Who Needs HD When You’ve Got 4K?

Techies rejoice! A new toy is hitting the market. Of course, JVC’s GY-HMQ10, the world’s first handheld 4K camcorder, isn’t a toy, per se; the high-tech wonder captures, records and plays video at a resolution that trumps the 1080p image quality of high-definition television four times over.

4K image quality has been available in DSLR camcorders for some time now, but only for capturing still images; lack of sufficient processing power meant that video had to be captured in a lower resolution. With the processing power of JVC’s exclusive Falconbrid large-scale integration (LSI) chip on its side, the GY-HMQ10 can not only capture 4K video but also output that video to a monitor in real-time with virtually no lag.

“We’re witnessing the birth of what is destined to become a broad market for full 4K end-to-end production” announced Edgar Shane, general manager of engineering at JVC Professional Products Company, which created the GY-HMQ10. “The GY-HMQ10 is a breakthrough product that opens up 4K imaging to users who previously wouldn’t have considered it.”

In addition to the 4K video imaging made possible by the GY-HMQ10, the camercorder can also also record HD video directly onto a single memory card in a format compatible with most editing systems. It even lets users crop an HD image from a 4K frame, a special request made by attendees at JVC’s 4K forums that was honored by JVC when they designed the GY-HMQ10. The camcorder’s 8.3 megapixel imager and powerful lens gives its image quality incredible detail, while its lightweight and portable design makes it the perfect fit for field production.

The GY-HMQ10 is “part of a larger move at JVC to bring 4K technology to a wide range of customers,” adds Shane. “4K is the logical step beyond HD.” Unveiled at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), JVC’s newest camcorder will begin shipping to customers in March. To find out more about the GY-HMQ10 and its myriad features—too many to mention in their entirety here—visit pro.jvc.com.