NAB: Sony – HD in phase two

Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 25, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.

At NAB 2006, Sony is replacing its first in-house HD products with successors: The HDV- recorders HVR-M15E and HVR-M25E, respectively, replace the HVR-M10E, and the HDW-F900R camcorder replaces its predecessor HDW-F900. Around 90 percent of all machines shown at the Sony booth work in high resolution. It is clearly recognizable that the market introduction of HDTV is progressing and has entered a new phase. During its NAB press conference, Sony was able to present many customers who have switched to HD. This suggests that the Japanese group can now reap the fruits of its introductory work.

„HD for all“ is Sony’s slogan for NAB 2006. And indeed, the manufacturer can now offer corresponding HD products for all areas from consumer to cinema production. The group is now closing several remaining gaps at NAB.

A trade-fair innovation is the HDC-3300 super-slow-motion camera system: It can record at both normal and three-times-higher image speed and processes the following formats: 1920 x 1080/180i or respectively 150i and 1280 x 720/180p or respectively 150p. The camera can be operated remotely over ordinary SMPTE fiber-optic cables at a distance of up to 2.000 meters.

The new HVR-M25E HDV recorder offers the option of converting from 1080/50i to 720/50p as well as from 1080i to 720/60p. When down-converting to 4:3 format, the user can manually set the edge-crop area. The new HDW-F900R camcorder now has an HD-SDI interface for image monitoring. Sony has also made the casing more compact and reduced power consumption.

The BRC-H700 High Definition pan-tilt-zoom camera is also being newly presented at the trade fair. This remote-control model has a panning range of 340 degrees and a tilt angle of 120 degrees. The camera is intended for recording reality TV, surveillance tasks and remotely controlled acquisition of high-quality images for presentations.

Sony has been shipping XDCAM HD since March 2006. Alongside CBS, the British bhq has also invested in this technology. At Sony, there is hope that 2006 will be the year of XDCAM HD. In the XDCAM area, the group is also showing two other new products: The portable PDW-R1 recorder can draw its power both from a power supply and from a battery. The PDJ-A640 Cart System has space for 640 Professional Discs and can be used for automated playout, archiving and digitization.

Further links:

• Sony Professional Video