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Mark In

Jun 1, 2006 12:00 PM

New sensors at NAB foretell changes in camcorder markets
Neighborhood TV, part 2
Inbox

New sensors at NAB foretell changes in camcorder markets

By Dan Ochiva

I'm still not too sure what a show floor does when it buzzes. I do know that “buzz” is one word that fits when it seemed every person in the vast Las Vegas convention center had something to say — good, bad, or confused — about the Red camera system.

The crowds around the tiny Red Digital Cinema booth came to see a new camera design that proponents didn't hesitate in calling revolutionary. Coming out of a little known Southern California company headed by Oakley sunglass entrepreneur Jim Jannard, the Red camera system promises today's Holy Grail of sensordom: a custom 12-megapixel CMOS sensor that is said to deliver an astonishing 2X-oversampled HD signal in 4:4:4 or 4:2:2 at up to 60 frames per second. Using a Super 35mm-sized sensor, Red should also be able to toss out 4K frames.

All for a price that is revolutionary: $17,500 (camera body only). Although these are preliminary specs, in some cases, they equal or top those of current digital cinema cameras costing more than $100,000. Red could dramatically lower the costs of high-end production.

However, a number of attendees, perhaps recalling any number of past NAB promised-but-never-made-it show and tells, preferred to wait for an actual system to deliver. After all, Red Digital Cinema couldn't provide an example of any camera output, nor could anyone garner enough working details from viewing the glass-encased Balsacam (an early prototype camera system*).

However, another new camera system from Silicon Imaging (SI) did make it to the show for a hands-on debut. While still pretty much an engineer's work-in-progress — no attempt was made to hide the loose wires and other unenclosed parts — the SI-1920HDVR camera-recorder combo drew crowds. It uses an AltaSens CMOS chip, a long awaited, low-cost HD version that is key to some other DIY cameras as well as models from mainstream manufacturers.

SI pairs the single-chip camera head with CineForm's Visually Perfect CineForm RAW codec, a combo that delivers 1080 at 24/25/30p or 720p at up to 72fps. The algorithm compresses the sensor's 1920×1080p images so efficiently that the system only needs a standard 160GB notebook hard drive — a simple USB plug-and-play one at that — to capture four hours of HD, according to the company. An integrated Gigabit Ethernet port provides direct output.

Not reinventing the wheel is key for any DIY. Small companies such as SI (the main group of engineers work out of small town Troy, N.Y.) rely on off-the-shelf commodity technology as much as possible. Here, the camera features an embedded PC architecture that runs Microsoft Windows XP. That's smart to use such a widely coded-for OS, since it's easier to repurpose code than hack your own to quickly create innovative features. These include the camera's 7in. LCD touchscreen interface, which allows quick and easy control and setup of the entire camera system, much like you'd expect to do when sitting at your own workstation.

Unlike the closed black box that traditional camera manufacturers present to the user, small, owner-run companies such as SI are all hands-on, often happy for users to open up the systems to change any parameters they might like. (Canon has taken a similar step in that direction with a soon-to-deliver laptop control interface for the HL1 camcorder.)

Such innovative thinking might be among the first signs that there still is a wild, woolly, inventive group of American inventors out there, a group of renegade engineers just aching to get their personal vision out.

According to a posting by web raconteur Charlie White, it was Jim Jannard's love of photography and cinematography, along with his frustration with not finding a camera design that worked “just right” that lies behind the birth of the company. But is the desire and the capability to “roll your own” enough for a small company to triumph, to turn things around, or to even create the potential for the rebirth of a new American videocamera industry?

Winning against the mighty technological empires of Asia can seem like some flag-waving pipe dream. However, Americans have often been among the first to figure out a way to productize new technology. Filmmaker/inventor Jeff Kreines, who sells his homebrew 4K scanners to the Library of Congress, introduced his still innovative Kinetta camera two years ago at the NAB Digital Cinema Summit. (However, delays in the release of the AltaSens sensor have held back final shipping models.)

A further interesting twist: Shortly after this year's NAB, Boise, Idaho-based memory chip maker Micron Technology announced initial production of an 8-megapixel digital imaging CMOS chip, designed to fit standard digital still cameras. The chip uses a tiny, next-generation 1.75-micron pixel design, cramming more pixels into the thumb-sized sensor area than previously possible. The small pixel size makes it easier to dump full-res images off more quickly, yielding 10 pictures a second at a full 8-megapixel res, with 2-megapixel 720p HD images available at 30fps.

