Gizmodo
The lines between prosumer and consumer have been become even murkier...err...though sharper...with JVC's new HD Everio.
The notable statistic is that the HD Everio records in a full 1920 x 1080i resolution, earning it the billing as the "World's first full HD consumer camcorder". Sure, we've all heard of HD camcorders before, even at the "consumer" level, but most record at a scaling 1,440 x 1,080 resolution. JVC's new HD Everio equates to a 1:1 pixel ratio to most HD TVs, meaning that even HD can be sharper than it was previously.
Other specs include three 1/5-inch CCDs (meaning that each basic color gets its own chip) and HDMI, USB 2.0 and iLink (IEEE 1394) connections. The 60GB hard drive will provide quite a bit of storage for the suggested $1799.95 price tag in April.
I know, the first question on most of your minds is "no 1080p?". Just hold on. The JVC HD Everio is a huge step in the right direction of Gizmodo's definition of full consumer HD. I'm just excited at the prospect of Hollywood wetting their pants when 15-year-old boys everywhere are shooting in HD. 
Also, JVC has released a line of hard drive-based camcorders with the GZ series.
The GZ-MG555 part of the 5-model Everio hard drive camcorder line. All of these SD models feature 10X zoom and 30GB hard drives that can store what we are sure is a ton of MPEG2 video. Using the bundled dock, from which you can burn DVDs directly from the Everio hard drive, or use to back up source footage to PC. Keep in mind that MPEG2 doesn't do well when edited natively, so you may need to do some conversion if you are going for the family video Oscar this year. Oh, and this bad boy takes 5 megapixel stills. $900 in March. 
Finally, JVC is also releasing/updating their mini-DV line. Look for pretty standard stuff here, other than the notable F1.2 34X optical lenses, new 2.7-inch LCDs and a tiny 1/6-inch 680K CCDs (one per camcorder). JVC claims to have improved battery consumption by 50% with this mini-DV line, which is also promising.
Once again - we'll let you know what we think when we get our hands on these new models. But so far, JVC is looking good.
Comments
But if it is only recording 1080i then it is recording all of the interlace artifacts. These stupid companies (sony, Panasonic, JVC)are trying to keep 1080p as the differentiator between consumer and professional cameras. Recording at 1080i is rediculous considering that every single consumer device is oriented around progressive displays and it is far easier for them to record in 1080p/24 (lower bitrate, lower bandwidth) and make 1080i if they have to (2:3 pullup).
I would not get that excited about 1920 vs 1440, this is far less of a differentiator than one might think. the human eye is far more forgiving of horizontal resolution than it is of interlace artifacts (and much lower percieved vertical resolution). Read up on Kell factor
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/kell.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kell_factor
and interlace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlace
So, does this mean a whole new age of Celebrity porn vids that don't look like the old Super 8 Family Vacation Videos?
It's all worthless if JVC still is bundling their muy horrible software with the cameras. Plus the G series hard drive cameras save out the video into a weird mpeg format where the video and audio is separate. If you want to use the movies in anything, like homemade DVDs ala Apple's iLife apps, you need to find another piece of software to graft the two and make it into a more standard mpeg or other video format.
I would opt for less pixels and bigger chips (for better low-light recording).
"VC's new HD Everio equates to a 1:1 pixel ratio to most HD TVs"
Most HDTVs have a native pixel resolution of 1024x768.
Cmon Gizmodo, you guys are responsible for knowing this stuff...
What about the Canon HV10? It's 1920x1080, it's under $1000, and it's been out for several months.
@HDC
Absolutely, I will never buy another Verio because of their weird MPEG2 variant these things record in - Adobe Premiere wants nothing to do with the footage, and the bundled software blows.
interlaced video will always look like crap, no matter how high the resolution.
dalasv, I don't think you're right. Stick a quality CRT with 1080i against the average progressive LCD with 720p and the CRT will win, even interlaced.
but yeah, on topic, if this HD cam still uses their crappy codec then forget it. Otherwise sign me up.
What crappy codec?
I own an Everio and while the camera records the files as ".mod", I can just rename the files from ".mod" to ".mpg" and play them ANYWHERE and load them on every windows application I tried.
Second, on the issue of 1080i vs 1080p... it's a matter that the DISPLAY, not the recorder, must deal with. In other words, if you record 1080px tall MPEG2 stream, burn it to a HD media, you are going to see the video interlaced when hooked to 1080i and non-interlaced if fed to a 1080p display.
Am I wrong?.
For those with format concerns, I've noticed my Everio has two sets of files when I connect it to my PC ".mod" files and ".tod" files.
The ".tod" files will open just fine in latest version of my editor of choice, Sony Vegas 7.0e.
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