"These are DMC cameras, digital media cameras. We're using micro drive, it's a removable hard disk drive. It has high capacity, but very small in size. It's similar in size to compact flash. It's four gigabytes of memory. And what you're able to do is record high quality MPEG 2 recordings, very high resolution video, for sixty minutes of mini DV quality on a very small hard disk drive."
Sanyo Fisher and Panasonic have flash memory based camcorders…but they take lower resolution video. Both the 12 hundred dollar MC 100 and 13 hundred dollar MC 200 from JVC take 2 megapixel still photos as well. About a third of the price comes from the 4 gigabyte micro drive. Looking to the future…
"We're talking about the new evolution in camcorders. This will be the replacement for tape based type cameras."
But the evolution will be gradual. Right now these camcorders only make sense for consumers who are comfortable with video editing on PCs and have the equipment to burn DVDs or video CDs. Dragging video files directly onto computers…makes all of that easier and faster. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.