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MillimeterHDV @ Work
Dec 19, 2005 4:40 PM
Panasonic HVX200 DVCPRO HD camcorder set to arrive
By Steve Mullen
Panasonic has announced that customers will be able to purchase the HVX200 in the last few days of 2005. Unlike previous low-cost HD camcorders introduced to date, the HVX200 does not use MPEG-2 compression. Rather than 720p or 1080i HDV, the HVX200 uses DVCPRO HD. Of course, most video professionals following HDV technology will also want to educate themselves about this new camcorder. (See the January issue of Video Systems for Barry Braverman's upcoming review of the HVX200.)
This will be a new codec for many who may consider the HVX200; it has been previously available only on very expensive HD camcorders. So for those who have had little experience with this codec, here’s an overview.
Let’s first examine Sony’s HDCAM codec. With HDCAM, prior to compression, 1920 pixels from 1920x1080-element CCDs are pre-filtered to yield 1440 pixels per row. Then the 1440x1080 pixel luminance signal (Y) is then compressed and recorded to 1/2in. tape. The Cb and Cr color difference signals filtered and digitized to provide 640x1080 sampling for each chroma component. The 17:6:6 sampled video is recorded at 140Mbps.
When recording 24p, the camera uses progressive scanning of 1920x1080 images. Each 1080-line image is stored in a buffer. Then every 1/48 second, alternating sets of 540 lines are written to an HDCAM recorder. The recorder treats the input as 48 fields-per-second interlace video. Of course, there are no interlace artifacts in this 1080i48 video. The designation for this video is 23.976PsF.
Now let's turn to Panasonic. When working with VariCam 720p DVCPRO HD, the 960x720-pixel luminance signal is DV-compressed and recorded to 1/4in. tape. The Cb and Cr color difference signals are filtered to provide 480x720 sampling for each chroma component. The 22:11:11 result is recorded at 100Mbps.
With Panasonic’s VariCam HD camera, its 1280x720-element CCDs are pre-filtered to yield 960 horizontal samples. The camera section can capture at 24fps as well as frame rates from 4fps to 60fps in single-frame increments.
The 1280-pixel luminance signal signal is DV-compressed and recorded to 1/4in. tape. The Cb and Cr color difference signals are filtered to provide 640x1080 sampling for each chroma component. The result is recorded at 100Mbps. With a source that provides 1920x1080 pixels, the 1920 horizontal pixels are pre-filtered to yield 1280 horizontal samples.
The luma-to-chroma ratios for these formats are 2:1. DVCPRO HD 720p has a ratio of 960 to 480, while 1080i DVCPRO HD has a ratio of 1280 to 640. Therefore, unlike DV or HDV, these formats provide 4:2:2-sampled video. This provides a significant increase in color detail over DV and HDV.
Panasonic’s P2 format uses a solid-state recording system. Moreover, the codec is the DVCPRO HD used for recording to 1/4in. tape.
Panasonic sells P2 (PCMCIA-sized) cards with 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB of storage. An 8GB P2 card can record up to 8 minutes of DVCPRO HD 720p60 video. Therefore, the two cards bundled with each HX200 will record up to 16 minutes of 72060. This camcorder is the only low-cost HD camcorder that can record 60 frames per second. (Two 8GB P2 cards support up to 40 minutes when shooting at 24fps.)
720p50 and 720p60 have two advantages over other formats. First, the 50Hz/60Hz sampling rate is high enough to avoid temporal artifacts. Second, neither has interlace scanning artifacts. When combined with the 4:2:2 color sampling, DVCPRO HD provides very clear, realistic images.
One open question at the time I’m writing this in Asia is the native resolution of its CCDs. Panasonic has not disclosed this number. With a VariCam camera, the CCDs are 1280x720. While it’s possible the HVX200 will also have three of these very high-resolution CCDs, it is more likely that 960x720-element CCDs will be used to avoid the excess heat generated when 1280x720 1/3in. CCDs are clocked at 50Hz or 60Hz.
With 960x720 pixel CCDs, 720p DVCPRO HD would be generated directly. (It’s not obvious what advantage there would be to using green shift to create 1280 pixels and then pre-filtering the signal back to 960 pixels.)
The pixel aspect ratio of a 960x720 CCD would be 1.33:1, and the recorded 960x720 image would have a 4:3 aspect ratio. (The CCDs themselves of the HVX200 are, of course, native 16:9.) Therefore, unlike 720p HDV, DVCPRO PRO HD provides a non-square pixel-ratio and a lower horizontal resolution.
