JVC struck an alliance with Sony to license Sony’s XDCAM EX MPEG-2 camera format and the SxS flash memory cards that it uses to record video, bringing a solid-state recording option to JVC’s popular ProHD camcorder line.
Under the licensing deal with Sony, which was announced at IBC2008 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, JVC plans to introduce a dockable recorder for its ProHD GY-HD200/250 series HD camcorders that will allow them to record video as XDCAM EX files on the SxS solid-state flash memory cards jointly developed by Sony and SanDisk. The KA-MR100G dockable recorder will have one memory-card slot and connect to the cameras via a special adapter plate, the KA-UM100G. It is expected to ship next March with a list price of under $3,000.
“It provides backwards-compatibility for existing customers, and they can record on both tape and the SxS card at the same time,” said Ian Scott, director of JVC Pro Video for the United Kingdom.
While ProHD cameras have been capable of tapeless recording for some time through add-on modules like Focus Enhancements’ FireStore disk drives, Scott said there has been strong demand among ProHD users for a solid-state option because of solid-state’s work-flow advantages and elimination of moving parts.
In that vein, JVC plans to make a camcorder that directly integrates SxS recording that will be available sometime in 2009. In the meantime, Scott said, the dockable solid-state unit means that “customers will not be left drifting with obsolete equipment.”
JVC also unveiled another tapeless recording option for the ProHD line, the disk-based MR-HD100 Media Recorder. The unit has a 100-gigabyte hard drive that is capable of recording up to 10 hours of 720-line-progressive HD video and provides direct access to material on the disk for quick turnaround editing through a standard universal-serial-bus interface. It can record QuickTime HDV files for use with Apple’s Final Cut Pro editor, as well as native MXF files for use with Avid editors. That product is shipping today for a list price of 2,175 euros, or around $3,000.
