Digital video cameras with a hard disk storage system were bound to appear, and JVC is the first manufacturer to embrace this idea, because it has announced that from August it will cast aside the DVDs and tapes and launch a new line of digital camcorders.


The JVC Everio G series will contain four models. Amongst these, GZ-MG20 and GZ-MG40 will be fitted with a 20 GB HDD, and the GZ-MG30 and GZ-MG50 models with a 30 GB one.

According to the data announced by JVC, the Everio G camcorders will have a recording rate of 9 Mbps, in top quality mode, the video format being MPEG 2. By using this format, about 4 and a half hours of recording time will be available for the 20 GB hard disks, and up to 7 hours for the 30 GB ones.

The Everio G digital video cameras can also record at 1.7 Mbps, and in this case they can store 37 and respectively 25 hours of footage, depending on the hard disk's capacity.

JVC Everio GZ-MG50 is the only model endowed with a 1.33 megapixels CCD sensor, supporting a maximum resolution of 1.152 x 864 pixels. The rest of the models are fitted with 0.68 megapixels CCD sensors.

All the models have a 2.5 inch LCD screen, a SD memory slot, and all the records can be transferred via USB 2.0-type connections.

The least expensive model is the GZ-MG20, which costs $800, while the GZ-MG50 will be available at a price of 1000 dollars.