15:51 on Fri 9th May
Canon Europe is set to launch in September its first HDV camcorder targeted at non-pros, the HV10, and claims that it will be the world's smallest HDV1080i model. Maddeningly, the anticipated UK street price is £1,299, while the figure for the USA (would you Adam and Eve it?) is, yes, $1,299.
Canon UK is launching two further 'pro' HDV high-def camcorders to sell alongside its XL H1 flagship model. Both record 1080/50i to MiniDV tape and have pro XLR mic inputs. One, though, adds HD-SDI output, genlock synchronization and timecode in/out. 
Back in May, Panasonic and Sony debuted a new DVD-based hi-def camcorder format for consumers - AVCHD. Sony has now unveiled its first two AVCHD models. One records to DVD but the other to hard disk, reflecting one of the major changes to the AVCHD spec announced in Japan last week.
Confirming our world exclusive, Matrox has announced that it is getting ready to launch a lower-cost, lite version of its HD-capable video editing card, the Axio. And we reckon that should mean that an even more affordable version for editing HDV consumer high-def video won't be far behind. 
That might seem like a very stupid question but John C. Dvorak is certain it's on the cards, having been persuaded in large part, he says, by Yakov Epstein, of Rutgers University.
London's Earls Court 2 plays host Tuesday to Thursday of next week to VideoForum 2006 - the leading UK show for serious amateur camcorders users, video editors and DVD authors, and also an important diary-date for pros. The free-to-attend event is said to offer 140 free seminars, along with exhibits and demos from around 130 companies, including the likes of Adobe, AMD, Apple, Avid, Canopus, Canon Broadcast, Matrox and Sony Broadcast.
Adobe is launching new versions of its lead moving-image and audio editing programs Premiere Pro 2.0, After Effects 7.0, Encore DVD 2.0 and Audition 2.0. Find out more in the DVdoctor.community and watch this space for our upcoming hands-on preview.
As an antidote to some of the soft news about high-def DVD eminating from last week's CES in Las Vegas, we've come up with five (hard-ish) facts we think you ought to know about standard-def and high-def DVD. Check out this HEXUS.lifestyle.headline and share with us in the DVdoctor.community some DVD facts you think ought to receive a wider hearing.
Among other things John Ferrick predicts for the year ahead are the shine starting to come off Google, Microsoft's Xbox 360 staying ahead of Sony PS3 and Dell possibly launching an Intel-based PC running Apple's OSX operating system. Check out all his 2006 predictions and let us hear your own in the DVdoctor.community.
Matrox's DualHead2Go takes the single monitor output of your laptop (or indeed a single output from any other system) and provides a means of using two external displays. Read more about it and discuss this clever new product in the DVdoctor.community.
Tenomichi's 3D Edit video editing program remains unique in the way in which it harnesses the power of the PC's 3D graphics accelerator, especially of DirectX 9 Shaders, to speed rendering and reduce the workload on the CPU. All the more surprising, then, that the company has introduced a version of its top editor, 3D Edit Gold V3, that's said to be optimised for use with AMD's dual-core Athlon 64 CPU. Read more and comment in the DVdoctor.community.Read more here, and comment in the HEXUS.communityTenomichi's 3D Edit is a video editing package which leverages the computer's GPU power to provide Real-Time video effects through DirectX9. In January of this year DVdoctor reviewed an early build of 3D Edit - an article well worth checking out if you want to learn more about the groundbreaking functionality of the program.
The BBC is set to run a year-long series of trial HD TV broadcasts from mid-2006. It plans to simulcast highlights of BBC 1's peaktime schedule in HD on satellite and cable from mid-year and hopes to run terrestrial trials in London at the same time. Read more and comment in the DVdoctor.community.
Avid has at last unveiled its strategy for the Liquid family of video editors acquired with the take over of Pinnacle. New Avid Liquid products include the software-only Liquid 7.0 and a variant with breakout box, Liquid 7.0 Pro, both said to be "packed" with new features for users who want one program for creating and delivering tape, DVD and streaming media. Read more and comment in the DVdoctor.community.
Check out the full release, with links to a free demo version, in DVdoctor Press Releases."Our completely rewritten H.264 Codec is possibly the best video encoder money can buy," said MainConcept founder and CEO Markus Moenig, "with quality suitable for the most demanding professional applications."
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