Hitachi Adds A New 55-Inch Plasma Monitor And DVD Recorders To Consumer Electronics Line.

21-Jan-04

A new 55W-inch plasma television monitor, a family of multi-format DVD recorders, and DVD recording combination products and a pair of next-generation DVD-RAM/-R camcorders, highlighted new Hitachi Home Electronics products presented in a private showcase held for dealers several blocks from the Consumer Electronics Show.The company said it recently started shipping, at a $9,999.95 suggested retail, a 55W-inch HDTV plasma-television monitor, model 55HDM71, which produces 20 percent more picture area than Hitachi's 50W-inch models. The 55W-inch model will be the company's third screen size, joining 42W- and 50W-inch models in the lineup.The 55HDM71 offers a number of technical upgrades in terms of color reproduction, energy efficiency, and product longevity.These include a high-efficiency pixel driving technology that is said to reduce power consumption by 15 percent, without any reduction in light output. New color reproduction formulations produce 1.07 billion colors, and a high-contrast black rib structure increases the panel's black-level performance.The rib structure is designed to deliver a higher ""picture to non-picture ratio"" to produce smooth seamless images. The Hitachi 55HDM71 offers native 1,366 x 768 display resolution (WXGA) and through Hitachi's VirtualHD 1080p digital video processor, up-converts all incoming non-native signal sources up to 1080p before conversion to the native 768 panel display. Inputs include DVI-HDCP, component, and RGB. In DVD recorders, the company unveiled its first multi-format DVD recorder with an internal 120GB hard disk drive. Model DV-AS70U, which will ship in the third quarter at a $699.99 suggested retail, will allow recording on both rewriteable DVD-RAM and DVD-RW discs as well as on write-once DVD-R media.Both the DVD-RW and DVD-R discs will be compatible with most models of DVD players, while DVD-RAM discs will allow expanded capabilities such as the simultaneous recording, playback and rewinding of a program. The internal hard disk drive can store up to 160 hours of video programming and playback can be either 480i or 480p depending on the user selection.Hitachi also announced a progressive-scan DVD recorder/Hi-Fi VCR, a stand-alone multi-format progressive scan DVD recorder, a combination progressive scan DVD player/Hi-Fi VCR, and a stand-alone progressive scan DVD player.The DV-RF7U multi-format progressive scan DVD player/recorder with Hi-Fi VCR will ship in the second quarter at a $499.95 suggested retail. It offers Hitachi's Simple Playback feature that allows fast access to an exact moment in time in specific scenes of recorded programs. It will also play back non-finalized DVD-R discs from Hitachi's DVD camcorders and offers one-touch, real-time DVD to/from VCR transfer.Additional convenience features include Playlist Playback, an easy method to delete, edit and rearrange recorded materials on a DVD-RAM disc, and 1.5x speed playback with audio and VCR+ programming. The DV-PF74U ($129.99, second quarter) dual-deck VCR/DVD player is compatible with DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW (VF), CD, CD-R and CD-RW discs and will play JPEG and MP3 files. The DVD player features Hitachi's Disc Navigation system that allows instant access to selected chapters, variable-speed fast forward and reverse search speeds (2x-100x), 3-speed slow motion, smooth 2x playback, and still picture with field and frame advance.Hitachi will offer a stand-alone multi-format progressive scan player/recorder, the DV-RX7000U ($399.99, second quarter), and a single disc progressive scan DVD player, the DV-P745U ($69.99, second quarter).For more information, please visit www.hitachi.com.

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