JVC Everio GZ-X900 Camcorder Review

Compression & Media Summary
• Uses the AVCHD codec and captures video with a maximum bitrate of 24Mbps. • No internal memory on camcorder, records to SD/SDHC memory cards • Comes with Everio Media Browser HD software.
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Compression (7.0)

The JVC GZ-X900 records HD video using the AVCHD codec. Currently, AVCHD is very popular, and the codec has been adopted by nearly all the major camcorder manufacturers (Sanyo and Samsung have yet to take part). The AVCHD codec has improved tremendously over the past few years, mainly with improved compatibility for editing software. Still, AVCHD is very difficult to work with and even the most robust computers can run into trouble with large AVCHD files. If you plan on doing lots of editing with your footage, make sure you have a computer that can handle AVCHD—otherwise, you might be better off going with a tape-based HDV camcorder, or a standard definition model.

The GZ-X900 records all HD video at 1920 x 1080 with a 60i frame rate. The camcorder tops out with a 24Mbps bitrate, which is the highest bitrate AVCHD is capable of. There are also three "high-speed" shooting modes on the GZ-X900. These modes use very fast frame rates—120fps, 300fps, and 600fps—in an effort to capture video in extremely slow-motion. By increasing the frame rate, the video is captured at a high speed, but then played back at regular speed, which is how the slow-motion effect is created. The high-speed modes have plenty of setbacks, however. Most importantly, the slow motion video is captured at a very low resolution (see table below for details), which makes the video quality simply horrendous. The slow motion video is not anywhere near HD quality and it is even far worse than a standard definition camcorder. Because of this, the high-speed modes are more of a gimmicky feature rather than a truly useful option. Still, they can be fun to play around with, as long as you're not expecting to get high-quality video.

Media (5.0)

The JVC GZ-X900 records video and saves photos to SD/SDHC memory cards. The camcorder has no internal memory whatsoever, nor does it ship with a memory card. So, when you pick up the X900, make sure you get an SDHC card or two, otherwise you won't be able to start shooting out of the box. The memory card slot is a bit unusual, but it offers good protection and it is mostly out of the way. The slot is located on the back of the camcorder, behind a large door that slides out and to the right. The door's sliding mechanism is a bit complicated and feels like it could break too easily, but it does protect the memory card slot very well.

The GZ-X900 records to SD/SDHC memory cards.

There are a number of advantages to memory card recording. The GZ-X900's compact, streamline design is a direct result of the camcorder not having a larger internal hard drive bulking up its right side. Memory cards offer easy portability, as you can just pop them out of the camcorder and pass them onto a friend or into a card reader. SDHC cards are also becoming fairly cheap, especially if you buy them online, so it won't cost too much money to build up a stockpile of extra cards. Of course, memory cards won't get you the long recording times that a large internal hard drive can give you, but a decently-sized SDHC card can still give you roughly 160 minutes of video at the highest quality setting. The table below shows the record times for various card sizes and video quality settings on the GZ-X900:

Editing (7.5)

The JVC GZ-X900 ships with the same editing software as the rest of JVC's consumer HD camcorders—Everio Media Browser HD. We found the software fairly easy to use, although we're disappointed to see that the program still isn't compatible with Macs. So, if you're using the GZ-X900 with a Mac, make sure you have iMovie or some other editing program available to import your clips.

The thumbnail display on the Everio Media Browser HD software.		The Calendar display on Everio Media Browser HD.

The Media Browser HD's main function is to assist with importing footage from the camcorder to your computer. Since the X900's video files are compressed with AVCHD, they need to be converted before they can be recognized by a regular media player. Media Browser HD (along with most editing programs) easily assists with this import and conversion process. From there, the software can help you upload video to YouTube, burn a DVD, or export the files for iTunes compatibility. Media Browser HD also helps organize your footage (see images above) and offers a number of thumbnail display settings.

You can upload to YouTube using the software...		... as well as burn a DVD.

Using the Media Browser HD software to upload to YouTube was quite simple—you just need to enter a YouTube account info and the program does the rest. We did get a number of error messages during the process, however, and we found the program to be a bit buggy. The same goes with burning to DVD and using Media Browser HD's other features. As we discussed in our JVC HD300 review, the camcorder's "one-touch" features aren't very useful. We found that using them didn't shave much time off the post-production process and they aren't very intuitive.

The GZ-X900 has quite a few internal editing features that can be used right on the camcorder itself. Clips can be trimmed and split, playlists can be created and dubbed with music, and photos can be rotated during playback on the X900.