing video clips or video greeting cards.
According to a Pure Digital spokesperson, the success of single-use film cameras and CVS' success with the single-use digital camera validated the move to video.
“The Pure Digital DVD that comes with processing also offers something new — it makes it extremely easy to capture, archive and share video clips,” the spokesperson said.
