First-Ever Disposable Video Cameras Hit Stores

POSTED: 7:58 am PDT June 9, 2005

It's a natural progression from the disposable digital camera.

CVS Pharmacy has started selling the world's first single-use point-and-shoot disposable digital video camera.

There is no videotape, the camera saves images to internal memory. The portable camera is very low-maintenance. There are only three buttons and there is no jack to connect it to a TV. Consumers can capture up to 20 minutes of digital quality video and sound, in as many separate segments or clips as they wish. The video camcorder's 1.4-inch color playback screen lets consumers instantly watch their home videos and even delete unwanted segments with the press of a button.

Once you have finished using the camera, you take it to CVS for processing. The material is burned onto a DVD which customers can get back the same day.

The camera itself costs about $30, the processing costs about $13.

The fully-edited DVD includes features people may expect to find on a major motion picture DVD -- like a main menu and individual, titled scenes. The company said those features make it easy to find and view each home movie segment they've shot.

According to the companies, the following are the Video Camcorder features and benefits:

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# Simple-to-use, pocket-sized camcorder weighs under 5 ounces
# Holds 20 saved minutes of digital quality video and sound
# 1.4 inch color playback screen
# Ability to playback and delete videos
# Return to any CVS/pharmacy 1-hour photo lab for DVD

DVD Features and Benefits:

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# Simple viewing on DVD players or computers with DVD drive
# Convenient archiving and storage
# Email video and video greeting cards as easily as digital photos with SmartShare computer application No email system or software installation required

The disposal video camera is available now at 1,400 CVS stores in the Northeast. The cameras will be available in over 4,500 stores nationwide by June 26.