Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 19, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
According to Sony, the XDCAM HD 422 format is enjoying increasing popularity. The format is gaining ground throughout Germany and internationally. Birgit Niehaus, project engineer at Bayerischer Rundfunk, provided initial reports on experience with it during the final German stop of Sony Professional World in Munich. She offered insights into the introduction of the format at one of the largest public-service broadcasters.
CAMELOT Purchases Additional PDW-700s
Demand for productions in XDCAM HD 422 is also being felt by television service providers and equipment-rental companies. Berlin-based film and television rental house CAMELOT Broadcast Services GmbH has therefore already expanded its inventory of PDW-700 camcorders. Because of numerous upcoming productions, two additional units have joined the rental pool with immediate effect. The proportion of high-quality HD productions at CAMELOT is also increasing rapidly overall. Alongside the PDW-700, its offering therefore includes the high-end F35 film camera, HDW-F900R HDCAM camcorders and the compact PMW-EX3 and EX1 XDCAM EX camcorders.
“Following the numerous uses of the PDW-700 for high-quality television reports and industrial-film productions, we are also receiving increasing requests for the XDCAM HD 422 format for documentaries,” said Steffen Scheid, business development manager at CAMELOT. “The format’s quality, the mature file-based workflow and compatibility with established editing systems such as Avid and Final Cut have now become widely known. In addition, the SD option allows us to offer our customers standard-definition recording during the transition period.”
The PDW-700 camcorders offer sophisticated features: 2/3-inch CCD Power HAD FX image sensors, 4:2:2 image sampling, recording at up to Full HD and image data rates of up to 50 Mbit/s. The optical Professional Disc, with storage capacity of up to 50 GB, is used as the recording medium. The media can be recorded more than a thousand times and played back more than a million times. They are also distinguished by production reliability, capacity and long-term archivability.
Shown for the First Time: Complete Production Workflow in 1080p50 (3G)
Alongside Sony’s complete camera line-up, numerous other new products were shown at Sony Professional World. For the first time, a complete 1080p50 (3G) production workflow was demonstrated: footage captured by an HDC-1500 system camera was transferred via a 3G interface to an HDCAM SR recorder and fed from there to an MVS-8000G. The latest-generation MVS-8000 switcher uses the proven effects units from earlier models while offering new hardware features. Additional SD/HD converters can now be configured in the system for the first time, and every keyer now includes a DME mixer for creating simple picture-in-picture effects.
Sony Professional World concluded in Munich with more than 1,000 visitors. This year, the concept was expanded for the first time to cover the complete professional line-up, providing a 360-degree view of Sony solutions in media/broadcast, presentation technology and digital signage. Visitors were particularly impressed by the synergies possible between the widest range of technologies. From 3D videoconferencing and public displays to camera technology, the use of products in very different solutions illustrated the versatility of Sony technology. Alongside the product presentation, high-profile guest speakers such as renowned cinematographer Michael Ballhaus complemented the show and provided information on innovations, trends and new technologies in the various application areas.
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