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MillimeterNAB Shoot
Mar 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Steve Mullen
THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT THREE YEARS OF RECESSION has taken its toll on the video industry — and those of us who cover it. Nevertheless, the camera manufacturers announced several exciting new products at their pre-NAB press conferences. Interestingly, two announcements were of new HD camcorders — one more than $115,000 and one less than $4,000.
 JVC’s JY-HD10 |
JVC's pro division announced that in May it will begin shipping the JY-HD10, a single-chip handheld HD camcorder selling for less than $4,000. The new JY-HD10 is essentially the same as the GR-HD1, an under-$3,500 HD camcorder from JVC's consumer division. (See “Is DV Dead?” page 19, February 2003 Video Systems.) The JY-HD10 adds a dual XLR adapter (integrated into the handle) with a mount for a shotgun mic.
Both camcorders feature an all-glass, 10X (f=5.2mm-52mm), F1.8-F1.9 zoom lens with an optical image stabilizer. And both employ a single 1/3in., 1.18 megapixel CCD. Three recording modes are supported: 4:3/true 16:9 NTSC (480i) DV; 16:9 SDTV (480p60) MPEG-2; and 16:9 HDTV (720p30) MPEG-2. In MPEG-2 modes, the JY-HD10 uses a short, six-frame GOP. JVC set MPEG-2 image data rate to 18.6Mbps to provide maximum image quality. The total program data rate recorded to tape is 19Mbps.
A YPrPb cable supplies analog component output. You can select to output 480i/480p/720p; 480p and 720p30 upconverted to 1080i; or downconvert all to 480i. A 1394 connector outputs and inputs either DV25 or MPEG-2-TS data.
JVC provides four Windows XP applications with the camcorders. I.LINK I/O Utility can read MPEG-2 data to disk files. The utility can also be used to write MPEG-2-TS productions to the camcorder or to any D-VHS deck. Audio Utility converts Windows audio formats to and from MPEG-1 Audio Layer-2 audio files. MPEG Edit Studio Pro 1.0 LE provides frame-accurate nonlinear editing of SD and HD MPEG-2 files. Titles, simple effects, video inserts, and audio inserts can be added to your production. Edit Studio Pro generates MPEG-2-TS files that can be opened by the i.LINK I/O Utility. Edit Studio also generates MPEG-2-PS files for use by ImageMixer DVD. ImageMixer DVD authors DVD productions and burns them to disc.
JVC introduced its GY-DV5000U in November 2002. The professional camcorder employs three 1/2in. CCDs with micro-lenses and spatial offset that offer more than 800 lines of horizontal resolution. It features 12-bit analog-to-digital conversion and 24-bit digital signal processing.
The GY-DV5000U has an open architecture that enables modular components to be attached to its 52-pin data bus. At NAB 2003, JVC will show the DR-DV5000, which records the DV signal onto a removable 2.5in. hard disk. An 80GB hard drive will deliver over six hours of digital recording time. The DR-DV5000 can be pre-configured to record in the native file format of most NLEs. Once field shooting is complete, the hard disk can be “plugged” directly into the NLE, making the footage instantly available.
JVC also introduced the KA-DV5000U MPEG-4 pack. The KA-DV5000U features “Scene Capture” that automatically stores a scene log — containing an MPEG-4 video clip plus the start and end timecode of each recorded scene — onto a CF memory card. The MPEG-4 clips can then be viewed and managed on a personal computer. MPEG-4 clips can be emailed to a client or arranged into an EDL. The KA-DV5000U has a built-in unicast server for web streaming.
Panasonic announced that the AJ-SDX900, introduced at NAB 2002, will ship in May. The SDX900 offers 4:2:2-sampled DVCPRO50 or 4:1:1-sampled DVCPRO recording, in native 16:9 wide-screen or 4:3 aspect ratios. The AJ-SDX900 also supports 480/24p acquisition, in addition to 480/30p and 480/60i capture.
Panasonic also announced the availability of the AJ-YAD955G IEEE 1394 interface card. The YAD955G permits the transfer of 50Mbps DVCPRO50 and 25Mbps DVCPRO, DVCAM, and DV video when used with the AJ-SDC930 and AJ-SD955A DVCPRO50 decks. The AJ-YAD955G interface will be available in April 2003 at $1,500.
