By Michael Grotticelli, March 30, 2004
With the array of HD content now available to consumers, and more coming all the time, most industry observers agree that 2004 looks to be the year that high-definition digital tools will become as ubiquitous as standard-definition (SD) technology. Sony Electronics is "Riding The HD Wave" into the NAB convention with a variety of such SD/HD products, both new and enhanced, that address this rich content creation market.
Targeting HD editing, Sony is "back in the NLE business," according to Alec Shapiro, Sony's senior vice president of marketing, Broadcast & Production Systems Division. After a previous attempt to develop a nonlinear editing system, the company has devoted considerable resources over the past year at its R&D facility in Chicago to enhancing the latest version of Microsoft Windows-based XPRI software. It now includes real-time edit preview and effects functionality, a revised timeline interface, advanced decoding techniques and complete networking capability to allow up to four XPRI systems to be operated on a shared storage area network (SAN), even with bandwidth-hungry HD images.
Designed to edit images captured with Sony's MPEG IMX and HDCAM formats, XPRI includes more than 100 pre-installed digital effects and patterns and a choice of four different control panels (including a traditional jog/shuttle wheel) for those who still can't get the hang of editing with a computer keyboard and mouse.
At the NAB convention, Sony will demonstrate real-time HD editing on XPRI, tight integration with Sony's XDCAM SD system and advanced color-correction features that provide sophisticated real-time control over specific colors in a frame.
There's also a new portable version of XPRI on a laptop, XPRI Mobile, which Sony says allows field crews to transfer low-resolution "proxy" data from the field back to the production facility at up to 20x real time
. Both the desktop and laptop systems are capable of editing high-resolution DVCAM and MPEG IMX content as well.
Sony has rounded out its XDCAM production family with the introduction of the XPRI MetaStation. It's compatible with the XPRI Mobile software and allows engineers working in a production facility to quickly reproduce timelines created in the field by importing a compatible EDL that includes effects and titles. File transfers can be as fast as 50x real time with XPRI MetaStation, according to the company.
Of course, the XDCAM line of professional optical disc-based production equipment, including the PDW-510/530 camcorders and PDW-V1 portable player, will also be highlighted in Las Vegas. The tapeless recording system leverages metadata and the MXF file wrapper to enable reliable acquisition and fast file transfer. The entire line of SD gear will be available for purchase in March.
The XDCAM strategy includes the ability to simultaneously record a low-resolution MPEG-4 "proxy" file used for previewing clips and a high-resolution version for editing and final program production. Using XDCAM, shooters can select and mark clips in the field and create an edit decision list. These proxy files can be sent over a WAN or the Internet for review or, in the case of breaking news, for live-to-air broadcast.
Providing a good complement to its high-end (and popular) MVS-8000 SD/HD switcher, Sony will debut a compact multiformat digital video switcher, the MFS-2000 Series. It's a software upgradeable switcher that can produce SD (480i and 576i) and HD (720p, 1080i, 1080/24p) multi-camera projects. It can be ordered with 8 or 16 inputs and an optional built-in digital effects generator.3
Info: Sony, www.sony.com/professional
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