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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.
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.
