Sony Australia has released two new high definition (HD) camcorders that feature that latest AVCHD standard for HD video recording.

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November 2, 2006: Sony Australia has released two new high definition (HD) camcorders that feature that latest AVCHD standard for HD video recording.
The new DVD-based Handycam, the HDR-UX1 (UX1) and hard-disk based Handycam, the HDR-SR1 (SR1) are the first models to use the AVCHD format, which was jointly developed by Sony Corporation and Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co. Ltd. AVCHD integrates highly efficient MPEG-4 AVC/H2.64 video codec and 5.1 channel Dolby Digital audio to provide advantages of 16:9 widescreen HD, multi-channel digital audio and resolution of up to 1080i. Contents on the AVCHD disc can be viewed on devices such as PC drives and DVD players (in SD) or on a PC bundled with software that supports the AVCHD format. Footage can also be viewed via playback on the PlayStation 3 and future AVCHD compatible Blu-ray players.
Both models are equipped with Sony’s ClearVid CMOS image sensor plus 3.5-inch diagonal Clear Photo LCD Plus screens, which support a colour range approximately 1.6 times greater than previous screens. They also include a control ring for adjusting essential functions like focus, exposure, AE shift or white balance shift. They also offer direct connection to HDTV sets via an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) port or a component jack. Connection to a PC is via a standard USB 2.0 or Firewire interface. The bundled ‘Player for AVCHD’ software is required for playback of AVCHD recordings on a computer.

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The SR1 records HD video onto an internal 30GB hard disk and offers extended recording times and multiple HD recording options. It can record approximately 11 hours in 5Mbps (HD-LP) mode or up to four hours of HD video at 15Mbps bit rate in high quality (HD-XP) mode. It is supplied with bundled software for easy backup to DVD disks. The UX1 captures HD movies to an 8cm DVD disc and supports the DVD+R DL (Double Layer), as well as DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW. Using DVD+R DL discs, the camera can record around 60 minutes of HD video in 5Mbps mode, 45 minutes in the default 7Mbps mode, and 27 minutes of top-quality 12Mbps HQ+ mode.
The UX1 and SR1 are available now and retail for $2499 and $2699 respectively. For full product information, visit www.sony.com.au. Stockist details are available by phoning 1300 720 071.