The Home Electronics Division of Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., www.hitachi.com/tv, unveiled its latest DVD camcorders today at the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show. Three new DVD camcorder models now offer both DVD-R and DVD-RAM format compatibility. The DVD-R capability provides compatibility with most home DVD players.(1) DVD-RAM offers simple in-camera editing and incredible durability as discs can be re-recorded over 100,000 times.(2)

``Hitachi introduced one of the first video camcorders to consumers over 20 years ago and has been an innovating force in video ever since,'' said Leo Delaney, vice president of marketing for Hitachi America, Ltd., Home Electronics Division. ``The DVD format is an exceptional choice for high quality video recording. It offers all of the ease of use benefits associated with disc-based recording and long-term durability that tape-based formats just can't match. In addition, the consumer is no longer dependant on using their camcorder as the playback device since DVD-R adds compatibility with most home DVD players. Hitachi's new DVD camcorders will change the way consumers record and share home video.''