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MillimeterNAB 2006
Jun 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Barry Braverman, S. D. Katz, D. W. Leitner, Steve Mullen, Dan Ochiva, Jan Ozer, and Jeff Sauer
Perspectives from the show floor
Thomson’s Jeff Rosica introduces the Grass Valley Infinity camcorder.
Thoughts on Tapeless
By D.W. Leitner
At this year's NAB, I finally heard the bugle sounding “Taps” for tape, that thin ribbon of oxide-coated polyester first descended from Nazi-era paper audiotape used to broadcast German propaganda; then ferreted in a duffel bag by an American serviceman after the fall of Berlin to an LA company called Ampex, then re-engineered in 1948 with Bing Crosby's money as a U.S. radio recording medium, and then transformed by means of rotary recording into a TV recording medium by NAB 1956, again with Der Bingle's loot.
Quite a tale, but then helical-scan videotape has seen us through quite a half-century, from massive 2in. Quad reels to MiniDV cassettes, from turret-mount image orthicon tube cameras to the latest miniature CMOS camcorder.
All things have their day, and as George Harrison reminded us, all things must pass too. Calls for tapeless image capture have been mounting for a decade: Avid/Ikegami's CamCutter (later Editcam) of 1995, NEC's DVD-based DiskCam dockable recorder of 1997, and JVC's prototype DV-disk hybrid camcorder of 2000. Tapelessness, it's argued, will sidestep drawbacks of helical scanning — dropouts, mistracking, and tensioning errors — and confer advantages of nonlinearity evident in editing.
If, after this year's NAB, we finally lower videotape into the ground with white lilies, as we've done with analog video and the CRT, does this mean I'll never buy another videotape cassette? Heck, I'll buy boxes of them again this year.
Consider the following paradox: Even as HDV gains momentum, history will remember it as the last videotape format and ¼in. videotape the last tape size. (It goes without saying that HDV is adapted from the DV format.) Sony's 4mm MicroMV MPEG-2 consumer tape format tanked recently, while Sony and Panasonic have just declared 8cm optical discs the new consumer format for HD. Whither consumer, so goes professional. There will be no further professional videotape formats. This is true despite the fact that we will all continue to shoot tape for some time to come.
So, as “Taps” wafts forlornly across the videotape landscape and the sun sets gently on standard definition, which nonlinear capture choices do we face?
NAB served conflicting and intriguing answers. I'm going to focus on camcorders, since camera or camcorder choices often dictate postproduction choices. In each case, bear in mind that at NAB there were complementary field decks, recorders, or docks introduced alongside these camera products.
Sony introduced the first two working versions of its XDCAM HD camcorder, the PDW-F330 ($16,800) and PDW-F350 ($25,800). Both feature Sony's cartridge-based optical PFD23 Professional Disc (blue laser) to record long-GOP MPEG-2 at 18Mbps (variable), 25Mbps (constant, similar to HDV), or 35Mbps (variable). It's worth noting, as Sony points out, that blue-laser recording is now proven technology: XDCAM HD uses the same single-sided, optical-disc format as standard-definition XDCAM, in field use since 2004.
Both 1/2in. 3-CCD, shoulder-mount XDCAM HD camcorders are tailored to high-def ENG, but they also provide 1080p/24, interval recording, and slow shutter speeds, making them ideal for low-budget creative filmmaking too. Both camcorders also provide SD recording in DVCAM, including 24p, 480i/60, and 576i/50. The F350 adds variable frame rates from 4fps to 60fps. How can you not be impressed by a 1080p/24 CineAlta with time-lapse for less than $17,000?
At NAB, Fujinon and Canon offered new zooms for the 1/2in. 3-CCD HD camera format. This signals confidence that Sony's new camcorder line will be successful and suggests that other camcorder manufacturers will soon follow suit with 1/2in. models of their own.
Although the only available models never came out of their glass cases, the Red One digital camera system drew crowds to the small company’s booth. The specs trump currently available gear—a 11.4 megapixel sensor is said to deliver 2x over-sampled HD images, while pricing around $18,000.
