Introduction

The Home Electronics Division of Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. introduced its sixth generation UltraVision Hitachi DZGX3100A camcorder offering blockbuster features for an affordable price. The advances in Hitachi's new DVD camcorder line satisfy the demands of both tech-savvy users wanting cutting-edge, premium features and enhanced CinemaRes image quality as well as price-conscious consumers focused on convenience and ease of use. The new Hitachi DZGX 3100A provides media format versatility to support the most popular and widely available DVD formats, including DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM and DVD+RW discs as well as SD cards for digital stills.
DVD recorder
This industry leading format compatibility allows users to choose the DVD format that best suits their individual needs. Other user-friendly features include a One Touch finalization button for quick and easy access to this essential last step, and a sleep/restart battery saver function that puts the camcorder in hibernation to save battery power between recordings and enables users to begin recording within one second of activation to ensure no action is missed.
Secure Digital and Widescreen LCD
The new DZGX3100A model includes the new Video-to-Photo Frame Grab Tool, which allows users to pull a photo still from video and route to SD memory card. This prevents taking video without switching the "still mode" on and off and enables users to easily create the photo image of any desired scene after recording onto DVD. Additionally, the Hitachi DZ-GX3100A offers enhanced Super Digital Zoom, a large 2.7-inch 16x9 widescreen LCD, and a "Quick Mode" Menu System that features Hitachi Disc Navigation to instantly access desired scenes via thumbnail images without having to fast forward or rewind.
Consumer electronic device
"Hitachi continues to enhance its original technologies to create a new line of DVD camcorders that breaks ground with superior picture quality and convenience features," said Jeff Fochtman, product manager for Hitachi America, Ltd., Home Electronics Division. "As the first company to bring a DVD camcorder to market, Hitachi once again proves itself as the industry leader by answering consumers needs for the most refined and fully-featured line available, and all at a competitive price."
Image processor
Ranging from $399 to $799, the new models exceed Hitachi's goal of providing high-quality, cutting-edge technology at an affordable price. Superior imaging is made possible with the company's new CinemaRes Advanced Image Processing with "Oversampling" high resolution capture, an exclusive technology that uses the entire CCD to capture both video and still images before converting to DVD format, utilizing the camcorder's entire capacity to create a sharper, more detailed picture.
Availability and Price
The UltraVision DZGX3100A DVD Camcorder sports a 1.3 Megapixel resolution at 1280 x 960 and 15x Optical Zoom and 800x Super Digital Zoom. The unit comes with a 700mAh slim battery that records for over an hour with the widescreen LCD open, Composite and S-Video Inputs, a USB 2.0 cable and PC and Macintosh compatibility. The Hitachi DZGX3100A will be available in April at a suggested retail price of $499.
Accessory
New this year, Hitachi introduces its first line of DVD camcorder accessories, including the CAMKIT2 that features a Hitachi-branded nylon camcorder bag, two-hour battery and three DVD-R discs, as well as the Hitachi Video Light, 2x Telephoto Zoom Lens, and a Media Pack with a mini DVD disc wallet.
About Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 347,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2004 (ended March 31, 2005) consolidated sales totaled 9,027.0 billion yen ($84.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services.