The JVC GY-HD100U ProHD/DV camcorder brings 24p to the HDV standard.

However, many visitors at the show will be from countries that have no immediate plans to start HD broadcasting, with DTV a more likely choice for them. Likewise, in the United States, most local TV stations are not ready to originate programming in HD, as they've already invested considerable money in DTV transmitters and antennas. With pressure building to complete the transition to DTV, station owners will keep their focus on the task at hand, so expect to still see lots of SD gear on display, including new things.

You'll have to make up your own mind about how important the ubiquitous “future proofing” is to you. While many have sworn to do all future equipment replacements with HD or at least higher resolution gear, others still have much yet to be accomplished on SD formats.

Image formats will not be the only camcorder issue at NAB. Recording media and attendant workflow options will continue to emerge in the evolution away from tape and toward a further convergence of cameras and computers.

Hitachi plans to introduce and take orders for an affordable, high-quality disk-based recorder for its professional camera models. The recorder, which will dock to its popular Z-series, uses a codec that's switchable between DV25 and DV50. The file formats will be the popular AVI and MOV types now handled by most NLE suites.

The Hitachi ZDR-1 recorder uses removable media available in capacities ranging from 20GB to 100GB; these provide as much as five hours of recording time with DV25, and 2.5 hours with DV50. Prices range from $150 to $350 per drive depending on capacity.

Bundled with the recorder is a docking bay that allows installation into a PC or Mac NLE. The hard drive is simply moved from the camera to the docking bay, making the video ingest process almost disappear. An NLE mounts the drive and video editing can take place in the very same media used to acquire it. The Hitachi ZDR-1 will tentatively list for $5,000 and delivery may start as early as June.

When Ikegami introduced its first Editcam in 1996, it was a breakthrough product, as the camcorder was one of the first to record SD on removable hard drives. Developed in partnership with Avid, the drives directly connect to that company's NLE systems. At NAB, the company will introduce an HD Editcam that employs Avid's DNxHD codec. Introduced at last year's show, the codec provides lossless 2:1 compression. Three 2/3in. CMOS chips capture the image with a full 1920×1080 raster. Initially, the camera section will support 1080 at 25p, 30p, 50i, and 60i — plus 24fps. A firmware upgrade will support 720 at 25p, 30p, 50p, and 60p — plus 24fps.

After the video has been captured, it is compressed using Avid's 10-bit DNxHD codec, which yields a 140Mbps data rate. When you're done shooting, you simply insert a Field Pack into a dock and the drive auto-mounts on your Avid NLE system.

The Ikegami Field Pack that records the data incorporates a fast, shockproof 120GB drive, which stores up to an hour of HD video. Ikegami has plans for Field Packs that will accept solid-state memory or use replaceable hard drives. The Editcam HD will price under $50,000.

Two NABs ago, JVC introduced HDV to the world with the debut of its JY-HD10 HD camcorder. This year, JVC will take HDV to another level by introducing “proHD.” An extension of HDV, proHD supports timecode, a pair of 48kHz, 16-bit PCM audio tracks (in addition to the MPEG-1 Layer 2 audio channels) plus the 19Mbps, six-frame GOP MPEG-2 video track. (Current HDV equipment will play all but the PCM tracks that are recorded in the “subcode” portion of each track.)

JVC's second-generation camcorder is the shoulder-mount GY-HD100, which uses a changeable Servo Fujinon 16X zoom. Expected to deliver in June, the camcorder prices at under $10,000 (as of presstime). The camcorder features three 1/3in., 1280×720-element 16:9 CCDs, along with XLR audio connectors. The HD100U will capture 4:3/16:9 60i DV (including 24fps) plus 720p/23.98, 720p/25, and 720p/29.97, as well as 480p/59.94 proHD video.

No matter the proHD frame rate, each GOP is written to 60 tracks on MiniDV tape — taking exactly the same tape length as six frames of DV. The I, B, P frame data are interleaved throughout the 60 tracks. This provides better drop-out correction than DV. Thus, no special tape is required. (You can record to and edit from an optional Focus hard disk drive pack.)

