JVC proudly announces the addition of the GY-HM100 camcorder to its renowned ProHD family of products. The GY-HM100 is 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, allowing recorded material to be edited directly from solid state memory cards, dramatically reducing the amount of time required to edit programs together.

Weighing a mere 3.1 lbs, the GY-HM100 packs performance and features which until now were found only in larger, more expensive models. Seasoned shooters will find the small size convenient for work in environments where larger cameras would be impractical, while producing HD material which can be easily intercut in HD News and HD ENG programs.

“The GY-HM100 will appeal to a broad segment of the market,” said Craig Yanagi, Manager, Marketing and Brand Strategy at JVC. “Because of its high picture quality-especially at 35Mbps-and under $4,000 price tag, budget conscious producers will choose it as their primary camera. However, JVC also sees a significant number of production companies and broadcasters who will use it as a secondary camera to complement their higher end gear.”

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 has been met with rave reviews since being previewed at the Final Cut Pro User Group SuperMeet at Macworld in January.

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 all broadcasting standards and today’s leading professional NLE systems.

JVC worked very closely with Fujinon, one of the most highly respected lens manufacturers in the world, to develop a 10:1 Zoom HD Lens for the GY-HM100 which features three aspheric elements that produce less distortion, ghosting, and flare. A new electronic beam coating (EBC) minimizes the stray light reflecting off the lens surfaces and further improves light transmission. A flip-in cover is integrated into the lens hood, eliminating the need for an external cap. JVC wanted the GY-HM100 to be very easy to use, so they added their patented Focus Assist, yet retained the manual capabilities desired by professional shooters, including the ability to set iris, and shoot close-ups in the macro mode.

The GY-HM100 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 .MP4 format used by Sony’s XDCAM EX, compatible with all major non-linear editing systems.

With two channels of uncompressed LPCM audio available with manual level controls and audio meter, the audio recording features of the GY-HM100 are impressive. Balanced XLR inputs with phantom power are provided on the handle for an external microphone and/or wireless receiver. The 2.8-inch LCD display, in 16:9 aspect ratio provides a wide array of monitoring and setup menus. 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 features.

The GY-HM100 is immediately available with a suggested list price of $3,995.

For more information and high-resolution photos of JVC’s GY-HM100, please visit JVC’s Web site http://www.jvc.com/pro.