Gymnos (Greek word for "naked") or simply "Gym" as we’d like to call it is not a replacement for any of the currently available Casablanca models; instead it is positioned in the mid-segment of the Casablanca range.
Like the Casablanca Renommee, the Gymnos is keeping the tried & trusted Prestige case design (it is deeper though), including the removable hard-drive sled. Of course, Gymnos is also shipped with the latest Pioneer DVD burner too.

It features the same mainboard as the Renommee (not Renommee PLUS) and thus an Intel Pentium 4 processor at 3,0 GHz and with 512 MB DDR-RAM memory. The hard-drive capacity is 250 GB.
However, Gymnos is deliberately shipped without any special video hardware, namely any analogue video ins or front inputs. To connect a monitor, the VGA port is used.
On the software side, Gymnos is shipped with SMART EDIT 5 without Pro Pack functionality, is therefore comparable with the software specs of a Claro or Avio DVD.
There will be an upgrade available for Gymnos users, that adds the video ins & outs, the front inputs. This, plus the Pro Pack, allows users to bringing their Gymnos on a par with the smaller Renommee model any time.

Gymnos is the perfect system for any user who likes to edit DV and/or HDV footage in a fast and efficient way.

The following table demonstrates the Gymnos performance increase in view of the Claro.

(click for a larger view)

Gymnos is scheduled for shipping early June 2006.