Sony Forges Ahead With HD Camcorders

Sony has launched a further two high-definition (HD) camcorders to its range, both of which can record movies in 1080i.

The two models are the DVD-based UX1 and the hard-disk based SR1. Both can record 1080i footage thanks to the introduction of a new format called AVCHD, developed by Sony and Matsushita Electrical.

The new format integrates the MPEG-4 AVC/H2.64 video codec and 5.1 channel Dolby Digital sound to provide the 1080i footage, as well as multi-channel digital audio.

When the footage is copied to DVD, it can then be viewed on a range of devices.

The UX1 (RRP $2299) records to an 8cm DVD disc while the SR1 (RRP $2499) offers a 30GB hard drive.