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Sony PMW-400 Shoulder-Mount XAVC Camcorder Announced

Phil B — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:53:41 +0000

One of Sony’s main product announcements of NAB 2013 is the new PMW-400K / PMW-400L camcorder. (PMW-400K is supplied with lens, 400L as body only)

The PMW-400 is an affordable 3 x 2/3-inch shoulder-mount broadcast camcorder that supports all SD / HD 422 broadcast workflows using .MXF files, and XDCAM EX workflows using .MP4 and .AVI files.

It is also future-proofed to support XAVC 10-bit HD422 recordings.

With the new CBK-WA100 wireless adapter, content can be wirelessly uploaded to the customer’s server or cloud service via the 3G/4G mobile phone network.

Pricing and availability to be confirmed.

New Solo Rapid Lock tripods from Miller

Phil B — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:19:12 +0000

The popular range of Miller SOLO tripods have now become even quicker to deploy.

Incorporating a new multi thread locking/unlocking system, the SOLO Rapid lock tripod can lock and release with only 1/4 of a turn.

Like the original SOLO twist lock system, the new RAPID LOCK system is also self-adjusting negating the need for servicing to keep your payload safe and the legs in reliable working order.

Miller’s range of SOLO tripods have become the camera support of choice for many leading DOPs and camera operators. The Solo tripod can be used in many situations where conventional multi-tube tripods just get in the way when trying to capture that difficult shot.

The sturdy 3 position leg angle lock system allows for various heights and footprints, and eliminates the need for a spreader. The Solo system also allows the operator to set the legs at different heights for shooting on uneven or sloping terrain.

The Solo “Rapid Lock” systems will be available before Summer 2013 and the price will remain the same as the current SOLO range!

Blackmagic announce 4K s35 Cinema Camera

Phil B — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:04:36 +0000

Hot off the press from NAB 2013 is that Blackmagic Design have announced the expansion of their cinema camera range with new 4K models equipped with Super-35mm sensors and internal uncompressed RAW recording capability…

The BMCC 4K is anticipated to be available with EF mount and have a UK price of £2,699+VAT.

There’s also a Pocket Cinema Camera in the pipeline, equipped with a Super 16mm Full HD sensor and active mFT lens mount along with an anticipated price of around £699+VAT!

CVP’s award winning stand at BVE 2013

Phil B — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 23:00:44 +0000

For 2013 we decided to make our biggest ever splash at BVE (Broadcast Video Expo) which relocated this year from Earl’s Court 2 to ExCeL in Docklands.

Despite our reservations about the new location, ExCeL proved to be a great venue with excellent transport links thanks to the DLR and nearby London City Airport. ExCeL is basically a massive square building with a large central atrium which joins all the halls – It sounds boring and looks boring from the outside BUT it is really easy to navigate and perhaps best of all there’s a massive range of good quality food and drink vendors therein, along with adequate seating and tables. It all works very well!

The amount of work that our team have put into devising, delivering and manning this year’s stand is quite simply huge, everyone pulling together and giving up their weekends in the final stages to deliver what we hoped would be a great success. And fortunately all the effort paid off, our stand being virtually mobbed for the duration and being awarded the “Best of Show” award!

Here’s a few images of what we created, displayed and a few shots of our team at work…

The centrepiece of our stand was a large “trilite” dome surrounded by the latest cameras from Blackmagic Design, Canon, JVC, Panasonic and Sony, all images displayed on the latest Sony OLED monitors…

Mark Forth, CVP Group MD arranged a full compliment of Canon EF lenses in one of our many display cabinets…

Dominic Smye-Rumsby our superstar Technical Services Manager came to the rescue by single-handedly modifying all of the light box cabinet tops which had for some inexplicable reason turned up incorrectly sized…

Jon Fry, CVP Sales Director looking worryingly happy whilst wielding a very sharp knife…

Steffan Hewitt, Inventor of the Polecam delivered a PSP-1 system to the stand whilst pulling an extraordinary face!

