First 4.7GB DVD-RAM-Standard Compliant DVD Camcorder DVD Video Recorder

and DVD Drives for PCs 

 

 

 

 

Digital Media Group of Hitachi, Ltd. announced that on August 25 it will release the world's first DVD-RAM camcorder in Japan. In addition, a DVD-RAM video recorder will be released on the same day, and volume shipments of 4.7GB DVD-RAM and DVD-ROM drives for PCs will follow after the end of June. The DVD-RAM products are based on the 4.7GB DVD-RAM standard.

In the field of audiovisual (AV) equipment, the pace of the shift to digital video and audio continues to increase at a rapid pace. At the same time, the advent of faster CPUs and the growing capacities of hard-disk drives is driving a migration of AV applications to the PC and other digital appliances. To enable this process of convergence to achieve its full potential, there is a need for a large-capacity media format that is compatible with both AV equipment and PCs. DVD-RAM standard is based on the concept that holds compatibility in both video recorders and storage devices for PCs through DVD-RAM disk media. Setting DVD standards is a mission of the DVD Forum, which is comprised of more than 200 member companies from around the world. Through their efforts, DVD is fast becoming the key storage media for providing a bridge between AV devices and PCs in the DVD world of the 21st century.

In making the announcement, Yoshinori Fujimori, CEO of the Hitachi, Ltd. Digital Media Group said, "Hitachi has been involved in DVD right from the beginning, expanding its presence in this sector of operations by developing DVD-ROM and -RAM drives for PCs. Hitachi has used the technology and expertise thus acquired to develop this latest group of DVD products that take the convergence of AV and PC products a step further. We intend to continue further development of truly innovative DVD based products that satisfy the needs for an increasingly content driven marketplace in the future."

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1999 (ended March 31, 2000) consolidated sales of 8,001 billion yen ($75.5 billion*). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment.

*At an exchange rate of 106 yen to the dollar.

PRODUCTS AND AVAILABILITY

DVD camcorder
- Model: DZ-MV100 Sales start August 25 in Japan. Price: 248,000yen

DVD video recorder
- Model: DV-RX2000 Sales start August 25 in Japan. Price: 250,000yen

Internal DVD-RAM drive for PCs
- Model: GF-2000(ATAPI interface) Shipments start June 30
- Model: GF-2050(SCSI interface) Shipments start in latter part of August

External DVD-RAM drive for PCs
- Model: GF-2055(SCSI interface) Shipments start August 25

Internal DVD-RAM drive for PCs (with DVD-RAM playback capability)
- Model: GD-7500(ATAPI interface) Shipments start in latter part of July
- Model: GD-S200(ATAPI interface, slim tray) Shipments start in latter part of August

Product features

DVD Camcorder
- 1. Uses 8cm DVD-RAM disks with of 1.46GB per side, AV/PC compatibility
- The 8cm DVD-RAM format was established by the DVD Forum for combined AV/PC applications. Provides full range of DVD features, such as random access, high read and write speeds, durability and reliability.
- The camcorder can record for one hour in high-quality mode (30 minutes a side at a fixed rate of 6 Mbps), and two hours in standard mode (60 minutes a side at a fixed rate of 3 Mbps).

- DVD-RAM cartridge
- The camcorder records on disks housed in a cartridge. The cartridge media are compatible with the 4.7GB DVD-RAM drives for PCs and with the DVD recorder. The cartridge provides disks with added protection against fingerprints and dirt.

- High-performance camcorder functions
- Megapixel CCD
- 1.1-million-pixel, 1/4-inch CCD with an effective area of 720,000 pixels is used for video recording. In still mode, the effective area is one million pixels.
- Optical 12x zoom lens system
- The multi-coated, aspherical lens system is a high-performance type designed specially for megapixel applications. Hitachi's DSP6 digital signal processor uses MPEG-2 compression technology for optimum image quality.
- The camcorder also has a 48x digital zoom mode.