Fujinon's three new zooms for 1/2in. 3-CCD HD cameras include the XS17×5.5RM ($8,890), HS16×4.6ERM ($24,900), and XS13×3.3RM ($15,950). (Fujinon's HSs18×5.5RM/RD ($13,900) for 1/2in. 3-CCD HD cameras has been available for a year.) The “H” designation indicates a lens optimized for high-quality production in controlled circumstances; the “X” indicates a lens designed for ENG in uncontrolled field conditions. All have conventional handgrips with rocker-switch zoom control; interestingly, only the HS16×4.6ERM provides a traditional 2X extender. Note the best-of-breed 3.3mm wide angle of the XS13×3.3RM.
Canon initiated its HDgc series for 1/2in. 3-CCD HD with the debut of four new zooms. On the high-quality end is the KH10ex3.6 IRSE 10X zoom with 2X extender ($25,400) and KH21ex5.7 IRSE 21X zoom with 2X extender ($26,000). (An “e” indicates the option of a Canon digital eDrive for remote server control of focus, zoom, and iris.) An additional 16X high-quality zoom is expected later this year. On the economical end are the KH20×6.4 KRS ($9,800, no 2X extender), and the gray autofocus zoom seen at IBC, the KH19×6.7 KAS ($8,000).
Two things about the above lens pricing should leap out at you. First, we've entered a weird zone where professional lenses can cost more than professional camcorders. And this will not change. Moore's law may drive down the costs of microelectronics, but the costs of grinding glass to micron precision remain the same, as do the costs of forming precise aspherical surfaces or deploying exotic low-dispersion materials like fluorite. What's more, HD images impose higher requirements on optical and mechanical performance. Compared to SD, pixel size in HD is virtually halved, so optical aberrations, including spherical and chromatic, must be halved and lens build-quality and durability increase accordingly.
For example, when Zeiss introduced its esteemed DigiPrimes several seasons ago, much was made of the challenge of creating HD images for 2/3in. CCDs that could rival or exceed those of larger 35mm film. Zeiss said the DigiPrimes were the sharpest, most sophisticated cine-style lenses it had ever designed. With this in mind, imagine what's required to bring requisite HD optical performance to a smaller sensor like the 1/2in. CCDs found in XDCAM HD. Although 1/2in. HD exists to bring economical pricing to ENG, it's a wonder that 1/2in. zoom prices aren't significantly higher than those of 2/3in.
Second, in both Fujinon's and Canon's 1/2in. lens lineups, the most expensive zooms cost almost three times the least expensive zooms. If the image requirements of 1/2in. HD remain the same, how can this be? (I'm glad I grew up in a world of professional motion picture lenses that didn't create such marketing tiers.)
One manufacturer, Panasonic, exultant from the sale of 10,000 HVX200 P2 palmcorders since December, accepted the gauntlet thrown down by Sony and declared flatly it would not introduce a 1/2in. 3-CCD camcorder for HD ENG, announcing instead an upcoming full-size 2/3in. progressive-scan 3-CCD shoulder-mount camcorder, the AJ-HPC2000.
The AJ-HPC2000 would be truly groundbreaking for a camcorder of its size, in that it boasts no moving parts and is therefore 100 percent silent — sound recordists will be thrilled. The recording medium is a set of swappable P2 cards populating five slots on the side of the camcorder opposite the operator. Panasonic says a set of 8GB cards offers 40 minutes of continuous HD recording.
I/O includes HD/SD-SDI, USB 2.0, and FireWire for DVCPRO HD and AVC. Yes, that's AVC (Advanced Video Codec), aka H.264, a part of the MPEG-4 standard. Panasonic said that an efficient H.264 compression option (as championed by Apple) would be introduced to P2 by next NAB, and it would double the capacity of current P2 cards. In other words, 40 minutes of HD on five P2 cards would double to 80 minutes. (Upcoming 16GB cards will double this yet again to 160 minutes.)
Panasonic wants you to know that its implementation of H.264 will be I-frame-only, with each frame individually compressed — no temporal compression over a group of pictures (like the 15-frame GOP of HDV). Panasonic will brand its codec “AVC-Intra” so you don't miss the point. Bit rate was not announced (I heard 50Mbps, which makes obvious mathematical sense).
