Camcorder News

19 October 2009 – Sanyo launched two new HD camcorders in the United States: the VPC-HD2000A and the VPC-FH1A. The vertically designed VPC-HD2000 and the traditional FH1 have been available in Europe since early this year, but not in North America. The new models will have the same specs as their predecessors, with only one difference: both the HD2000A and the FH1A, will support iFrame, Apple's new video format that makes video files smaller and easier to edit.

The HD2000A and FH1A will be the first camcorders to support iFrame—a test run for the new format's success. While iFrame uses the same MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression codec as other high definition camcorders on the market, video recorded in this setting has a resolution of 960x540 and progressive scanning at 30 frames per second (30p). With these limitations of resolution and frame rate, it's clear that iFrame is designed to provide users with smaller, easier to edit video files. Full 1920x1080, 60i AVCHD files can be a chore for even the most robust hardware and software.

'This format offers a major breakthrough in reducing the time it takes for consumers to import, edit and share high quality video,' said Tom Van Voy, General Manager of the Consumer Products Group for SANYO North America.

We were certainly impressed with the video quality of the HD2000 when it came through our labs in March. It's unclear whether Sanyo plans to make iFrame-compatible models available in Europe or Japan, but the VPC-HD2000A and VPC-FH1A are available at North American retailers for 600 USD and 500 USD.

The Sanyo VPC-HD2000A and the FH1A are compatible with Apple's new Video Format iFrame