http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=nocclamp&doc_id=1340006473
Sony XDCAM-HD Arrives in March
Sony Broadcast and Electronics will deliver its XDCAM-HD blu-ray disc camcorders and decks in early March with CBS and rental houses in Los Angeles among the early recipients. (See how CBS will use its new cameras in a Q&A, below.)
The new disc-based recording system is expected to be used for HD reality programs going into production this summer (although whether they actually air the programs in HD remains to be seen) as well as with local broadcasters interested in HD news. The CBS station group has committed to deploy XDCAM-HD across its 17 stations.
Pricing for the new XDCAM-HD camcorders is $25,800 for the high-end PDW350 and $16,800 for the PDW330. The former has advanced features like the ability to shoot slow or fast motion and HD-SDI digital video and digital audio outputs while the latter has analog audio and analog component outputs. The two decks are the PDWF70 recording deck ($15,990) and the PDWF30 viewing deck ($9,500).
XDCAM HD lets users choose from three bit rates depending on the quality level they want. The three levels are 18 Mbps (delivering 120 minutes of HD recording on a single 23 GB blu-ray disk), 25 Mbps (for 90 minutes of recording and compatibility with HDV material) and 35 Mbps (delivering 60 minutes of recording per disk).
"The 18 Mbps we believe is the best data rate for microwave transmission which is essential for broadcast operations," says Hugo Gaggioni, Sony Broadcast's chief technical officer. "The 25 Mbps rate allows for compatibility with existing HDV products and 35 Mbps provides very high-quality pictures to support production and post production."
The system also has the same workflow as the standard-definition version, removing any learning curve for editors and others who will use it. But it also has new features for broadcasters like "Freeze Mix" which lets the cameraperson switch seamlessly between pre-recorded material on the disk and a live shot.
http://www.studiodaily.com/main/technique/casestudies/6036.html
Q&A
Bob Seidel
VP Engineering/Advanced Technologies
CBS
CBS' Plan for the Sony XDCAM-HD
Sony will begin shipping its new XDCAM-HD camcorders and decks in March. First up on the to-do list is making sure the CBS station group gets their share of the initial shipment. Bob Seidel, CBS vice president, engineering/advanced technologies, spoke with HD Update about the transition to HD news. An edited transcript follows:
Q: What are some of the variables for rolling out XDCAM-HD to your stations?
A: WBZ Boston will probably be the first to do the full HD conversion and WBBM Chicago will initially use it as an SD format. We're in the process of moving WBBM out of its existing building. So we acquired space in a new building and we will be moving into that space and building it as a totally HD facility. But that will probably take a full year.
Q: Stations are grappling with how they can do HD news. What do you see as the big challenge?
A: We've advocated a philosophy where as you update a facility you design and build equipment that is dual mode for both HD and SD. If you don't it will be very expensive. But if your equipment is dual mode, whether it's a routing switcher, a production switcher, or a camera, you future proof your facility.
Seven of our stations have done that. As production switchers were getting old and tired they bought dual-mode switchers and seven of them now have dual-mode production switchers, routers, and studio cameras. So they have a very easy transition.
Q: Is it as easy as flipping a switch?
A: Sometimes it's not even flipping a switch. The camera can have SD and HD signals coming out of the camera and if you take the HD to the switcher it will process both signals and route them. So in some cases it's throwing a switch but if you have wired HD jackfields that can go digital HD or digital SD you're done.
Another big thing is the Nextel radio acquisition. Broadcasters, in exchange for giving back spectrum to the FCC, will receive all new digital microwave gear with the same feature set we had before we had to do the giveback. And now those radios will have digital ASI input at no additional cost and that's where the HD signal will be sent. So essentially the conversion of the radios from analog to digital is being paid for by Nextel. So that's one less thing a station will have to worry about in terms of cost.
http://www.2ghzrelocation.com/plugin/template/broadcast1/12/*
— Interview by Ken Kerschbaumer