Jadoo Power, which makes the hydrogen-powered N Stor fuel cell, introduced a lightweight, portable recharging station designed for the mobile or independent user. (Fuel cell shown attached to camcorder.)
Although most of us in the real world continue to shoot to tape, the industry has already stepped through the looking glass of tapelessness into the strange new world of IT, metadata, and proxies, and swapping less efficient codecs for more efficient ones. By next NAB expect to see further adoption of advanced codecs like H.264/MPEG-4 AVC and JPEG 2000 at the expense of first-generation MPEG-2.
On the hard disk front, Ikegami stayed faithful to Editcam at NAB, while JVC and Panasonic started down the third-party path, and Grass Valley blazed a new trail entirely.
This was the 11th straight year that quiet Ikegami brought a hard-disk camcorder to NAB, and its mastery of this technology was clearly evident in the latest EditcamHD, the HDN-X10: 2.1 megapixel 3-CMOS, native 1080i /60, 1080i/50, 1080p/24, 720p/60, and 720p/50, all recorded with Avid DN×HD codec in MXF file format on Ikegami's 120GB FieldPak2 or 8GB RAMPak. According to Ikegami, the new 120GB FieldPak2 provides 90 minutes of HD in DN×HD at 145Mbps.
Avid has partnered with Ikegami on Editcam technology from the beginning, so naturally a FieldPak2 or RAMPak (they're the same size) slips into an Ikegami SAT USB 2.0 adapter for easy mounting (no digitizing or transcoding) on an Avid timeline on a laptop or desktop system. Since this is HD, your mileage in terms of NLE speed, layers, and rendering will vary. But Ikegami clearly benefits from generations of hard-disk design and much field experience, and its polished, efficient, and reliable Editcam shows it.
Like Hitachi, Ikegami can't wait to break free of the industry stranglehold that Sony and Matsushita/Panasonic enjoy over CCD design, production, and allocation. That's why Ikegami showcased several new CMOS HD cameras at NAB, including the versatile 3-CMOS HDK-79EC/HS, which operates at either standard or high-speed frames rates for slow motion. Since CMOS is intrinsically multiformat, the HDK-79EC/HS can offer native 720p/60p, 1080i/60, and 1080p/24, and most impressively, it achieves frame rates up to 720p/120 and 1080p/60. Also shown was a portable version with standard frame rates only.
Compared to Ikegami, JVC and Panasonic are merely dipping toes in the water of hard-disk recording. Both have partnered with Focus Enhancements to create their own versions of FE's FireStore FS-4, a 1lb. external FireWire digital disk recorder that attaches to any DV or HDV camera (several models from 40GB [$799] to 80GB [$1,795]). Depending on the camcorder, the FS-4 can be the sole recording medium or half of a synchronized dual-recording arrangement for simultaneous backup or downconverted dailies (in the case of Sony's Z1 or A1).
Focus Enhancements DR-HD100
Despite the fact that HDV is defined as a tape-based format (who cares, really?), JVC has worked extensively with FE to create the DR-HD100 for JVC's HD100 (40GB [$1,495], 80GB [$1,895]). As expected, it captures the HD100's 720p HDV frame rates, 24fps, 25fps, and 30fps, as well as conventional DV25. Moreover, the DR-HD100 is integrated with the HD100 to the extent that disc recorder status is displayed in the camcorder's viewfinder.
JVC states that more than 12,000 GY-HD100s have been sold around the world, eclipsing sales of SD models. This runaway success prompted JVC to announce followup HD200 and HD250 products at NAB. Outwardly identical to the HD100, both will incorporate a full 60p frame rate. The HD250 adds professional HD-SDI output (like Canon's XL-H1) with embedded audio (unlike XL-H1), timecode synching, and genlock ($9,000, same price as XL-H1). The HD2000 ($8,000), in anticipation of an upcoming PL-mount adapter for use of film lenses, which JVC thinks will prove popular with filmmakers and film students, adds the ability to flip the image in realtime.
