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 At the CES show this year SanDisk announced its new flash cards for camcorders – the Video HD range.
These cards are now available in Australia, providing 60 minute and 120 minute recording times in 4GB and 8GB models.
The highlights from the press release announcing the cards is included below for your reference, with Australian pricing.
PRESS RELEASE
NEW SANDISK HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO FLASH CARD LINE
FOR NEW DIGITAL CAMCORDERS NOW AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA
New Cards Specify Recording Times, Provide Optimal Performance for HD Video and Come with Handy Jewel Case and Labels for Storage
SYDNEY, April. 18, 2008 – Consumers who own camcorders that use flash memory cards instead of tape will now be able to select the right storage media for their cameras with the debut of a video card line from SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK). As the first of a new category of storage media, SanDisk Video HD™ cards will now be available in Australia in SDHC™ (high-capacity) and Memory Stick PRO Duo™ formats, and will be identified by minutes of recording time as well as by capacity.
“The SanDisk Video HD line takes the mystery out of selecting the proper memory for these new camcorders,” said Susan Park, senior product marketing manager for SanDisk’s Cards and Accessories Division. “The bright red packaging and the bold labeling of recording times give consumers an easy way to select memory cards for video.” The cards are designed to be high performance and optimised for high-definition camcorders, but they can also be used in recording standard video. Further, the cards work well in point-and-shoot digital still cameras that have video capabilities, she added.
“Until now, it has been difficult for consumers to select the memory card that is the most suitable for their camcorders, and equally difficult to calculate the amount of recording time they have available from the various resolution settings,” said Park. Echoing the familiar messaging of analog video tape, the SanDisk Video HD card packaging offers a chart that shows the approximate number of minutes for HD High, HD Standard and HD Extended settings.
SanDisk Video HD cards exceed the performance required by high definition camcorders, making them ideal for 1080i High Definition recording. They also feature a fast read speed, making for efficient transfer speeds to a personal computer and giving them a “best in class” performance for video cards.
The concept of launching a new product category is being driven by the proliferation of HD-capable flash-memory-based camcorders and hybrid camcorders that contain both hard drives and card slots. Offered by manufacturers such as Sanyo, Sony, Panasonic and JVC, many of them are affordable and come in compact sizes that make them easy to carry.
The market for flash-enabled camcorders is expected to grow in popularity. Research company IDC predicts that by 2011, some 37 percent of global camcorder shipments will be models that record onto memory cards, and well over half of camcorders will feature HD video capture. “With HD video quickly penetrating the category, it will be critical for vendors to provide seamless recording experiences," said Christopher Chute, research manager of IDC’s worldwide digital imaging practice. “The SanDisk Video HD card is well-positioned to service this expanding market by simplifying the memory message for consumers,” he added.
The SanDisk Video HD card is now available in Australia and will be offered in two sizes. The RRP for the 60-minute* (4GB) is $66 for the HDTM SDHC card and $101 for the HDTM Memory Stick PRO Duo. The RRP for the 120-minute* (8GB) is $119 for the HDTM SDHC card and $194 for the Memory Stick PRO Duo. These times are based on the HD Standard setting – for both SDHC and Memory Stick PRO Duo formats.
Another feature: The cards come with jewel cases and labels so that users can identify and store their valued videos.
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