Remember that Panasonic went with Prisa just like SGI, well NAB will
be coming up and Panasonic will be a MAJOR vendor at that show, here is their preview. Kind of long, but I'll highlight a few parts....They have most of the digital broadcast camera market.....
Riding The DVCPRO Wave
Panasonic Outlines "YourVision" For NAB
By Michael Grotticelli
Secaucus, NJ--Panasonic Broadcast & Digital Systems Company
(PBDSC) unveiled its product offerings for this year's NAB with a clear
emphasis on helping broadcasters make a cost-effective transition to
digital--and eventually high definition--television production.
Delivering its message under a show theme of "YourVision," it was also
evident that the company plans to market its wide variety of
DVCPRO-based products to a myriad of users, from broadcasters and post
production houses to Business and Industrial (B&I) users.
Panasonic continues to support the DVCPRO platform--that includes 25,
50, and, now, 100 Mbps (DVCPROHD) versions of Panasonic's
small-format, digital production equipment--with new products to enhance
the line. These include a new DVCPRO-based video production server
(AV-SS500), a News and Program Cache server (AJ-DR7000), a new
studio editing VTR (the AJ-D850, with three hour record/play time), and
several new cameras with and without switchable aspect ratios.
New DVCPRO50 gear features the ability to choose between tape-saving
DVCPRO ENG mode or high resolution 4:2:2 EFP mode. These include the
AJ-D910WA (2/3-inch IT CCD) camcorder, AJ-D92 field recorder,
AJ-D940 slow-motion player, and the AJ-D95DC AC/DC desktop VTR.
The AJ-D910WA camcorder-- available with a choice of three different
viewfinders--also features selectable 4:3/16:9 operation and optional DVpix
Link, Panasonic's exclusive field production system that stores shot logging
data in camera memory and records it on tape during the eject cycle. This
data can then be read by Panasonic's newsBYTE 4X transfer DVCPRO
nonlinear editing system.
While the DVCPRO50 equipment is targeted at digital production resulting
in high-quality standard definition (480i) pictures, DVCPROHD is being
touted as the "Gold Standard" among HD format equipment for high-quality
studio production.
These new studio and EFP cameras represent the first 100 Mb equipment to
be shown by the company, although they will not be available until the end of
this year. The new additions include the AJ-HDC10 and AJ-HDC20 100
Mb camcorders and the AJ-HD150 studio VTR, and all support the 1080i
format.
"Panasonic's showing of affordable HD resolution DVCPRO solutions
reflects our stated plan to evolve the DVCPRO family to fulfill the wide
variety of requirements of ENG and [ITU-R601] and HD resolution
EFP/ENG applications," said Stuart English, the company's new vice
president of marketing for the Digital Systems Company. "The DVCPRO
recording system's unique resolution scalability provides broadcasters and
producers alike an unparalleled protection of their investment dollar as they
transition to the digital television future."
Although it was stated that the company is not backing away from its earlier
position to develop 720p production equipment (several prototype cameras
are being tested), this year's NAB will only see 1080i products in the booth
on the show floor. Panasonic is showing two "true 1080i" CCD cameras, the
AK-HC880 studio and AK-HC800 portable EFP cameras.
"We feel that the demand for [720p] equipment is not there yet," English
stated. "On the flip side, 1080i has a very strong presence on a worldwide
basis, so we've decided to offer those products first. Certainly, we will
produce 720 equipment as the demand increases."
For HD field recording, they'll introduce the AJ-HD2200 portable D-5 HD
field recording deck, designed to complement the AK-HC830 portable
camera. The ENG unit offers 12V DC operation and a power consumption
of under 50 watts, according to the company. It records 10-bit resolution,
full-bandwidth, 4:2:2 sampled HD signals with four audio tracks.
Addressing what has become a hot issue for post production professionals,
Panasonic has evolved its D-5 HD processor product to include
switchability between 1080 interlaced and progressive modes. The
AJ-HD3000 mastering studio VTR is also capable of recording and
playback at various frame rates (60i, 50i, 24p, 25p, and 30p).
Panasonic also said they are looking more closely at the B&I "Proline"
market and will introduce a range of DVCPRO (25 Mbps)-based products
to be known as the Professional Video (PV) series. The first product is the
AJ-D400 3-CCD camcorder at a price of just under $9,000 (without lens).
Other units in the PV line include the AJ-D215 camcorder and AJ-D440
and AJ-D450 studio VTRs. Availability is targeted for May.
Finally, Panasonic announced the availability ("sometime after NAB") of its
AJ-UFC1800 Universal DTV Format Converter--seen at last year's
NAB--that enables broadcasters to convert TV signals between all
ATSC-compliant DTV formats. The unit can adjust picture aspect ratios
with "pan and scan" functions and supports multiple frame rates (such as 60,
50, 30, and 24 Hz).
"Our position about DTV is... we have so many different technologies inside
Panasonic that we can address any customer need," English added. "DTV
doesn't only mean high definition. Digital means so many different things and
we [as a company] are evolving that way... from the high-end HD
broadcaster to the guy producing video for the Internet."
For more information, call Panasonic at (800) 528-8601, or visit Panasonic
at NAB booth #L22901.
In a related note, at NAB '99 Panasonic is teaming with a number of
companies that have announced support for the DVCPRO codec in their
products to present a DVCPRO Partners Inter-Operability demonstration at
booth #L12120 in the LVCC's new North Hall.
The exhibit will feature companies such as Avid Technology, JVC, NDS
Americas, Pluto Technologies, SGI, Tektronix, and Quantel displaying their
products' DVCPRO-compliant capabilities in a networked (SDTI-based)
system within the booth. The idea is to show the seamless transfer of
compressed digital video between the different companies' devices. The
transfers will all be done using compressed streams, over a combination of
SDTI and Fibre Channel. Other companies displaying product include
Tiernan, Matrox, Gennum, and Pinnacle Systems/Truevision.
As these systems become larger FC should move in farther. Good luck SGI/Prisa/ANCR |