2 solid days of relentless work from the entire team resulted in this:

Which soon became this:

Darren Simpson (Right) advises one of our customers interested in the new Sony PMW-F55…

Even visiting bloggers & press featured our stand in their output, this French reporter introducing her audience to the Polecam…

Meanwhile something unusual was occurring in the middle of the stand:

There was understandably a lot of interest in Sony’s new PMW-F5 and F55 cameras, shown in “fully pimped” form by CVP:

Interest in the JVC GY-HM650 was so strong that even Tony Badger ended up doing a demo or two whilst using one to film at the show for CVPtv!

There was a Sony PMW-150 on display too:

And just in case you were wondering what was going on with that radio controlled camper van earlier here is Ian Cook (PopBangColour) the super-talented artist with the stunning painting of a McLaren MP4-12C that he created live in the epicentre our stand during Day 1…

Thanks for Looking, Thanks for Visiting us at BVE, in fact thanks to all our customers, suppliers and staff for your valued support!

Here’s to the next year!

Another Update from Grant at Blackmagic Design

Phil B — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 14:23:07 +0000

Just as you’re probably (like us) beginning to fear that your eagerly awaited Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera will pehaps never materialise, Blackmagic Design’s CEO Grant Petty gives us hope that volume production may be about to start in earnest at long last…

“Hi,

Ok good news everyone as the test run of sensors have just been built into cameras and they look good. Very good. So we have just given the sensor supplier the go ahead to commence volume production of the sensors and we hope to start getting them within the next week to start building cameras. How many cameras? I am not sure, as we have all stopped production and so we all need to restart production and see how many they can produce. However we will be working hard to build as many cameras as possible over the next few weeks.

I hope people start to see more cameras shipping, but it might be a good idea if I post another update early January to update everyone on how production is progressing.

As for the micro four thirds model, it’s ready to go, however the problem is I feel until we are shipping a whole bunch of EF model cameras, there is little point building any of the MFT model. So we will ship as many as we can and then perhaps see where we are mid Jan and do a few MFT models then.

It is sure a relief seeing this problem coming to a close. I cannot believe this happened and it’s been an incredibly frustrating delay. However I am feeling really positive now.

Regards,

Grant
Blackmagic Design”

So, based on this our fingers are crossed that we’ll at long last start to see some meaningful deliveries by the middle of January 2013, only 6 month after the promised date!

Thank you to everyone who has ordered their BMCC from CVP, we truly appreciate your custom and amazing patience.

Avid Media Composer 6.5

Karak — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:23:01 +0000

IBC saw Avid’s first major public showing of Media Composer v6.5 (together with the associated releases of Symphony v6.5 and Newscutter v10.5 ). So, what’s new?

Well, in line with most of the recent releases, a lot of what’s new is only of benefit to certain users, or is an ‘enabling’ feature that introduces or improves interoperability with other Avid or third party products. As I’ve observed in previous editions, this is the reality for Avid when their product already fills the needs of the majority of users. That said, there are things in there that make life easier, so let’s take a look…..

The first is an ‘enabler’ – support for Interplay Sphere. This enables remote users to upload media to, and edit from, centralised storage over Wi-Fi or 4G. Media is streamed in real time for viewing in the field but is retained on the central storage. Clips are sent in real time as sequences are edited. This is only available on PC based systems and even then, only when working in an Interplay environment. I started with this, because it gives us a bit of a glimpse into the future. Several companies have been working on producing a viable ‘Remote Editing’ solution for years and now both Avid and Adobe have made announcements (see my other article which follows for an overview of ‘Adobe Anywhere’). Also check out Forbidden Technologies, they’ve had a workable cloud based system up and running for some time. ‘Remote’ and ‘Cloud based’ editing will one day become ‘the next big thing’. However, I digress.