With the potential 1.33X additional luma information from green shift, 1280 samples of luma could be obtained from a 960-pixel CCD that would support 1080i DVCPRO HD. Vertical green shift could also be employed to generate 1080 lines from 720-row CCDs. Assuming a 1.5X factor, a 720-row pixel could yield 1080 lines.
Canopus introduces EDIUS Broadcast
Canopus Corporation today brings together an extensive collection of its video production, encoding, and codec technologies in one package with the introduction of EDIUS Broadcast. EDIUS Broadcast is designed to meet the high standards and fast-paced environments of broadcast and postproduction facilities, including support for new tapeless acquisition and storage systems.
Incorporating all of the realtime editing capabilities in a streamlined interface designed to help production professionals get content to air quickly, EDIUS Broadcast features EDIUS Pro 3 realtime video editing software, EDIUS Speed Encoder for HDV for fast HDV video output, as well as support for industry-standard equipment and formats including:
- Panasonic DVCPRO 50 and DVCPRO HD
- Panasonic DVCPRO P2
- Panasonic VariCam
- Sony XDCAM Professional Disc System
- Microsoft Windows Media
"The new tapeless acquisition and storage equipment from Panasonic and Sony is making a significant impact in the broadcast world, especially for electronic news gathering and indie film production," said Hiro Yamada, founder and chairman of the board of Canopus. "Add EDIUS Speed Encoder and EDIUS Pro 3's unique streamlined feature set and user interface for a truly efficient editing experience that is being embraced by video professionals who need to get content to air quickly. For example, EDIUS Pro 3 has radically accelerated production at KRON 4 in San Francisco, helping them produce over eight hours of broadcast news each weekday. That speaks volumes."
For added efficiency, Canopus speeds up HDV output for EDIUS Broadcast users with the inclusion of EDIUS Speed Encoder for HDV. Taking advantage of the new powerful dual-core CPU systems, EDIUS Speed Encoder accelerates HD (MPEG transport stream) file encoding direct from the EDIUS Pro 3 timeline, producing HDV footage up to twice as fast as standard encoders.
"Normally when encoding to HDV format, only one CPU is used during the process, even when there are multiple CPUs available," said Mr. Yamada. "Optimized for the very latest dual-core CPU systems, the EDIUS Speed Encoder for HDV sets new standards for HDV file encoding."
Canopus redefines video production capability and affordability with a groundbreaking, tightly integrated software and hardware solution. At the heart of the Canopus systems is EDIUS Pro 3 video editing software, which provides realtime, mixed format editing of uncompressed SD, HD, HDV, DV, MPEG-2, and MPEG-1 formats. EDIUS Pro delivers increased quality and realtime performance through the company's acclaimed variable-bitrate Canopus HQ codec.
EDIUS Pro includes professional features, such as realtime HQ batch capture from 1080i and 720p HDV cameras and decks, including the new Canon XL H1 24fps HDV camcorder and JVC GY-HD100U full-resolution ProHD progressive camcorder. EDIUS Pro's P2 support, developed in collaboration with Panasonic, provides native, realtime nonlinear editing support for Panasonic's DVCPRO P2 series of products, including the new AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD P2 handheld camcorder. Canopus's EDIUS hardware/software solutions are the only NLEs on the Windows platform that deliver full frame-rate realtime HD playback from the timeline directly to an external HD video display.
EDIUS Broadcast is available now from Canopus and its authorized dealers and system integrators for a suggested retail price of $999. EDIUS Pro 3 users can upgrade to EDIUS Broadcast for a special upgrade price of $499.
Analog Devices signal conversion powers Canon XL H1
Analog Devices Inc., a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal-processing applications, announced it is extending its portfolio of analog front ends (AFEs) for high-performance imaging applications with the introduction of a device that offers a 30 percent improvement in signal conversion performance, clocking at speeds up to 65MSPS (mega samples per second) using very low power (155mW), and a 75 percent reduction in board space. These aggressive performance, power, and size specifications are necessary to capture high-definition (HD) content and enable the advanced capabilities that consumers are seeking in today’s HD camcorders. The company also announced that Canon has selected the AD9970 for its new HDV-based XL H1 camcorder, which enables high-quality video production at a cost accessible to numerous audiences, including commercial and general consumer users.
Designers of today’s high-performance HD imaging applications are challenged with sampling CCD (charge coupled device) or CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) imager signals at a rate exceeding 50 MSPS. The resulting solutions suffer from power dissipation and size limitations, as well as increased cost. However, Analog Devices has alleviated these problems with the AD9970 AFE, which addresses these issues with its ideal performance, power, and size. Camcorders that use this technology can therefore offer the same resolution and HD quality at price points that make them more accessible to a wider audience.