This isn't hard-to-manufacture CCD technology; it's CMOS, which uses standard semiconductor tooling. Micron expects the chips to start turning up next year in digital cameras priced around $250, as well as in cell phones and camcorders.

Does this spell trouble for the big camera manufacturers? Some might think that the small fry at NAB 2006 might just be the right mammal for the time, snatching new product glory from beneath lumbering multinationals.

It's easy to get caught in a good story like that, but reality is rarely so clean and easy. The Japanese, Korean, and other large vendors won't just walk away, of course. They have billions of dollars already invested in CCD factories, have billions more to put into R&D, and generally have to perform and deliver at breakneck speed if they're to best the market's up-or-down vote.

Sony, Panasonic, and the others also draw upon decades of electronics development, interface design, and manufacturing expertise. Combine that with their worldwide marketing prowess, and you'll find the big players will be there at NAB 2007. As for the upstarts? Let's just say ‘Hurray!’ for the little guy, and hope the rest of this unfolding sensor story is as good.

*Balsacams: the semi-derisive term usually applied to these design what-ifs is a name that could only come out of an age when models were still built by hand. It would be misleading, though, to describe the Red camera as a plastic-cam. Under the imprimateur of Jim Jannard, founder and owner of famed Oakley (sunglasses and more), the Red camera model is a sleek, handsome piece of advanced plastics design and molding. One version of the camera features it completely surrounded by tubing, allowing you to hold the camera in various positions as well as clamp on lights and mics as needed, or, in other words, a “Fig Rig” that doesn't rely on a wheel.

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Neighborhood TV, part 2

By Tom Patrick McAuliffe

Broadcasting “for-profit” shows on commercial leased access and local cable stations is a relatively new phenomenon in the United States. For-profit programming on local public TV is possible under the Cable Access Act, which guarantees cable access for both community programming and paid leased access. These commercial outlets provide new money-making opportunities for anyone involved in video production.

Cable companies provide leased access TV channels for individuals and companies to use for a fee. What sets leased access apart from public access channels is that paid commercial advertising can be aired within the shows. Cable companies are required to make channels available for leased access, and can set their own rates for access.

Strong local cable markets are the perfect environments for for-profit shows. For example, commercial leased access on local cable is thriving in Hawaii, where more than 90 percent of homes have cable — more than any other state. Oceanic Time Warner Cable is a statewide cable company with more than 400,000 customers, and OC16, its 24/7 cable station, is one of the most popular television outlets in the state.

OC16 broadcasts more than 30 locally produced shows dealing with local issues that are unique to Hawaii. Show creators pitch ideas to Oceanic, and the logistics of how and who will sell ads for shows are worked out individually. Some producers lease the time by selling ads; some do a split with the company; or OC16 produces a show, paying the creators a fee and selling the ads for it.

“All of the programs on OC16 are produced inhouse or by independent producers. The programs must be 100 percent locally produced in Hawaii,” says Lianne Killion, senior programming manager at Oceanic. “We make it affordable for these producers who don't have big budgets. In exchange for air time, we ask for :90 of commercial time within their show. We do not charge actual dollars for them to be on the air with us.”

The difficult part is that the shows are usually a two- to three-person operation, with no dedicated sales team, Killion says. So trying to shoot, edit, and get the show to the station on time is a time-consuming task in itself.

One of OC16's most popular shows, Eh! U Da Kine Ah? (which asks in local pidgin if you are cool or not), is independently produced by a small group of video professionals. Despite its large popularity, producing the show is a small affair. Local radio personality Tony Solis serves as host, writer, and producer, and Ryan Campuspos is videographer, editor, and co-producer. “My job on camera is hosting the show,” Solis says. “Off camera, I do some shooting, producing, sales, and marketing. It's a full-time gig.”

The two content producers keep it simple when it comes to shooting and postproduction, using pro gear to get the weekly show on the air. “We have two Panasonic DVX100A cameras, and we shoot mostly 24p for a grainier quality,” Solis says. “When we're done shooting, Ryan edits it all on the Mac with Final Cut Pro 4.”

The trio that creates another popular OC16 show, Hawaii Goes Fishing, knows all about multitasking, too. The show was on a local broadcast station and recently moved to cable via OC16. “With Oceanic's support, we've seen over a 100 percent growth rate in the past two years,” says Bob Pritchard, the show's producer, director, and editor.

