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July 14, 2006 - In a joint announcement yesterday, Panasonic and Sony announced plans to expand the AVCHD format, a new high definition format unveiled just two months ago. The companies also declared the commencement of licensing for AVCHD, with a long list of interested buyers, among them: rivals Canon and Samsung.

AVCHD, which was formally rolled out on May 11th, is a high definition format using the MPEG4 AVC/H.264 compression system. At that time, it was originally limited to 8 cm DVDs, the size that fit into most consumer camcorders. The format has now been expanded to include SD Memory Cards, MemorySticks (a proprietary Sony card format), and hard disk drives.

The move to expand the AVCHD format is a smart one, and not surprising. Camcorders that capture to a solid state media are on the rise. This year Sony released their first hard disk drive camcorder, the DCR-SR100. Last month Panasonic announced plans to update their SDR-S100, a 3-CCD camcorder that records to SD card, with the SDR-S150.

The emerging HD format will be mutually beneficial, if Panasonic and Sony can muster the support to make it viable. Spreading the format across multiple formats will help. Canon and Samsung do not have solid state media camcorders, but both produce DVD camcorders, and both of them are likely eager to get into HD, the undisputed future of video.

In order to foster growth, software manufacturers are also being courted for AVCHD support. An impressive list runs the gamut of the consumer-grade video editing manufacturers: Adobe, CyberLink, InterVideo, Nero, Sonic, and Ulead. Rounding out the format’s sphere of compatibility, licensing arrangements are also being extended to DVD player manufacturers.

No specific camcorder models using the AVCHD format have been announced, but their introduction seems imminent. According to their May 11th statement, Sony and Panasonic are free to pursue AVCHD products independently of each other.

The AVCHD format, now called AVCHD 1.0, is capable of 1080i and 720p recording, with a maximum 24Mbps bit rate. More information and full specs are available at the official AVCHD website.