Panasonic's FireStore FS-100 ($2,195) addresses complaints that the HVX200 unfairly forces use of costly, low-capacity P2 cards. The 100GB FS-100 can record up to 1.5 hours of DVCPRO HD in P2 MXF format, either 1080i or 720p. When in DVCPRO or DV25 mode, it records files as P2 MXF, RawDV, QuickTime, Avid OMF, or one of several flavors of AVI. For extended field use, its lithium ion battery is removable. You can't miss the big DVCPRO HD logo emblazoned on its front.
Canon has now joined the FireStore bandwagon too: FE's upcoming FireStore FS-C is an adaptation for use with Canon's XL H1. It will contain a 60GB or 100GB drive for four or seven hours of recording time in HDV or DV25.
Lastly, there's Grass Valley (GV), with an utterly original approach to camcorder hard-disk recording. Grass Valley has thrown away the bath water (hard drive), but kept the baby (hard disk). Sort of. You can toss the baby too, if you'd like.
Let me explain. At NAB, Grass Valley produced working versions of its much-anticipated HD/SD 2/3in. 3-CCD Infinity camcorder. The reason this otherwise conventional design — standard ENG shoulder-mount profile and heft (not a good thing these days) — stirred intense interest is that Grass Valley has embraced IT with a passion, eliminating not only a tape drive, but conventional disk drives too.
Instead Infinity makes the case for off-the-shelf storage, with two slots for consumer-grade Compact Flash memory and an internal bay for Iomega's removable REV 35MB hard disk cartridge ($60), about the size of a stack of 3"×3" Post-it Notes. GV and Iomega have also co-developed a professional version, REV PRO ($70), with improved caching for dual-stream recording and playback.
The REV system is unique in that the drive (housed in Infinity) incorporates read/write heads, while each REV hard disk cartridge contains a single 2.5in. platter and spindle motor. Think of it as a hard floppy with its own motor. All questions of durability were cast aside at NAB's CML bash when founder Geoff Boyle doused a REV cartridge in beer, then resumed playback from Infinity.
If you decline to use Compact Flash or REV, Infinity provides manifold digital video and IT-based I/O choices, including SDI, HD-SDI, FireWire, three USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and, in a future release, HDMI for direct digital display. There are also three dissimilar codecs to choose from: DV, interframe MPEG-2, and intraframe JPEG 2000 with MXF.
In my first blog from NAB, I mentioned that the sweet spot for new broadcast HD camcorders had dropped into the $20,000 realm. Infinity, at 20,000 Euros (depending on the exchange rate, 20 percent above $20,000) comes close. Sony's PDW-F330 XDCAM HD, at $16,800, dips well below.
Both forego costly tape drives and head drums necessary for HD data rates. (Panasonic's Jan Crittenden Livingston has observed that a DVCPRO HD head drum assembly costs $8,000 and a tape drive another $8,000, costs that are eliminated in the HVX200 through the use of P2.) The REV drive used in Infinity and blue-laser drive in XDCAM HD are instead applications of inexpensive mass-market technology. As IT infiltrates camcorder design and function, expect prices for professional HD to tumble further.
Perhaps the most striking symbol of downward pressure on broadcast camcorder prices at NAB was Panasonic's announcement of its upcoming full-size, multiformat, 3-CCD DVCPRO HD camcorder, AJ-HDX900. Panasonic says it's an upconversion of the popular SDX900 to HD that adds 1080i, 1080p, and 720p at all 60/50-derived frame rates plus 24, at superb 14-bit A/D. I say it's a Varicam stripped of variable frame rate capability. A VariCam costs $65,000, the HDX900 arrives in July at $26,500 (viewfinder is extra) — a breathtaking drop.
Tape is dead, long live tape.
Contributing Writer Jan Ozer meets with Ikegami Engineer Haluki Sadahiro, who explains features of the HDN-X10 EditcamHD, Ikegami's first HD camcorder with hard disk-based storage.
Senior Contributing Editor D.W. Leitner meets with Panasonic Field Engineer Greg Boren, who discusses the HDX900 and upcoming HPC2000, which will ultimately include MPEG-4 storage.
For more on tapeless cameras and other topics, visit our archive of live podcasts from NAB 2006.
digitalcontentproducer.com/podcasts
