UPDATE; Panasonic Aims for an AVCHD Future with AG-HMC150by David KenderPublished on Apr 13, 2008 3:05 PM 
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UPDATE 2 - View Photo Gallery from NAB 2008 Floor
UPDATE: April 13, 2008 - At Panasonic's NAB press conference, the company announced that the AG-HMC170 will retail for $4500. Also, the "to be announced" maximum bit rate for the AVCHD compression was revealed to be 24Mbps, with an average 21Mbps. This is the highest bitrate to date for an AVCHD camcorder.February 14, 2008 – At a press event in New York yesterday, Panasonic positioned itself firmly in the AVCHD camp with the announcement of the AG-HMC150. The camcorder looks remarkably like a next-generation AG-HVX200, though Robert Harris, vice president of marketing, Panasonic Broadcast, stated that they have no plans to shelve the HVX200. The new AG-HMC150 records solely to SD/SDHC cards in the AVCHD format at an unspecified maximum bit rate.
The AG-HMC150 is Panasonic’s third professional grade AVCHD camcorder. Last year it released the extremely compact AG-HSC1U (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1975), which was little more than a consumer grade HDC-SD1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99) with improved colorimetry. In fall 2007, the company announced the AG-HMC70, a shoulder-mounted version of the AG-HSC1U with better audio connections. Though officials stated that at that time that the AG-HMC70 was expected to be priced under $2000, yesterday’s press event finalized the price at $2495.
The more intriguing announcement however was the AG-HMC150. Though the price was not stated, the $5995 MSRP for the AG-HVX200 and the $3995 MSRP for the AG-DVX100B should give some indication. The new camcorder is equipped with three 1/3-inch CCDs and optical image stabilization.
The AVCHD codec in use on the AG-HMC150 can be set to 13Mbps for either 1080i or 720P recording, as well as a higher, unspecified bit rate for professional-grade production. Currently, in the consumer range, camcorders have reached as high as 17Mbps. The unspecified bit rate on the HMC150 will support 1080/60i, 1080/50i, 1080/30p, 1080/25p, 1080/24p native, 720/60p, 720/50p, 720/30p, 720/25p, 720/24p native. The camcorder is also 50Hz/59.94Hz switchable.
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Extensive testing of AVHCD camcorders in the consumer range by CamcorderInfo.com has shown that manufacturers have yet to produce a camcorder that can match HDV in overall quality. However, the lens and processing systems have so far remained strictly consumer-grade. The AG-HMC150 is the first AVCHD camcorder to come equipped with an imaging system this advanced, and may help overcome some of the image quality issues.
The AG-HMC150 comes with a decent assortment of connections, including XLR audio input, HDMI out, USB, component-out, composite-out, a wired remote jack, and an SD/SDHC card slot. A maximum card capacity of 32GB was just announced last week.
No price has been announced for the AG-HMC150, but more details are expected to emerge at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in April. It is due to begin shipping in the fall of 2008.
View Photo Gallery from NAB 2008 Floor