Next, let’s take a look at something a bit more mainstream. Avid have made numerous improvements to Audio Keyframing. First there’s a new keyboard shortcut to create them, then there’s now the ability to cut and paste keyframes and their attributes, singly or en-masse, from track to track or up and down the timeline. You can ‘nudge’ the specified audio level of keyframe(s) up or down in 1db increments or move it up and down the timeline frame by frame. You can also lasso a range of keyframes and move these up and down the timeline or adjust their associated audio levels in unison. When audio tracks are trimmed or edited, you can end up with ‘hidden’ keyframes in the unseen handles of the clip. There’s now a facility to selectively remove ‘hidden’ keyframes.

The icon for the Audio Tool has changed, it now looks like this:

Still on audio related changes, there’s now the capability to monitor 64 ‘voices’ an increase from the previous 16. You’re still limited to 24 audio tracks, but a track can contain several ‘voices’ for example, a stereo track contains 2 voices, a 5.1 surround track contains 6 voices – you get the idea.

Finally on audio, Avid have enabled Audio Punch-in with both 3rd party hardware and also with the host computers own audio hardware. Note that the 3rd party element of this is dependent on those manufacturers incorporating this feature into their own drivers so if you’re using i/o hardware from AJA, Blackmagic, Matrox et al then the timescale for the introduction of this feature is now in their hands.

One new feature that is really useful is the ability to disable and re-enable your i/o hardware from a button on the timeline without having to quit and relaunch Avid. This means that you can for example ‘release’ the hardware to After Effects or some other application without quitting Avid, or utilise Full Screen playback on the computers monitor, a feature only available when running in software only mode. Again note however, that you are reliant on the 3rd party manufacturer supporting this feature in their driver software. For those of you with Avid i/o hardware, it works ‘out of the box’.

If you need to edit a title in the Timeline, you can now open the Title tool or Marquee with the title preloaded by right clicking the title in the Timeline and selecting ‘Edit Title’. It’s a simple addition, but it saves a few mouse clicks / keystrokes. Other Timeline changes include the ability to drag non-adjacent segments – the system would just beep at you if you ever tried this previously!

Next there’s a few AMA related improvements. Firstly, Avid have ‘enabled’ AMA write back which allows Media Composer to export sequences back to an AMA format. Previously, AMA was one way, you could create a sequence from AMA material, but you then had to transcode your finished program and/or output it through hardware. I say Avid have ‘enabled’ this, in reality you will only be able to perform these exports when the camera manufacturers complete their part of the task and provide update versions of their individual AMA plug-ins. Sony have already released such an updated AMA plug-in for HDCAM SR.

This is the first, expect others to follow soon.

With the introduction of v6.5, AMA Volume Management is now ‘always on’, but for those using pre AMA legacy workflows for P2 and XDCAM media, that is to say you import those media types, there is now an “Enable Legacy P2 and XDCAM” option in AMA settings.

The next AMA change relates to the auto creation of bins whenever a storage device containing media is connected to the system. Previously if you plugged a USB stick into the system while Avid was running to say transfer a Word file, or your Expenses claim or whatever, then Avid would automatically scan the USB stick for Media and make any it found available through AMA in a Bin – not the required outcome!

There is now an option to disable this Auto Linking.

When relinking to QuickTime AMA files, you can now relink a group of clips in a single operation rather than having to relink each one separately as was the case previously.

Finally, while we’re discussing AMA, although not a feature of v6.5, Sony have now introduced an AMA plug in for the F65 – the SRPA-10. It supports Lite and SQ bit rates for 4:2:2 files and SQ bit rates for 4:4:4 files and enables direct access to, and full native support of, Sony HDCAM SR Lite media and metadata and eliminates the need to transcode before starting to edit. It works with MC v5.5.3 or later – PC or Mac.

This rather conveniently brings us to the other improvements made to the relinking process. You can now relink media by any column in a bin, the Relink dialogue box having been redesigned to accommodate this.

So you could for example relink a master clip’s “Tape Name” to a media file’s “Reel Number”

Media Composer v6.5 and the rest of the family sees the introduction of and support for, some new codecs. First, there’s JPEG2000 support. Avid see this as a ‘Mezzanine’ codec, it’s a Variable Bit Rate ( VBR ) codec and it operates at 50Mb/s for SD and between 60Mb/s and 150Mb/s depending upon Frame size, Frame rate and Bit depth for HD. Also introduced is a new ‘family’ of DNxHD codecs that fill the previous gap between DNxHD 36 and DNxHD120. The new codecs include DNxHD100 and DNxHD85 which as you might expect operate at 85Mb/s or 100Mb/s, again dependant on Frame size, Frame rate and Bit depth.

