JVC will ship a hard-disk-drive-based HD camcorder to dealers in September, the company said today.
The GZ-HD3 features a 60GB hard disk drive (HDD) and 3-CCD imager for recording 1440 by 1080i resolution MPEG-2 video.
The 60GB HDD can hold up to five hours of 30Mbps video in XP mode and up to seven hours of 22Mbps HD video in SP mode. A 1440CBR mode captures close to five hours of video in an HDV-editable format.
The HD3 features digital image stabilization, a focus-assist mode, manual controls, an automatic video light, and an SD card slot for recording both stills and HD video in SP mode. The camcorder cannot record simultaneously to the hard drive and SD card, said.
The camcorder also offers a 2.8-inch widescreen LCD; a microphone input; a built-in lens cover; and outputs for HDMI, USB, i.Link and AV-S. It will be bundled with HD editing software from and will retail for approximately $1,300.
JVC will offer the optional CU-VD40 HD Everio Share Station DVD burner for use with the HD3 and the previously announced HD7. It can burn HD footage to 12cm DVD discs. According to JVC, an 8.5GB dual-layer DVD can store roughly 55 minutes of HD video recorded in SP mode.
