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Vanguard Awards 2007

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Trevor Boyer

Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro

Last year, Blackmagic Design's Intensity card introduced HDMI-based I/O to editors' desktops, opening up some compelling options for uncompressed high-definition monitoring and capture. Now the Intensity series gets a Pro version — which adds standard-def component, S-Video, and composite video connections for both NTSC and PAL — to make it a more mainstream capture solution for your production suite. Component and HDMI video are switchable between HD and SD. All you need is $349 and an open single-lane PCI Express slot in your PC or Mac Pro. “Utterly reliable and the best bargain in town,” says Vanguards judge D. W. Leitner.

Panasonic AVC-Intra

Panasonic's new implementation of MPEG-4/H.264/AVC for its P2 HD line, called AVC-Intra, is an intraframe-only compression scheme that promises 50-percent bit savings over previous MPEG-2 codecs. All that without long-GOP sequences. Full-resolution AVC-Intra 100 is said to approach D-5 quality at 100Mbps, which offers 10-bit precision, 4:2:2 sampling, and either 1920×1080 or 1280×720 pixel resolution. “Hard to believe coming from a little P2 card, but true,” says Vanguards judge D. W. Leitner. The budget-bit 50Mbps version, AVC-Intra 50, is well-suited for solid-state image capture, offering 10-bit precision, 4:2:0 sampling, and 1440×1080 and 960×720 frames (for 720p and 1080i video, respectively).

Sony PMW-EX1 and SxS flash-memory card

This year, Sony has entered the solid-state recording arena with a camera that records high-definition video to SxS cards, codeveloped with SanDisk, that use the familiar ExpressCard/34 standard — the slot found on new MacBook Pro and PC laptops. The small-format PMW-EX1 has three 1/2in. CMOS chips and records full 1920x1080 video as 25Mbps and 35Mbps MPEG-2 in MP4 wrappers. At 4lbs. 13oz., the EX1 packs a lot of features: a built-in 14X Fujinon zoom lens, two SxS card slots, HD-SDI outputs, and a 921,600-pixel LCD screen that does 2X magnification for true 1:1 pixel matching. “Sony has shoe-horned so much innovation into the compact PMW-EX1, it's hard to know where to start,” says Vanguards judge D. W. Leitner. (See Leitner's first look at digitalcontentproducer.com/cameras/revfeat/first_look_xdcam_ex.)

AJA Video Systems Io HD

AJA's new professional break-out box, fittingly, has a compact form and a sturdy handle — the better for on-set editing of high-def material on a MacBook Pro. The Io HD represents the only way (so far) to hardware-encode Apple's new ProRes 422 codec, which offers 1920×1080 or 1280×720 intraframe compression (DCT, 4:2:2, 10-bit, VBR, target bit rates of 145Mbps and 220Mbps). Io HD combines realtime up-/down-/crossconversion with every conceivable audio, video, and timecode I/O — including FireWire, HD-SDI, and HDMI. It brings the missing link of universal connectivity to the studio-in-a-box that is Final Cut Studio 2.

Panasonic BT-LH80W

“It has become something of an occupational hazard that the viewfinders in today's low- and mid-range camcorders leave a lot to be desired,” says Vanguards judge Barry Braverman. For the increased resolution of HD video, accurate monitoring becomes that much more crucial. Panasonic listened to shooters' concerns and introduced the BT-LH80W, a 7.9in.-diagonal, widescreen 800×450-pixel on-camera monitor that's compatible with 1080/24PsF, 1080i, 720p, 480p, and 480i. The LH80W has an HD/SD analog component input and (optionally) an HD-SDI input. There's a built-in waveform, and Focus-in-Red and Pixel-to-Pixel Matching both assist focus.

© 2008 Penton Media, Inc.