Here’s a promising find from UK based Second Sight Surveillance Ltd - the DV Pro Head Cam (Double Vision Pro) (Helmet camera). Thanks for the heads up Engadget. I currently have a request for more info in the works. Until then here is what I have gathered: Designed for police/fire/etc, Custom DVR solution with 30GB (upto 80GB) hard drive, 2-46 hours of recording, 4 hour Lithium Ion based battery with integrated power management, No USB/Firewire - it uses a IDE based hot swap drive chassis approach, remote hand held LCD monitor, 3-4 different camera choices ranging from low cost entry level quality to higher end color with night illumination, and a noise cancelling microphone.

If the DVR system they are using is MJPEG based, which based on the specs of 2-46 hours of recording it most likely is, then there is a high probability that this DVR can do broadcast quality recording. I’m hoping the internals are something like Fast Forward Video’s Outrider IDE DVR product.

For extreme sports, the standard mechanical based hard drive recording will not suffice, but I do not see any reason why you could not swap in a IDE Flash based hard drive. The down side here is IDE flash based hard drives definitely cost more that Compact Flash drives and SD cards, partially due to additional IDE chipset costs, but mostly because of manufacturing/sales volume for IDE Flash drives is small.

No specifications on the camera chipsets, will update when I get more info. Sounds like they have a variety of options. The accessories page talks about a Helmet Camera option that is designed for top of helmet mounting (vs side of head) - this is good. Also, no specs on the viewing angle of the shipped lenses.

I’m not sure about the power situation yet. The pictures do not show a good reference to the battery/power source. The website mentions Sony batteries, etc. Wait and see.

The Price: £2,499.00 / $3,200. Most likely this system has a nice, high-end, broad cast quality DVR in it!

HelmetCamCentral.com Recommendation: Mechanical drive is a con, but most likely can be resolved, HUGE PRO for the broadcast quality recording, little pricey - but if you’re looking for the best quality, compression flexibility, integrated power - this could be your system.