30 November 1999 -

SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., (SANYO), a world leading digital camera manufacturer, introduces a new digital movie camera that, while being the world's smallest and lightest*1, films and records in Full HD (1920 x 1080) - the 'DMX-HD1000'. The camera has also adopted a 'new ergonomic style' preventing tiredness, as well as a new 'Xacti Library' function allowing the simple playback and saving of movies and photos. The Full HD Xacti DMX-HD 1000 will be on sale from mid-September 2007.

Xacti was born in the fall of 2003, when it combined high quality movies with high resolution photographs into one unit creating an easier and new camera lifestyle.

SANYO is committed to providing new solutions by openly employing its propriety technologies in creative ways, based on its Brand Vision 'Think GAIA'.

*Please note the contents of this press release, is specific to the model sold in Japan.
SANYO will launch this product in various regions around the world, though the name, model number, specifications, etc. may differ.

Xacti DMX-HD1000 Main Features

1. World's smallest and lightest*1 Full HD (1920 x 1080) recording digital movie camera
2.  Adopts "New Ergonomic Design"
3.  New "Xacti Library" function allows easy file saving and playback*2

*1 For consumer-use Full HD digital movie cameras, smallest and lightest size is by volume (as of August 30, 2007)
*2 Via docking station

Outline

Through the spreading of digital television transmission signal and constant demand for higher resolution and larger screens, the way that the majority of consumers will view their own home movies has changed to be in alignment with these new market demands, as shown by the increase in purchases of high definition, large screen television sets.

SANYO realized this trend and put out a line of compact and convenient, 720p high definition digital movie cameras: the DMX-HD1 in February 2006, the DMX-HD1A followed in September 2006, and SANYO announced the sale of the DMX-HD2 in March 2007. These cameras expanded the silicon movie*3 market and record high definition video directly onto SD Memory Cards in the MPEG-4 format, as well as receiving high marks and general customer popularity, based on the concept of "take high quality digital movies and photographs anywhere and everywhere".

SANYO is pleased to now announce the sale of the Xacti DMX-HD1000, an ergonomical digital movie camera that enables user-friendly recording in Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), as well as easy playback and saving of movies*2.

*3 For movie cameras using semiconductor memory such as SD Memory Cards as a recording medium

Detailed Explanation

  Main Features

1.World’s smallest and lightest*1 Full HD (1920 x 1080) recording digital movie camera

The new DMX-HD1000, at a mere volume of only approximately 272 cc and weight of only 268 grams, is the world’s smallest and lightest*1, compact-sized Full HD recording (1920 horizontal resolution and 1080 vertical resolution) digital movie camera. The new HD1000 has also adopted the increasingly popular MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression format for recording video, enabling up to approximately 43 minutes of Full HD (1920 x 1080) recording onto a 4GB SDHC Memory Card. SANYO also developed a new high speed image processing engine to handle the image processing of the Full HD high capacity data. This new high speed image processing engine utilizes SANYO’s proprietary codec enabling Full HD compatibility with the H.264 format, and made it possible to allow the two separate chips previously used to be combined into one simple yet powerful chip. Also, the camera realizes a high compression ratio, thanks to the optimization of the image process algorithm actuator, and only uses the low amount of approximately 4.2 watts of power, allowing the battery to be used for up to approximately 2 hours of continuous use.

2.Adopts “New Ergonomic Design”

Following the familiar Xacti series style design concept, the camera’s design does not place unnecessary strain on the muscles. However, the new camera adds a new distinct feature – the ability to have the lens level with the ground when used with a tripod, creating a “New Ergonomic Design”.

This difference in style of the grip and lens this time is due to collaborative research conducted together with Professor Katsura and Associate Professor Shimomura from the Chiba University Graduate School of Technology Department of Design Science, Humanomics Section Engineering, and SANYO’s Research and Development Headquarters, Digital Systems Laboratories. The research tested 7 different camera models ranging from lens and grip angles of 0° to 135°, created for the purposes of testing. The test was based on analyses measuring the myogenic potential of 6 places on the right arm where the muscles are used during movie filming, as well as surveys asking for individual assessments and evaluations.

As a result of the tests and responses, it was discovered that an angle around 105° was not as tiring, serving as actual proof that it was easier to use than other models with different angles.

The DMX-HD1000 adopts this comfortable angle, and through designing the camera grip to fit better in the palm of the hand, allows an easier-to-carry, bring-anywhere camera perfect for high definition filming at any moment.


3.“Xacti Library” function allows easy file saving and playback*2

Typically, due to the large data size of Full HD movies, file saving and playback requires special hardware. The new “Xacti Library” allows for simple file saving and playback of movie and picture data by simply connecting the USB cable*4 from the docking station to an external hard disk drive*5. The user just places the camera into the docking station after connecting the station to the television and the external hard drive, and using the menu that appears on the television screen, can search through the thumbnails and choose either to play the file immediately or save it to the external hard disk. The saved files on the hard disk can also be accessed and played back from the thumbnail menu. Because the playback and saving of files occurs quickly with this type of storage medium, users can enjoy their movies without the stress and hassles of burning discs or converting the file to other formats, saving many precious hours, before viewing. The navigation through the menus can be done quickly through the remote control (comes with the camera) to search through thumbnails of the movies and pictures either in the camera or saved safely on the external hard disk as the menu appears on the television. The user need only to select the file to view from the thumbnail menu, and it will automatically begin playing on the television.

Also, the library has incorporated an album-function, which can be used to organize slide shows for everyone’s enjoyment. With the “Xacti Library” users can enjoy the benefits of simple file saving without even having a computer, and be able to easily sort through and select the images and movies they wish to share with the touch of a button

*4 Uses a special cable (included), HDMI cable sold separately
*5 SANYO does not guarantee that the docking station will be compatible with all external hard disk drives.

4.Enriched Camera Functions