Main specifications
Recording mode Motion pictures (with sound)
Still images
Maximum recording time : Motion pictures: 60 minutes in high-quality mode 120 minutes in standard mode
Still recording capacity 1,998 stills
Recording system Motion pictures: DVD video recording standard
Still images: DVD video recording standard and JPEG

 

Pixel resolution
Motion pictures: 704 x 480 (high-quality)
325 x 480 (standard)
Still images: 1,280 x 960 (JPEG)
704 x 480 (DVD video)

Media 8cm DVD-RAM (DVD-RAM Book 2.1 compliant)

DV-RX2000 DVD Video Recorder

The DV-RX2000 is a high-performance, high quality 4.7GB DVD-RAM video recorder that is as easy to operate as a videotape recorder, and providing adequate copy protection features.

The DV-RX2000 incorporates MPEG-2 variable bit rate compression and a number of other high-performance features such as external input TBC (Time Base Corrector), 3D Y/C separation and digital noise reduction. Being a disk-based medium means that it has excellent random-access operability, and it is fully compatible with PC DVD-RAM drives and other DVD devices. This includes full playback compatibility with respect to DVD recordings made using the DZ-MV100 DVD video camcorder. The DV-RX2000 can also rearrange and erase images, and is cable-ready.

The DV-RX2000 can play DVD videos, video CDs and audio CDs. For optimum quality reproduction of DVD movies, it includes 525-line progressive scanning playback and a Dolby Digital 5.1-channel decoder for full home theater viewing and listening pleasure.

*T Main specifications Recording system DVD video recording

Disk 4.7GB DVD-RAM disk
Recording modes XP: 10 Mbps; SP: 5 Mbps;
LP: 2.5 Mbps (variable bit rate)
Recording capacity 4 hours maximum (using 4.7GB DVD-RAM disk)
High-quality mode: 60 minutes
Standard mode: 120 minutes
Long-play mode: 240 minutes
Video system NTSC
Channel reception VHF (channels 1 to 12);
UHF (channels 13 to 62);
CATV (channels 13 to 63);
BS (channels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15)
Playback media compatibility DVD (SL/DL: 8/12cm); DVC (8/12cm); CD-DA (8/12cm)

GF-2000 series 4.7GB DVD-RAM drive for PCs

The GF-2000 series DVD-RAM drive is the successor to the GF-1000 series 2.6GB DVD-RAM that Hitachi released in April 1998. At 4.7GB a side (double-sided capacity of 9.4GB), the GF-2000 has roughly twice the capacity of the earlier drive, and its data transfer rate of 22 Mbps during writing is twice as fast. The GF-2000 series offers read/write compatibility with the 2.6GB

DVD-RAM disks, enabling existing data assets on such disks to be utilized. Disks used by a GF-2000 series drive to store data can be read by the GD-7500 and GD-S200 DVD-RAM drives that Hitachi is releasing at the same time as the GF-2000.

Features
1. Full compliance with DVD-RAM (rewritable) standards.
2. Playback compatibility with respect to DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, etc.
3. ATAPI (enhanced IDE) interface (GF-2000)
4. Ultra SCSI interface (GF-2050/GF-2055)
5. Buffer memory of 2MB
6. Drives can be used horizontally or vertically
7. Compatible with Windows(R) 95/98 and Windows(R) 2000/NT (When used with a PC, device drivers or application software is required.)

Internal DVD-ROM drives for PCs can read 4.7GB DVD-RAM disks

In July, Hitachi will start shipping the GD-7500 and GD-S200 internal DVD-ROM drives for PCs. Both drives come equipped with an ATAPI interface and can read 4.7GB/side (9.4GB/two sides) DVD-RAM media that complies with the 4.7GB DVD-RAM (rewritable DVD) standard, which means they are read-compatible with the latest DVD-RAM media format. This means that PCs can be used to read data stored on a DVD-RAM, and to play video data recorded by using Hitachi DVD camcorder, which also facilitate such data to be transferred to a PC's hard disk.

For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., visit Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp.

 

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