Sony Shows HD Camcorder

Sony is demonstrating a prototype camcorder based on the HDV high-definition video format at the Cebit exhibition in Hanover, Germany this week.

The HDV format is a recording standard that was jointly developed by Canon, Sharp, Sony, and Victor Company of Japan (JVC). HDV uses MPEG-2 compression and is based on DV tape, a commonly used consumer video format.

The HDV format can record and play back video at a higher picture quality than DV while using the same cassettes, track speed, and track pitch.

HD Product Plans

The HDV camcorder prototype is seen as an essential component of Sony's high-definition video product line, which includes flat-screen television sets that support high-definition TV broadcasts and a Blu-ray disc recorder that is capable of recording high-definition video.

The addition of an HDV camcorder and a linear editing application for Sony's Vaio line of PCs will give customers the ability to shoot and edit, as well as play, high-definition video, Sony says.

The company did not specify when the HDV camcorder and linear editing application would be commercially available. Sony also didn't give any indication of where the product would be initially launched or how the product would be priced.