By Matthew Henry
SYDNEY: SanDisk has announced a new range of SDHC and Memory Stick Pro Duo cards specifically designed for the latest high definition camcorders, making it easier for sales staff to attach cards with video camera sales.
Camcorder makers are increasingly turning to flash memory cards for storage in their video cameras due to their growing capacity, small size and reliability.
But with many of these video cameras recording high definition footage in 1080i and 1080p, which required a high performance card to keep up, sales staff need to be careful which card they recommend.
Available in 4GB and 8GB sizes in SDHC and Memory Stick PRO Duo, SanDisk believes the new Video HD lineup will assist customers in finding the right card.
“The SanDisk Video HD line takes the mystery out of selecting the proper memory for these new camcorders,” said SanDisk senior product marketing manager – cards and accessories, Susan Park.
“The bright red packaging and the bold labeling of recording times give consumers an easy way to select memory cards for video.
“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.”
In a feature reminiscent of video tapes, Video HD cards feature the number of minutes of recording time the consumer can expect when filming in the 9mbps standard quality HD setting.
By this measure, a 4GB card is good for 60 minutes recording, or 40 minutes at 13Mbps recording mode.
SanDisk claims the cards exceed the performance required for HD video recording and also aid in faster transfer to the PC due to quick read and write speed.
Prices for the range are as follows:
• SDHC cards: 4GB RRP $66, 8GB RRP $119
• Memory Stick PRO Duo: 4GB RRP $101, 8GB $194