At the last NAB Panasonic and Apple released a joint press release that announced, “We are thrilled to be working with Panasonic to bring FireWire technology to their DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD decks.” Therefore we can hope both codecs will be included in version 4 of Final Cut Pro. The AJ-YAD955G's usefulness depends, of course, on this support.
For introduction at NAB 2003, Panasonic unveiled the AG-DVC80, a three-CCD DV Proline camcorder. Essentially, it is a 60i-only version of the AG-DVX100 24p/30p/60i camcorder. Several of the “film” DSP functions have also been removed. The AG-DVC80 will be available in June at $3,295.
Panasonic also announced the AJ-DX225 deck that supports play and record of DV Proline and DVCPRO format cassettes at two times normal speed with an “appropriately equipped IEEE 1394-based personal computer.” Unfortunately, you will not have such a PC until 1394 drivers are rewritten to support a 2X faster transfer. Although it's not clear when this will be accomplished, I do expect the long-awaited FCP 24p support for the DVX100 will be announced by Apple at NAB.
Sony announced it will show at NAB both a new recording medium and a new digital format. The optical media consists of a 12cm (5in.) rewritable disc in a protective cartridge. Blue laser technology for recording and playback allows much higher recording capacity and bandwidth than possible from red laser. The optical system will offer the choice of recording video with the DVCAM codec at 25Mbps or the MPEG-2 IMX codec at 30, 40, or 50Mbps. A single disc holds 90 minutes of DVCAM material — or 45 minutes of MPEG IMX material recorded at 50Mbps, 55 minutes at 40Mbps, and 75 minutes at 30Mbps.
The new optical system records both a high-resolution original and a frame-accurate, low-resolution MPEG-4 proxy version. Using the optical camcorder itself, you'll be able to mark “good” shots using a picture-stamp storyboard displayed on the camcorder's LCD monitor and then play them back seamlessly. From the camcorder, users will be able to transfer the proxy information to laptop editors or back to the studio at up to 30X realtime.
Sony's two new optical camcorders capture images with three 2/3in. EX HAD image sensors and 12-bit analog-to-digital converters. Features include loop/interval recording using a built-in cache memory. Further information on these camcorders will be released at NAB.
Sony was clear that optical recording would be used with future HD camcorders. And Sony representatives did not discount a consumer HD camcorder based on 8cm blue-laser optical media. Optical-disc HD camcorders offer a great cost advantage for the consumer because a single product functions as the camera, editing system, and playback device. Using USB 2.0 or FireWire, a camcorder could attach to a PC as a random-access disk. HD MPEG-2 editing software would generate a playlist that would be stored on the optical disc.
In a significant expansion to its CineAlta family, Sony introduced a high-definition camera with uncompressed digital 4:4:4 RGB output. The new HDC-F950 camera captures a full 1920×1080 image at 24fps. The F950 is connected to an HDCAM SR VTR via dual HD SDI cables.
The HDC-F950 offers the same capture rates as the HDW-F900 camcorder: 23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p, 50i, and 59.94i. A new “undercranking” feature allows additional picture capture rates of from 1fps to 24fps. The HDC-F950 is scheduled to be available in October for a suggested list price of $115,000. The companion HDVF-C30W 2.5in. color viewfinder is scheduled to be available in April at under $10,000.
Sony also announced a 4:4:4 HDCAM SR portable VTR. The compact SRW-1 portable VTR facilitates battery-powered remote acquisition of full-bandwidth 4:4:4 or 4:2:2 digital HD. The recording bit rate for 4:4:4 video is an astounding 440Mbps. The SRW-1 utilizes the standard “small” cassette that provides 50 minutes of recording of 1080/24p video with 12 24-bit audio tracks.
The SRW-1 can also record two full-bandwidth 4:2:2 HD signals simultaneously onto a single 1/2in. tape, allowing for stereoscopic 3D video acquisition and for two-camera productions. Operating in this novel dual mode, the SRW-1 achieves a combined video data rate of about 900Mbps. The SRW-1 HDCAM SR portable VTR is scheduled to be available in early 2004 at $55,000.
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