AMWA the Advanced Media Workflow Association of whom Avid are Founder Members and count many industry ‘heavyweights’ amongst their number are an organisation that “strives for compatibility between AAF, BXF, MXF (AMWA is a co-creator) and XML” and look to give “Worldwide leadership in developing and advancing the use of media standards and technology that enable more effective networked media workflows”. One of their many ongoing projects has been the development of the AS-02 specification concerning “MXF program components stored in a way that allows different versions & inventories, for use in a multi-version, multi-lingual, multi-delivery media environment”. MC v6.5 supports the AS-02 specification and allows multiple versions of a program to be ‘intelligently’ exported as a bundle. The example Avid cite is say you have two sequences that contain the same video, but two different audio variants, say two different languages, then the AS-02 Export creates a bundle that contains one video element bundled with each of the two audio elements – it saves export time and disk space. It’s early days for the Associations work, but anything they achieve in harmonising the interchange of material between systems has to be commended.

The versions of 3rd Party software that now ship are:-

Avid FX v6.2
Sorenson Squeeze v8.1
Avid DVD v6.4.4 ( Windows only )
Boris Continuum Complete v8.1 ( Symphony only )

Upgrades and Crossgrades contain the 3rd Party elements as appropriate.
For those of you who use Phrase Find, you can now set the location to which the index files are written. This improves performance in shared storage environments. There’s also an option to stop indexing if it’s underway, it restarts only when you deselect the option.

Sequences can now be tagged with an Active Format Description, this inserts standard SMPTE codes into the sequence that indicates to other Applications and Devices the correct aspect ratio for the piece.

The Windows Installer has been modified so it can now be used to selectively uninstall related package elements.

Finally, a few words about what you don’t get with the v6.5 release – software! Avid have now stopped shipping physical media – you are required to download it. All you now get is a small Activation Card which contains a download code. You then register and log in at www.avid.com/activationcard this login will then allow you to download the software and keep track of all your licences, serial numbers and activation codes both for Avid products and also the third party plug-ins to which you are entitled. The advantage for Avid is that they don’t have to press and ship disks, the advantage for the end user is that you’ll always get the latest point release, which is not the case if you’re relying on a DVD that’s had to go through a manufacturing process and the distribution channel. As the end user, you also have your Avid login giving you access to all your licences etc – no more disk labels and stickers to keep in a safe place. Just make sure you don’t forget your login details and password! However, if you really must have ‘hard copies’ of the installers, they can be purchased as an option. They come on a USB stick and cost an extra £69.
To end, I’ll just mention that Baselight – colour correction and grading, is now available as an AVX plug in, bringing the power of Baselight into the Avid UI. Currently only for Mac, but the PC version is supposed to be out by the end of the year. It’s not just for v6.5 – it also works with v6.0. List price is £636.33

Media Composer v6.5 is available now for £1,799 list. Upgrades are £359 for those with v6.0, £429 for those with v5.5 or earlier or Avid Xpress and free for those with Advantage (THE formal Avid Support contract )

TriCaster TCXD8000 – can it get any better?

Karak — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:23:01 +0000

At NAB earlier this year Newtek announced a trio of new broadcast mixing and switching solutions. As expected, there were upgrades for the TriCaster XD450 (XD455) and their established flagship for low-cost, high-end production and the centre piece of many TV Studios around the world, the TriCaster XD850 (XD855). But what no-one was expecting was the announcement of the all-new 8000. Strolling in as TriCaster’s new heir to the throne, the 8000 comes with a swathe of new features – many in areas we really didn’t expect…

