While everyone is trying to put out new Blu-ray DVD players, Hitachi is trying a different approach. Sure, playing “Blades of Glory” in its high-def glory would be nice, but how about giving your grandma that same courtesy?

That’s right folks, Hitachi is introducing not just the first Blu-ray camcorder, but they are staking claim on the second as well.

The DZ-BD70A is a single-drive camcorder that can do one hour of HD on a single 8cm single-sided BD-R or BD-RE disc. The DZ-BD7HA is a “hybrid” unit, which means it can do the Blu-ray disc thing, but also as 30GB of hard drive space to stuff.

Both have a 10x zoom, a 5.3-megapixel CMOS image sensor for 4.32-megapixel still images and the ability to record standard definition too—in case you have a bunch of blank DVDs collecting dust.

As with playing Blu-ray discs, making them doesn’t come cheap either. The DZ-BD70A will run $1,299, with the DZ-BD7HA priced at $1,499. Expect both next month.

Rachel Cericola - Contributing Writer

Over the past 15 years, Rachel Cericola has covered entertainment, web and technology trends. Check her out at www.rachelcericola.com.