Archive notice: This article was originally published on December 18, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Sony Professional has sold more than 250,000 HDCAM SR tapes across Europe since 2003. Sales figures that continue to rise are a clear indication of how highly professional post-production companies still value tapes today. In the six years since its introduction, HDCAM SR has become the standard for producing professional high-definition broadcasts, commercials and feature films.
Sony Professional’s commitment to the HDCAM SR format remains undiminished: the breadth of the HDCAM SR portfolio and the December 2009 launch of the Sony SRW-9000 provide clear evidence. Gisbert Hochgürtel, Product Manager at Sony Professional, explains: “File-based formats have undoubtedly revolutionised professional post-production. However, tape sales that continue to rise in Europe demonstrate the important role these media still play. Broadcasters, producers and filmmakers currently want, above all, a flexible solution that enables both tape- and file-based acquisition and workflows. HDCAM SR meets precisely these requirements. It supports the traditional tape workflow, the DPX file format and, from 2010, the MXF file format with the new SR-Lite data rate of 220 Mbps. Our aim is always to provide our customers with the solutions they need not only today, but also in the future.”
Sony Professional has now integrated the HDCAM SR tape format into a complete file-based HDCAM SR workflow, from acquisition through to archiving. With the forthcoming update to the SRW-5800 VTR recorder, customers will be able to work with a combination of tape- and file-based processes at every stage of their workflow.
Despite the introduction of the file-based HDCAM SR workflow at the beginning of 2010, Sony Professional is also strengthening the position of tape media in this way—the two workflows exist side by side and work hand in hand. Users wishing to take advantage of the extensive benefits of the HDCAM SR format can therefore choose tapes, a file-based workflow or a combination of both.
Gisbert Hochgürtel adds: “We are convinced that customers in professional television production will continue to prefer archiving on tape in the future. The same applies to documentaries and reports. Another reason tape will remain with us for a long time is the high level of security inherent in the medium.”
The compact BCT-series HDCAM SR tapes—BCT-6SR, BCT-33SR and BCT-40SR—are a central component of Sony Professional’s HDCAM SR strategy. From 2010, every user will benefit, as Sony Professional will reduce tape prices in the eurozone by as much as 40 percent during the coming year.
In November 2009, Sony Professional also announced “HDCAM SR Memory,” a solid-state storage system for HDCAM SR. SR Memory cards are a unique nonlinear medium featuring fast transfer rates of more than 5 GB/s and storage capacity of up to 1 TB. Sony Professional’s SR storage technology is ideally suited to high-end production—for native acquisition of 3D 1080p and extremely high frame rates at resolutions of up to 4K. SR Memory is expected to be available from the beginning of 2011.
Sony will present a broad selection of broadcast and studio technology at Sony Professional World 2010 on the following dates in these cities:
January 21, 2010, Vienna, Interspot Film
January 26, 2010, Munich, Plazamedia Studios
January 29, 2010, Hamburg, MagnusHall
February 9, 2010, Cologne, German Sport & Olympia Museum
The events are open from 9:30 to 17:00. Admission is free.
Further links:
- More information about Sony Professional World 2010
