Camcorder News

January 7, 2007 - Today at CES, after much anticipation, JVC unveiled the GZ-HD7, the first consumer high defintion camcorder to shoot in full HD 1920 x 1080i definition. It features three progressive, 1/5' 16:9 chip in a diagonal offset. The camcorder is set for a retail price of $1799 (MSRP) and is scheduled for an April 2007 release. 

The announcement marks the first time that such techology has been used in a consumer camcorder. The majority of manufacturers actually capture in 1440 x 1080 and then convert the pixel ratio for HDTVs. The GZ-HD7 also comes equipped with a f/1.8 - 1.9 Fujinon lens that is the same lens used in JVC's broadcast HD cameras.  

Each of the three CCDs measures 1/5' with a gross pixel count of only 570K (1016 x 558). This translates to an effective pixel count of approximately 530K (976 x 548). The camcorder employs pixel shifting, meaning that one of the CCD ships is offset by a half pixel, both in the horizontal and vertical axes. Pixel shifting, which is a common industry technique found from consumer through professional cameras, increases the resolution of the image to a number greater than could be the CCDs alone. In the GZ-HD7, pixel shifting boosts the recorded image resolution to approximately 2032 x 1116 or an effective pixel count of 1952 x 1096. The CCD's pixels measure 3.28 x 3.28 microns, about twice the size of JVC's 2MP camcorders like the GZ-MG77.

The camcorder will feature three digital outputs, DV, HDMI, and USB. The 60GB HDD can hold up to 5 hours of 1920 x 1080 video and 7 hours of 1440 x 1080. As JVC is not a constituent of the AVCHD format that uses a MPEG-4/H.264 compression, video on the GZ-HD7 appears to use a new MPEG-2 flavor with a 30Mbps maximum data rate.  HDV is the most common HD compression and is also a MPEG-2 variant having a maximum data rate of 25Mbps. AVCHD has a maximum rate of 24Mbps, although, current models are only capable of a little more than half that. JVC also stated that the video from the GZ-HD7 can be archived to Blu-Ray discs using provided software and a Blu-Ray burner.

JVC GZ-HD7

While rumors of this camcorder have been floating around since the IFA electronics show in September 2006, the GZ-HD7 is not JVC's first consumer HD camcorder. In June 2003, the company released the GR-HD1, the first consumer HD camcorder by any manufacturer. While initial excitement was high, the HD1 received mixed reviews. Sony then took the lead in the consumer HD market in 2005 and now offers several models in both HDV and AVCHD formats. In what became an unusually busy summer for camcorder announcements, Canon entered the market with the HV10, followed by Panasonic with the HDC-SD1 and HDC-DX1. JVC is the last of the four major manufacturers to currently offer a truly consumer-oriented high definition model.

The GZ-HD7 retails for $1799; a price set well above the most expensive current model Sony's HDR-UX1 ($1500 MSRP). JVC is likely banking on the hope that people will be willing to spend the extra money for true 1920 x 1080 resolution. April 2007 is the expected ship time for the GZ-HD7.