Sporting a sexy glowing blue stripe on the outside and a leaner, cleaner interface in the inside, the new suave TriCaster struts into the spotlight and brings with it the kind of upgrades that frankly, we didn’t think would ever grace a TriCaster. New features include social networking, scripting, remote control, 3D effects and more besides. Let’s take a look:

Social Media Integration now means that while you are producing your live show, you can be interacting with your viewers via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube etc. The percentage of people who watch TV on their portable device (be it a laptop, tablet or phone) is increasing all the time. Gone are the days of having to say the old line “and we received this letter from a Mrs Trellis of North Wales” in relation to something from the previous show; now she can tweet her comments and get a response moments later during that show. Support for live upload to an FTP site is also included for those corporate jobs. Put simply, Tricaster’s inclusion of Social Media Networking could be the single biggest addition to any vision mixing platform ever!

The ‘Extreme’ versions of the 450 and 850 already had ISO recording (the ability to record not only the program output but also individual feeds coming in). The TriCaster range has always recorded its media as MPEG2 by default based on the need for compatibility across multiple edit platforms. The 8000 brings a shift towards QuickTime recording as the standard. This move brings the addition of up to 4 channels of audio recording along with time code embedded. This should mean that post show editing is made easier and as QT support on PC has been getting steadily better over the years, this shouldn’t present a problem to the non-Mac crowd. Software codecs also mean that both PC and Mac platforms can produce media optimized for TriCaster although anyone who has ever used a TriCaster will tell you it plays pretty much anything you can throw at it! With the standard storage in the 8000, Newtek claim approximately 50 hours of 1080i but as the drives are hot swappable, this is effectively unlimited.

Finally, proper workspace control comes to TriCaster. In the more recent TriCasters you could fold away the display section to give you more space for DDRs and stills but this new approach adds much more control over what you see and how you see it. Many TriCaster users (including me) have been asking for this for some time as everyone has different needs – even when referencing something quite particular like broadcast mixing. The new ability to use one touch automation and create macros means that complex changes to setup such as layering, video clip choices etc. can be pre-defined before going live and then called into play using a single click.

The traditional TriCaster virtual input channels ( V1, V2 etc.) are now replaced with M/E (Mix/Effects) keys, offering far greater flexibility. On the 8000 we get 8 M/E channels. These can be used for such things as chromakey, virtual studio inputs, picture in picture setups etc. and can be routed together to allow an almost endless amount of configuration. Each M/E channel comes with up to 4 overlays and has its own 3D positioning, scale, crop, keying and transition controls so with just a few cameras you can give the appearance of a massive multi-use studio setup that’s ready for anything. In the past TriCaster users always ended up asking for more (regardless of how many their specific model shipped with). Now with the ability to configure router switching within the TriCaster, connecting a Blackmagic router (for example) to one of your inputs means you can have almost limitless live sources in your production.

TriCaster’s audio handling has traditionally been a bit of a bugbear for larger broadcasters – many wanted to use a dedicated sound desk with a sound engineer operating it. This was possible for everything apart from the DDRs and internal TriCaster audio. Mics and external sources can all be pre-mixed before being fed into the TriCaster, but as the DDRs are already inside, getting them out and back in again has always been an issue for the systems integrator. Thankfully the 8000 makes a huge step in the right direction with the ability to remote control all the audio channels from either a simple iPad application or via one of the popular Avid Artist series of control surfaces. This means your sound man feels he’s in control and your TriCaster operator can focus on other tasks.

Virtual Sets have always been a big selling point with the TriCaster range. Good old ‘collage’ chromakey where you ‘cut out’ and ‘stick on’ was fine back in the 90′s but viewers demand more these days. Virtual studio setups can now draw the viewer into a more believable world with reflective surfaces on floors and desks etc., realisitic 3D environments with video walls, windows showing live outside weather and so on. A few years back Newtek added a very nice feature to Virtual Sets by including a zoomable virtual camera. This meant that from a single live camera feed, you could get up to 4 switchable zoom levels which provided wide angles and close-ups from a single source, saving money, time and effort. Now with the 8000 they have given this feature a huge injection of adrenaline with the inclusion of up to 4 live sources (yes, I’ll let that one sink in for a second…….), and new 3D motion control with what Newtek describe as ‘Pan, zoom and pedestal movement’ functions. Virtual Set Editor (VSE) has also been upgraded to version 2.0 to allow these new features to be created by the end user.

