Hitachi’s Line-Up of DVD Camcorders Boasts Slim New Design

January 6, 2005 - The Home Electronics Division of Hitachi America today introduced three new DVD camcorders for its fifth generation product line-up. The latest models offer a host of improvements, including a new imaging engine for a 20 percent improvement in noise reduction and 20 percent longer battery life. A new DVD drive has also reduced the product size by 15 percent and a bare DVD load creates a sleeker, more compact design overall. The new Hitachi UltraVision DZGX20A, DZMV780A and DZMV750A DVD Camcorders are designed to meet different consumer needs and all feature a 50 percent faster start time and improvements in overall image quality.

In addition to the numerous technical enhancements based on the new imaging engine and DVD drive, the DZGX20A, DZMV780A and DZMV750A feature an SD(tm) or MMC(tm) memory card to make sharing still photos even easier with other electronic devices, such as photo printers, digital print stations and SD-compatible PCs, TVs and DVD recorders. All of the 2005 Hitachi DVD Camcorder models also feature a dedicated photo button for ease of use, as well as a "ready-when-you-are" record start time of only seven seconds. This is an improvement of more than 50 percent over previous generation products from Hitachi, enabling consumers to always be ready to record.

"Hitachi was the first to manufacture a DVD Camcorder, anticipating the market trends and the needs of our customers," said Jeff Fochtman, Product Manager for Hitachi America, Ltd., Home Electronics Division. "We continue that dedication to users by constantly improving our products based on their feedback and the latest engineering innovations. This commitment is clearly demonstrated in the new 2005 Hitachi DVD Camcorders - a more precise picture, more intuitive functions, longer battery - the ultimate in design and versatility for today's user."

DVD-RAM PUTS USERS IN THE DIRECTOR'S CHAIR
In addition to extending the 16x9 widescreen recording feature across the entire line of 2005 products, extensive in-camera editing can be conducted on DVD-RAM recordings. Each movie clip or still photo is presented as a thumbnail on the LCD panel, which can be selected for instant playback. The sophisticated system allows users to fade, move, divide, delete and combine clips without the need for a computer, and also create up to 99 playlists for custom playback of movie clips.

With the USB 2.0 connection, video can be uploaded to a PC and edited with the included PC software. After editing, the video can be transferred back to the camcorder and burned onto a DVD-R for playback on most DVD players1. If the PC has a compatible 4.7G byte DVD-RAM drive the user can simply place the DVD-RAM disc in the drive and download the information directly to a PC. For the ultimate in convenience, the user can take a DVD-RAM or DVD-R disc directly out of the Hitachi DVD camcorder and play it back in select Hitachi DVD players/recorders.

VIDEO AND PHOTO RECORDING YOUR WAY
The DZGX20A, DZMV780A and DZMV750A camcorders utilize high-quality and high-efficiency MPEG2 video recording technology. Users can select between increased recording quality or extended recording time. When using a DVD-RAM disc, the camcorder utilizes either variable bit rate (VBR) or constant bit rate (CBR) recording formats. With a double-sided DVD-RAM disc inserted, the camcorders record nearly 40 minutes of video in extra-fine mode (640x480, 3-6Mbps VBR), 60 minutes in fine mode (640x480, 6Mbps CBR) or 120 minutes in standard mode (352x480, 3Mbps CBR). The double-sided DVD-RAM disc can also hold 1,998 still images recorded at high resolution (1600x1200 for DZGX20A, 1280x960 for DZ-MV780A and 640x480 for DZ-MV750A).

The camcorders can also record digital still photos directly to the DVD-RAM disc or to a SD or MMC flash memory card. Depending on the compression and the selected resolution, the camcorders can record 220-880 JPEG images on a 32MB memory card or 45-190 on 8MB of memory.

DZGX20A DVD CAMCORDER -- BIG RESOLUTION IN SMALL PACKAGE
The Hitachi DZGX20A offers the fullest feature set in the 2005 line-up, with a 2.1 Mega pixel 1/3.6-inch CCD for advanced image quality. The unit's 2.5-inch 200K pixel color LCD monitor also works as light for '0 Lux' operation, a new feature for this product generation. The DZGX20A also features a new ergonomic and compact design and comes standard with a 10x optical zoom lens and 240x digital zoom expander, Electronic Image Stabilizer, Quick Mode simple menu for easy navigation, six-mode auto exposure, auto and manual white balance, and full auto and manual focus. It provides a 16x9 recording mode when recording to DVD-RAM or DVD-R discs and offers a USB 2.0 connection, S-video input recording and output and a microphone jack. The unit also comes equipped with a Li-ion battery, remote control and advanced editing software, among other accessories.

The DZGX20A measures approximately 2" x 4" x 5" inches and weighs approximately 1.5 pounds. The retail price of the DZGX20A is $999.99 and will be available in April 2005.

DZMV780A AND DZMV750A DVD CAMCORDERS -- MORE FEATURES, LOWER PRICE
Hitachi's DZMV780A features a 1.3 Mega Pixel 1/4.5-inch CCD which increases the resolution of still pictures to 1280x960. Additionally, the DZ-MV780A offers a 10x optical zoom lens with 240x digital zoom expander and a powered accessory port for flash. Most other specs and accessories match the Hitachi DZGX20A.

The DZMV750A features a 680k pixel 1/6-inch CCD and 16x optical zoom lens with 240x digital zoom expander. Most other specs match the DZGX20A and DZMV780A.

The DZMV780A and DZMV750A measure approximately 2" x 4" x 5" inches and weigh approximately 1.5 pounds. The retail price of the DZMV780A is $799.99 and will be available in March 2005. The DZMV750A will retail for $699.99 and will be available in April 2005.

For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at www.hitachi.com.

SOURCE Hitachi

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