Although the camcorder's MPEG-2 codec can't encode 1280×720 at 60Hz, when it records 24fps it creates a 720p/60 data structure on the tape, but only includes the data for 24 frames each second. (Yes, this will require an enhancement to NLE software to create 24fps video for editing.) One can imagine that in the future, 720p/60 will be possible. Until then, a JVC-developed DSP will provide “motion smoothing” for the low temporal rate recorded by the camcorder. This will be explained in further detail in our April issue.

JVC will also ship the GY-HD50U VTR, which will play DVCAM, DV (two or four PCM tracks), HDV, and proHD — the latter at both 720p (24p/25p/30p/50p/60p) and 480p from standard and MiniDV cassettes. Output options include 480i (also via composite and S-Video), plus 480p, 720p/59.94, and 1080i/29.97 via analog component and HDMI connectors. Naturally, a tape's bit stream is output via FireWire, with RS-422 control provided. The price will be under $6,000, according to information available at presstime. It too will ship in June.

Panasonic AJ-HDX400

Naturally, Panasonic will also continue to promote its P2 family introduced at last year's show. Archiving gets a nod, as the company has added a 4.7GB DVD-RAM/DVD-R drive to its AJ-SPD850 P2 deck, creating an integrated method for backing up P2 cards.

In September, Panasonic plans to introduce a small field transfer device, the AJ-PCS060. You will be able to insert a P2 card and have it copied at high speed to a 60GB hard disk. It will require four minutes to copy a 4GB card.

At last year's NAB, Panasonic announced it would deliver an MPEG-2-based HD camcorder this year to compete with HDV-based products. But that strategy has changed to one that is far more interesting. Since Panasonic already has a well-regarded HD codec, DVCPRO HD, why not use it in a small AG-DVX100-sized camcorder?

At last, we'll have an under-$10,000, 720p/60 camcorder that also shoots DV (perhaps to a built-in MiniDV transport), DVCPRO, and DVCPRO 50. What's great is that there are very clear multi-stream realtime editing workflows already in place for all these codecs.

Unanswered questions include: Will a P2 card be bundled with the camcorder? If so, how many gigabytes? And when will Panasonic release 8GB P2 cards? At presstime, Panasonic has not yet said when such cards will become available or at what price. A 4GB (AJ-P2C004) card now holds some four minutes of DVCPRO HD. The good news is that not only will an 8GB card hold eight minutes of 720p/60, it will hold 20 minutes of 24p.

Sony HVR-Z1U HDV Handycam

The result of that downscaling of the super-sampled 1280215;720 image is significantly increased image quality. These CCDs debut first in studio cameras, with only 720p and 1080i output initially available. However, Sony's HDCAM-SR VTRs support up to 880Mbps, so it shouldn't be too long until 1080p/60 recording is announced — perhaps at this NAB.

Sony will also show a working model of an HD XDCAM camcorder. According to Sony, the company is considering producing, initially, one of two versions. The first camcorder would use 1/2in. CCDs and record 4:2:0 VBR, long-GOP MPEG-2 at 36Mbps. That's about one hour when recorded to a single-layer XDCAM disc. The other version would use 2/3in. CCDs and record 4:2:2 VBR, long-GOP MPEG-2 at 72Mbps. Here, we'll have to wait until next year's dual-layer XDCAM disc debuts, which will record one hour to disc. And, of course, Sony will bring its already popular HDV-Z1 camcorder to the show.

One interesting bit of news: By 2006, all new products sold in Japan must go “green,” doing away with the poisonous materials found in camcorders and other gear. Sony is using the green requirement to release new and improved versions of all its products, taking advantage of the technological improvements since those first products were released. One result is a new series of SD camcorders that use 2/3in. CCDs with prices comparable to those of 1/2in. CCD camcorders.
— Steve Mullen

What: Anton/Bauer Ultralight

What it does: The Ultralight (UL) dimmer allows a 0 to 100 percent adjustment of Anton/Bauer's on-camera light. Dimmer control comes via a PWM circuit; its digital power control minimizes battery drain, since it doesn't dim like standard rheostats.

What: ERG Ventures HDM-EV85

What it does: Designed to work with Sony's HDV camcorders, this 8.4in. color LCD field monitor features an HD analog input, which allows direct connection between the camcorder and monitor without the need to transcode.

