Flip video

The Flip Ultra. The red light indicates that a recording is in progress.

The Flip Video Pocket Camcorders were introduced in the United States by Pure Digital Technologies. In March 2009, Cisco bought the company. The three models, the Flip Ultra, the Flip UltraHD and the Flip MinoHD, have been available in Germany since November 2009. The name "Flip" is a reference to the movement of the "freaking out" of the cameras' integrated USB arm. In April 2011 the Cisco product was withdrawn from its range.

history

The Flip video camcorders have been part of Cisco since March 2009 . Previously, they were developed and sold by the company Pure Digital Technologies. Pure Digital launched the first version of the Flip Camcorder on May 1st, 2006 under the name “Pure digital Point & Shoot” video camcorder on the American market.

This camcorder was a further development of the CVS disposable camcorder that Pure Digital had sold in pharmacies of the American chain CVS Caremark . If the memory was full, the camera had to be returned to the pharmacy. A DVD with the video recordings was then sent to the buyer .

A year after the first release, the camera was renamed "Flip Video". On September 12, 2007, the Flip Ultra came onto the US market. The HD versions Flip UltraHD and Flip MinoHD followed in 2008 . In the year of launch, the Flip Camcorders captured 13 percent of the camcorder market.

One of the things that helped Flip its market breakthrough was positioning it as a lifestyle gadget: After TV presenter Oprah Winfrey had distributed Flip camcorders to her entire studio audience, more and more celebrities began to use both the Mino and the Ultra models.

In 2008 Pure Digital began distributing the Flip Camcorders in the UK. The expansion to Germany - the three Flip models have been available here since November 3rd, 2009 - then happened under the umbrella of the Cisco company . Sales in France also started at the same time.

In November 2010, Cisco launched a new generation of camcorders on the German market. The new Flip UltraHD and the new MinoHDs - there is a version in silver that films for one hour and one in black that has two hours of capacity - now have an image stabilizer and film at 50 FPS instead of 30 like the previous models. The US models film at 60 FPS . At the start of the new generation, it was announced that by September 2010 over five million Flip Video Camcorders had been sold worldwide.

In April 2011, Cisco announced that it would discontinue its camcorder division and with it the flip products.

features

All flip camcorders are equipped with a built-in speaker, stereo microphone, USB connector and a fixed focus lens . They have built-in memory; there is no provision for expansion using a memory card. The "FlipShare" software required for transferring, saving, editing and uploading to the Internet is preinstalled on all cameras. It starts automatically when the camera is connected to a PC or Mac via the integrated USB arm .

Flip Ultra

The Flip Ultra has the dimensions 10.8 cm × 5.5 cm × 2.9 cm (height × width × depth) and has a two- inch display. The four gigabyte memory allows up to two hours of film material to be recorded. The Flip Ultra is available in Germany in the colors yellow, pink and white.

Flip UltraHD

Like the Flip Ultra, the Flip UltraHD has the dimensions 10.8 cm × 5.5 cm × 2.9 cm and has a two-inch display. It is sold with an AA battery pack that is charged via the integrated USB arm. The eight gigabyte memory holds two hours of videos. The UltraHD has an HDMI output for connection to flat screen televisions. It is available in black in Germany.

Next version, available since November 2010: The new version of the Flip UltraHD is 10.57 cm × 5.36 cm × 2.24 cm narrower than the previous model. It has an image stabilizer and films with a frame rate of 50 FPS . In addition to the HDMI output, it has a "FlipPort", a proprietary output that can be used to connect accessories to the camcorder. Third-party suppliers should also be able to develop accessories for the Flip UltraHD as part of a “Designed for Flip” program.

Flip MinoHD

The MinoHD camcorders are thinner and lighter than the Ultra models (dimensions: 10 cm × 5 cm × 1.6 cm, 93 g). The display is 1.5 inches, the recording capacity is one hour. The Minos run on an integrated lithium-ion battery , which is charged via the USB interface when connected to the computer. The MinoHD is available in Germany in black and chrome.

Next versions, available since November 2010: The new Flip MinoHD is available in two versions. In a version with a matt silver cover that can record up to an hour of video in HD, and as a matt black model that has a capacity of up to two hours. Compared to the previous model, both MinoHDs have a larger, non-reflective display and, like the UltraHD, have an HDMI output via which they can be connected to an HD television via cable.

FlipShare

The FlipShare software is pre-installed on all models. It starts when a camcorder is connected to a PC or Mac using a USB arm. It can be used to edit videos, create films from several sequences and manage the videos. In addition, FlipShare allows the videos to be sent via a link in an email. The films are loaded onto a FlipShare server and retrieved there by the recipients of the email. Upload options to YouTube and Myspace are also integrated.

Next versions, available since mid-October 2010: In the new version of FlipShare, a direct upload to Myspace is no longer possible, but instead to YouTube and now also to Facebook and Twitter . A new “Magic Movie” function cuts a highlight video from many individual scenes at the push of a button, and an improved snapshot function should make it easier for users to take photos from the videos.

gallery

Flip Ultra HD with the battery compartment open
USB arm of the Flip Ultra HD
Flip Ultra HD controls
Bottom of the Flip Ultra HD with lock of the battery compartment and tripod holder