Toshiba enters high definition camcorder market with Gigashot range
New HD video camcorders provide ideal accompaniment to HD DVD PC recording LAS VEGAS, CES, 6 January 2008 Toshiba Europe today announced the launch of the Gigashot HD camcorder range, featuring two of the worlds smallest and lightest high definition, hard-disc based video cameras the Gigashot A series and Gigashot K series. The pioneering new Gigashot range complements the existing Camileo range. It also enhances Toshibas comprehensive set of lifestyle technology products, which provide ideal movie making solutions for people to capture, edit and burn HD movies on the go. The stylish and compact Gigashot series boosts Toshibas existing camcorder line-up with HD capability as well as supporting seamless integration with users notebooks and other peripheral devices. The Gigashot range delivers a comprehensive set of features and offers both HD video and still imaging capabilities. With up to 100GB of inbuilt hard drive capacity and true 1080i high definition recording capabilities, the Gigashot range provides the perfect, affordable next generation video recording solution. Toshiba is making an aggressive move into the HD camcorder market, with the aim of being the number two player worldwide by 2009, said Marco Perino, General Manager EMEA, PC Options Peripherals and Services. Toshiba Europe. With the Gigashot series, we are confident of a strong start to 2008. Both series of cameras include a 3-inch widescreen TFT colour LCD display for crystal clear instant playback, electronic image stabilisation, and a range of automatic and manual white balance settings to suit even the most demanding professional requirements. Both the A and K series camcorders also include an SD/SDHC card slot capable of supporting up to 8GB for ultra high quality stills image recording. Both Gigashot series offer a range of connectivity options, including component video and an A/V out to enable users to display their images directly on a television, and a HDMI port for connection to a high definition TV. A USB mini jack enables the transfer of still images direct to a PC. The A and K series also offer a generous set of additional accessories, including Pixelas ImageMixerTM3 and Nero Vision 5 software suites, which make transferring, creating and editing videos a quick, easy and enjoyable process. Gigashot A series While very small at just 78.1mm x 135.4mm x 79mm and 495 grams in weight, the Toshiba Gigashot A series captures interlaced MPEG-4/H.264 video at full 1080i High Definition resolution (1920 x 1080i/1440 x 1080i pixels). Central to capturing such high quality video is the combination of a high quality Fujinon 10x optical/80x digital zoom lens (focal length: 4.5 to 45mm) with a single 1/3 inch CMOS image sensor. The video quality of the Gigashot A series cameras is matched by the amount of onboard hard-disc based storage. There are two model variants, the Gigashot A40FE, which uses a 40GB hard disc, and the Gigashot A100FE with its category-leading 100GB of onboard storage. The Gigashot A100FEs built in Hard Disk Drive (HDD) can store over 12 hours of full high definition footage or up to 23 hours of standard definition footage. Gigashot K series For the more budget conscious film maker, the Gigashot K series also delivers MPEG-4/H.264 interlaced high definition video at a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. The K series offers a quality 10x optical/30x digital zoom lens with a focal length of 6.0 to 60mm and it too has a 1/3 inch CMOS image sensor. The range comes in two variants: an 80GB model (Gigashot K80HE) and a 40GB (Gigashot K40HE). Still image capture In addition to video, both the A series and K series camcorders offer the consumer still image capture at a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080i and 1280 x 720 pixels, respectively. Gigashot A and K series accessories The Gigashot series of camcorders come complete with a range of accessories, including: Dedicated Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery, AC adaptor, AC codes (for UK and continental), Remote, Battery for remote, USB cable, AV cable, Component cable, Software CD-ROM, Owners manual CD-ROM, Quick Help Guide, Quick Start Guide, Lens cover. ENDS The Toshiba Gigashot A40FE and Gigashot A100FE are available from January 2008, priced at 1,199 and 1,399 respectively. The Toshiba Gigashot K40HE and Gigashot K80HE are available from January 2008, priced at 699 and 799 respectively. About Toshiba The Computer Systems Division of Toshiba Europe GmbH is a leading vendor for mobile computing solutions. Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, the Computer Systems Division of Toshiba Europe GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toshiba Corporation, the worlds eighth-largest computer and electronics company. Toshiba Corporation is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products and power systems. The companys integration of these wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as an innovator in advanced components, products and systems. Toshiba has more than 191,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of US$60 billion (FY2006).