What: Grass Valley LDK 4000 camera

What it does: Provides an “affordable” complement to the LDK 6000 mk II, Grass Valley's camera for HD and multi-format production. The camera is designed for small to medium digital production studios that have settled on a single HD format.

What: Grass Valley LDK 400 ITW

What it does: Described as Grass Valley's most cost-effective camera system with 14-bit processing, the SD-only dockable LDK 400 ITW can be used as a studio camera that uses multi-core cables or for high-end productions using triax cables. Users can choose between its DPM chip or ultra-low-smear IT sensors. It's also switchable between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios.

What: Manfrotto MagFiber series tripods

What it does: New design combines die-cast magnesium and carbon fiber to deliver lightweight tripods that offer stability and rigidity.

What: Miller Camera Support Sprinter AT tripod

What it does: Sprinter AT is a two-stage carbon fiber tripod that uses extruded alloy to boost torsional strength and leg clamping stability without any increase in weight.

What: Miranda DV-Bridge Cam

What it does: Lightweight interface for DV cameras provides DV-to-SDI conversion. It can be mounted under a camcorder or on a tripod so low-cost DV cameras can output broadcast standard video.

What: Panasonic AJ-HDX400

What it does: Lower price point DVCPRO HD camcorder features three 2/3in., 1 million pixel IT progressive CCDs, 12-bit A/D DSP circuits, low-light shooting down to 0.008 lux, and an advanced 12-axis matrix color correction system that allows color adjustment without affecting overall color tone.

What: Panasonic AJ-PCS060

What it does: Portable hard disk unit with a P2 card slot quickly transfers the contents of P2 cards to an internal 60GB hard drive, which holds up to 15 4GB P2 cards

What: Sony HDC-X310 multipurpose HD camera

What it does: HD POV camera features three 1/2in., 1.5-megapixel HD CCDs; slow shutter capability for low-light level capability; and a number of optional interface cards, including XGA monitoring, SD signal output, and i.LINK IEEE-1394 (HDV) digital interface connection for HD recording on Sony's new proHDV system.

What: Ikegami DNS-33W Editcam3

What it does: This compact, hard disk-based CCD camcorder gets new triax and multicore adapters for added versatility as a studio or field camera. Also shown in the Editcam line will be the DNR 20 Dockable Disk Recorder and the DNE-31 Stand-Alone Disk Recorder.

What: Panasonic AW-E860N three-CCD convertible camera

What it does: Designed for remote operation, this native 16:9 camera offers 850 lines of horizontal resolution, a 63dB signal-to-noise ratio, high sensitivity CCDs, variable shutter speeds, and Panasonic's Digital Noise Reduction technology. New accessories include the AW-PH400 high-speed pan-tilt head, AW-PH360 pan-tilt head, the AW-RP400 pan-tilt controller, AW-RL400 rolling unit, AW-CB400 camera control unit, and AW-RC400 cable compensation unit.

What: Sony DSR-400 and DSR-450WS DVCAM

What it does: Each camera includes three higher dynamic range 2/3in. PowerHAD EX CCDs. The widescreen DSR-450WS features a slow shutter feature for extreme low-light shooting. It can capture images in 60i at 24fps (segmented frame) and 30fps.

What: Telestream MAPone and Flip4Mac

What it does: MAPone allows Apple G5 or PowerBook users to transmit broadcast-quality media over IP connections. Flip4Mac lets Mac users import MXF media from Sony eVTR and XDCAM.

What: IDX System's X-3 Camera Light

What it does: X-3 is an LED-based on-camera light designed for ENG/EFP and other field applications. LEDs are efficient, and X-3 is no exception with a 35W 5600K daylight output that requires only 11W of power. Features include built-in dimmer and built-in hot-shoe.

What: Vinten Vector 60 pan and tilt head

What it does: The Vector 60, a more compact, lower-cost version of the top-of-the-line Vector 70, holds camera systems of up to 143lbs. It sports similar features, including an infinitely adjustable LF drag, platform deadlock, illuminated leveling bubble, and well-positioned pan and tilt brakes.