Sony Unveils World's First HDV 1080i Consumer Camcorder

Sony, the worldwide camcorder market leader, has released details of a new high definition camcorder which will completely blur the lines between the professional and consumer market. The HDR-FX1 Handycam camcorder records and plays back high definition video with 1080 interlaced lines of resolution - the highest resolution (1440 pixels x 1080 lines) of any consumer camcorder available.

“With U.S. sales of HDTV sets exploding, along with the availability of high-definition programming, the expectation of having personal content in HD is growing rapidly,” said Linda Vuolo, director for camcorder products for Sony Electronics. “The introduction of the HDV-FX1 has been timed and targeted to meet this desire.”

The camcorder's best-in-class video resolution is enhanced by Sony's new three-chip, one-megapixel Super HAD CCDs.

The new 1080i HD CCDs have several improvements, including an on-chip micro-lens on top of the CCD sensor that increases the light focusing rate for focusing on the fly.

There is also a newly developed 16:9 aspect mode for recording in widescreen. By giving each lens its own megapixel imager, the camcorder captures the intense detail and color that expert videographers and HD lovers appreciate.

Each of the camcorder's three 1/3-inch, 16:9 CCDs utilise Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar optics, minimising warping while maximising sharpness and contrast.

All of this imaging power, together with the 14-bit A/D converter that processes four times more digital information than converters used in traditional television cameras, produces sharper, richer and more true-to-life images.

Sony developed an advanced HD codec engine for the new camcorder, which efficiently compresses massive digital data while maintaining optimal HD quality. Engineered to reduce energy consumption, this powerful digital signal processor fits perfectly inside the camcorder's streamlined body.

The HDR-FX1 camcorder employs the same MPEG2 compression scheme that is used for digital broadcasts and for DVD discs, so it can record on easy-to-find DV tapes.

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