Sony HDR-UX20 - The New King of Hybrid Camcorder?

If you feel the need to record in HD - and really, with today's emphasis on HD in TV and video, why wouldn't you want to upgrade your personal recordings to the same level of quality - and will have a nice chunk of change lying around this coming March, Sony would like you to consider their newest DVD-based camcorder, the HDR-UX20.

Topping the list of impressive features: 1080p HD recording based on AVCHD technology; a new high-profile encoding system for optimizing the balance between image definition and file size; use of the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video codec for compatibility with many pieces of third-party video editing software; face detection technology that allocates more pixels to the up to eight encoded faces than any other Handycam; a Carl Zeiss Sonnar lens; and support for 8cm dual-layer DVD recording, a media card for images, and 8 GB of internal memory that can hold up to an hour of high-def video. At $1000 MSRP the HDR-UX20 won't be cheap, but for the A/V nut who has to have it all, Sony's newest portable camera might just fit the bill.