After the show's host Ben Wong has shared the wonders of fishing in Hawaii, Pritchard and tech guru Dean Sensui get to work creating the show. “Currently, we have two Sony PD170s, a Sony PD150, and a PDX 10,” Pritchard says. “The MiniDV Sony cameras have always been hardy and produced good results.” The show uses a Mac and Apple Final Cut Pro for postproduction.

Besides the crew's travel time, the production pace requires each of the three to devote 60 hours or more per week to the show. “Fortunately, our work is a lot of fun,” Wong says. “We get to go fishing in some great places, meet great people, and have truly memorable experiences.” And so do the show's viewers.

Oceanic Time Warner Cable's OC 16
oc16.oceanic.com

Eh! U Da Kine Ah?
www.udakinetv.com

Hawaii Goes Fishing
www.hawaiigoesfishing.com

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Inbox

Think globally, act locally

Your article is well done, although “the times they are a changin',” as noted in your reference to funding issues through new telecom/cable/IPTV providers. This is a key element to track, since local franchising provides access (PEG) channels, I-Nets, and connectivity for a true public informational broadband infrastructure.

Tucson 12 is a fine example of the entire natoa.org (local government programmers) that take meeting coverage, local issues that affect all communities nationwide, and bring them into the homes locally. What was that slogan? “Think globally, act locally” really rings after reading your article; thanks.

The watchful eyes/ears need to be on top of the game here in the near future, because when Verizon and CBS start dealing with local coverage as the only avenue or conduit, where does PEG end up? Keep involved; keep communicating on this issue. Appreciate it.
Marc Pease
Director, Rainier Media Center/C-RCC
Rainier Communciations Commission
Lakewood, Wash.

The real story on access media

Author Tom Patrick McAuliffe presents a relentlessly optimistic view of access media in his article “Neighborhood TV.” I'll not dwell on the mis-statement that “X-rated programs are forbidden.” All he would need to do to learn how inaccurate that statement is to get program schedules from some of the more notorious shows on some West Coast access channels. Or go onto the listserv for the Alliance for Community Media to scan the traffic sent by beleaguered executive directors of PEG channels looking for ways to invoke “safe harbor” provisions without incurring First Amendment challenges.

But more disappointing to me is that by presenting a great future for PEG, Mr. McAuliffe makes no reference to the very serious challenge to the continued existence of access media now being battled over in our national legislature. In the guise of promoting competition, our government is offering a few giant corporations the opportunity to operate over public rights of way, free from local control.

That is where the real story on access media is today. The article is, otherwise, a wide-ranging report on what kind of programming is being offered and how facilities are equipped to do their work. And I certainly agree that local programming helps maintain the unique character of the community as well as provide programming of immediate local interest not obtainable in any other way. But the enemy is at the gates, and the public needs to be alerted.
Donald S. Berman,
President, board of directors
BevCam, Beverly Access Media
Beverly, Mass.

Additional resources on access media

I wanted to write and say how much I enjoyed the information in the article on neighborhood television. As an independent producer, I am pleased with the prospect of a public access outlet through cable. I visited the sites listed, but found only a limited amount of information on how to build a similar network from the ground up and few contacts.

If there are any other specific links, books, contacts, or any further information at all that you might be able to supply, it would be greatly beneficial, and I would appreciate it. Thanks for your time, and I love the magazine.
Michael Snider

Tom Patrick McAuliffe responds: Thanks for reading Digital Content Producer and your kind words. Both public access and commercial access (which we cover in part two of the article, opposite page) offer exciting opportunities for video makers. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of information available for starting your own cable channel. I have heard that there are local channels where an organization or for-profit business actually leases and operates an entire channel from the cable operator, but these are very few and far between.

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association's website (www.ncta.com) does not have a whole lot of info for what you need, but it's a good read, and you might want to start there.

May I also suggest using dmoz.org/Arts/Television/Cable_Television/Public_Access or www.silcom.com/~taxabo/tv.htm to contact a local cable access station in your area? I've found them more than willing share information as a community.

In addition, the folks at Studio 1 (www.studio1productions.com/vid21.htm) have created a video that shares how to start your own cable program or channel. This video contains a complete working model of a for-profit program, and there are examples of different types of shows that you can produce for your own area. I'm sure there are other resources available like this. Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing your program on cable TV in the very near future.

Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
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