JVC Professional Products Company today formally announced the GY-HM100 ProHD camcorder, the industry's first professional hand-held model to record files directly to solid state media in the native format of Apple's Final Cut Pro™ editing system. For the first time, recorded material can be edited directly from the solid state memory card, dramatically reducing the amount of time required to edit programs together. The camera met with rave reviews when it was previewed at the Final Cut Pro User Group SuperMeet at Macworld in January.

“Traditionally, camera manufacturers have designed their products expecting NLE vendors to conform to proprietary or generic file formats resulting in an extra and often time consuming step when preparing to edit,” said Craig Yanagi, National Marketing Manager for Creation Products at JVC. “Files created in the GY-HM100 can be edited immediately without conversion. It’s truly the first camcorder designed for post production.”

With the development of the new GY-HM100 ProHD camcorder, JVC offers versatility, quality and value in a hand-held, professional 3-CCD format that is both easy to use and on par with broadcast cameras. The GY-HM100 delivers amazing high-bandwidth recordings at 1080p, 720p and 1080i on affordable and widely available SDHC Class 6 memory cards and is sure to cause waves in the industry. Weighing a mere 3.1 lbs, the GY-HM100 packs performance and features which until now were found only in larger, more expensive models.

With three progressive scan CCDs, a newly designed 1080p digital signal processor, and JVC’s proprietary 35Mbps MPEG2 encoder, the GY-HM100 outclasses and outperforms other professional hand-held camcorders, delivering rich, accurate colors and full 1920×1080 images in the HQ mode. Additionally, the GY-HM100 can record 720p (19/35Mbps) and 1080i (25Mbps) in SP mode, assuring compatibility with today’s leading professional NLE systems.

The GY-HM100 comes equipped with an integrated high definition Fujinon 10:1 lens which allows for manual and automatic control of focus and aperture. The lens features three aspherical elements and a new Electronic Beam Coating that greatly reduces degradation caused by reflection off the lens surfaces. A flip-in cover is integrated into the lens hood, eliminating the need for an external cap. With the addition of JVC’s patented Focus Assist, achieving precise focus is fast and easy. The macro mode and user-adjustable depth of field supplement the wide array of manual controls available.

The GY-HM100 also boasts tapeless recording to dual SDHC Class 6 memory cards, allowing up to 64GB of on board storage-enough for up to 6 hours of continuous HD recording. The added benefit of dual memory slots is that less expensive smaller capacity cards can be used, while still offering the combined longer recording time. The camera automatically begins recording on the second card when the first card is full. Unlike competing proprietary solid state media, the cost per-minute of SDHC media is comparable to professional video tape, but with significantly less space required for physical storage.

Workflow through post is streamlined by the GY-HM100 which incorporates JVC’s Native File Recording technology that stores video in the ready-to-edit format used by Apple’s Final Cut Pro™-the industry’s most popular non-linear editing system. The “.mov” files created in-camera can be dragged onto the NLE timeline without conversion or rewrapping. The camera also stores files in the ISO Base Media File Format (.MP4), compatible with all major non-linear editing systems.

The audio recording features of the GY-HM100 are equally impressive. Two channels of uncompressed LPCM audio are available with manual level controls and audio meter. Balanced XLR inputs with phantom power are provided on the handle for an external microphone and/or wireless receiver. A 2.8-inch LCD display, in 16:9 aspect ratio provides a wide array of monitoring and setup indications. Infrared wireless remote and ability to capture 2 megapixel still images from either a live grab or from recorded video round out the camera’s many features.

The GY-HM100 is scheduled for delivery in April 2009 with a suggested list price of $3,995.