According to design engineers at Canon, the AD9970 was instrumental in allowing the company to reduce component count and power consumption without sacrificing a brilliant HD image. Analog Devices’ technical excellence and design expertise enabled Canon to meet the demanding image processing requirements needed to provide a high-quality solution for its next-generation HDV XL H1 camcorder.
Designed for consumer imaging products such as camcorders and digital still cameras, the AD9970 serves as a complete AFE consisting of a CDS (correlated double sampler), a variable gain amplifier, an ADC (analog-to-digital converter), as well as a high-performance programmable timing driver. Each component plays a role in conditioning and digitizing the signal from the CCD. The AD9970 is also one of the first AFEs on the market to use a LVDS (low-voltage differential signaling) interface for high-definition imaging equipment. This feature significantly reduces the number of high-speed data outputs, resulting in a smaller package, increased performance, and reduced cost required to shield for EMI (electromagnetic interference). Too much EMI in an electronic system can result in harmful interference in radio communications and must be either eliminated or reduced within a certain level or the product cannot be sold under rules enforced by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission).
“Gone are the days when only movie studios and professional filmmakers could afford high-quality HD camcorders,” said Stuart Boyd, product line director, High-Speed Signal Processing Business, Analog Devices. “By combining our data conversion, amplifier, and timing expertise in a single chip design, ADI’s new AD9970 AFE is a solution that reduces component count and cost while maintaining the level of performance and image processing required for today’s HD consumer imaging products. This is the first in a family of products we anticipate will make HD camcorders more widely available to the general consumer.”
The AD9970 consists of a 14-bit ADC operating at a very low-power dissipation of 155 mW at 65 MSPS. Also incorporated in the device are a VGA (variable gain amplifier) and CDS, which are responsible for conditioning and digitizing the signal. The programmable timing driver, dubbed Precision Timing, further increases performance by enabling precise and localized control of high-speed CCD clock signals. An LVDS interface, responsible for handling the signal output, reduces EMI shielding requirements and significantly reduces package size (5mm x 5mm).
The Canon HDV XL H1 camcorder features customizable settings and a well-balanced design that enables the creative control, flexibility, and advanced capabilities sought in today’s HD camcorders.
The AD9970 AFE is available now in full production. The device is priced at $10.74 per unit in 1,000-piece quantities in a space-saving 5 mm x 5 mm LFCSP (lead-frame chip-scale package) and is specified over an operating temperature range of –25°C to +85°C.
Ambarella launches HD H.264 system-on-chip for consumer digital cameras
Ambarella Inc., an emerging leader in semiconductors for consumer digital media devices, today announced the first commercial low-power HD H.264/AVC system-on-chip (SoC) that enables the development of true hybrid cameras with HD video and high-resolution still pictures at the highest image quality. Ambarella’s breakthrough A1 digital camera platform combines an HD H.264/AVC codec, video processor, still image processor, audio compression, and all other critical system functions on one chip. The Ambarella SoC has an extremely low operating power of less than 1W and a price point that makes the high-definition experience a reality for mainstream consumers.
“The standard for video quality will increase as consumers experience HDTV and high-resolution still picture quality. Consumers will want better, all-in-one devices that can capture both their videos and pictures in high definition,” said IdaRose Sylvester, senior research analyst from IDC. “Semiconductor innovations will help drive the development of new products that satisfy consumer demands for the highest quality, while delivering a price-point that enables consumers to adopt the latest technology.”
Today, digital still cameras provide high-definition still images but mediocre video quality. At the same time, high-definition video camcorders are expensive, use cumbersome tape-based recording, and still image quality and processing speed lag far behind that of traditional digital still cameras. With its platform, Ambarella is defining a new class of digital cameras that bring consumers unmatched HD video and digital still together in one device. Founded in 2004, the company has leveraged the management team’s extensive background in designing semiconductors for consumer products to develop the A1 platform. Ambarella is accelerating the market transition from standard-definition video recording to HD recording.
The A1 platform is based on the H.264/AVC video compression standard, which is the next generation of video compression technology. Ambarella’s patent-pending platform delivers a 2.5X compression gain over current MPEG-2/4 solutions, providing the efficiency required to store HD video content in convenient flash-based memory.
“When we started the company in 2004, we sought to deliver the highest quality HD experience at the most competitive price-point for our customers,” said Fermi Wang, CEO of Ambarella. “With our deep algorithm, VLSI and system expertise, and patent-pending technology, Ambarella is providing customers and ultimately consumers with true HD hybrid digital cameras at a price that will drive market adoption.”
The A1 platform is available in multiple configurations for differing requirements. Pricing information can be obtained from Ambarella.