We touched upon the macros and scripting earlier but one of the more exciting features of the 8000 is ‘talent triggerable hotspots’. Imagine a Weather Presenter being able to trigger the next map image simply by walking from one side of the shot to another. Or a presenter simply pointing at a thumbnail of a video with his hand to make it play that video full screen. Presenter / environment interaction is finally achievable meaning small crews can now achieve results that used to need much bigger crews, and bigger crews can achieve… well, almost anything! Another feature of this motion tracking feature is the ability to track any source onto an in-camera element, meaning things can be mapped onto something in your hand for example (like a piece of card) and project live video onto it.

The visual effects achievable with the 8000 have also improved. In addition to the many standard 2D wipes, crawls, slides etc. the video-based transitions are included as standard (only previously available in Extreme models). These allow a transition where not only the A and B channels are switched but also an additional graphical element such as a football, fluttering flag or slamming vault door (think high end sports shows, American wrestling, robot wars type stuff). These transitions can also include sound allowing you to produce very dramatic shows with visually complex themed punctuation, yet with hardly any impact on your operators stress levels! And all the tools needed to create your own animated transitions are included meaning no extra costs when you want to customize things. Newtek have also reintroduced 3D warping transitions (think page peel with live video on it) last seen on older SD TriCasters. With this much variety, you are sure to find a transition to suit your needs (and if not, make one.)

There’s evidence that better routing has been a priority wherever you look on the new 8000, especially on the back panel where you’ll see a number of extra output sockets. But it’s not just a hardware thing; very simple but clever options like the ability to send the output from one TriCaster, via a network to another TriCaster means interlinking between multiple physical studios is possible – even if they are on opposite sides of the planet.

Previous TriCasters had only two DSKs (downstream keys) which were fully controllable. Now we have four, which means if you need to show a lower third, a channel ident and two picture-in-pictures, you’re covered. With the nine frame buffers also included in this model, you can specify which particular title is sent to a specific overlay, DSK or virtual input. All of which ultimately means your production will look top notch, without the need for crazy button pushing.

Read the full version of Mat Recardo’s review of the the TriCaster 8000 and the new entry-level TriCaster 40 in the Iris magazine, 3rd issue of 2012. Back issues of the Iris can be read online at www.theirismag.com/irisonline

Sony’s PMW-200 – a worthy successor to the much-loved EX1?

Karak — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:23:02 +0000

I like the EX 1 – I LIKE it– it has always been, to paraphrase the corporate world, ‘fit for purpose’ in my view. Small, manageable, a breeze to use, feature rich and unfailingly reliable, it has been my right hand man and saviour of many a shoot. But, ‘tempus fugits’, and it has now ‘fugitted’ enough to warrant the EX 1 being gracefully retired – and my overriding impression of the PMW 200 is that here is a worthy (a very worthy to be honest) replacement. And here’s why….

Out of the box the PMW 200 is immediately familiar in your hands. Hats off to Mr Sony, for delivering a hand held that ergonomically is as near a full size cam-corder as you could get – switches where you expect, doing what you expect, and nary a sign of the single ring adjuster we’ve seen on recent camcorders, leaving the lensman fiddling for a selector switch to adjust such staples as Iris and Focus. Separate rings for focus, iris and zoom are in themselves enough to put the 200 on the list of must-haves, but that’s just the start.
At a shade over 5lbs ready to shoot, the 200 is chunky enough to be nicely handleable, without sacrificing extreme portability – great for those tight shots where ramming in a full size unit raises your blood pressure to imminent explosion point. In the hand it is truly balanced, and the handle is a proper one, devoid of the overhanging pointy bit favoured by others. It feels good – solid and robust, like it belongs there.

The SxS card slots (yes, XDCAM-EX is the acquisition format as you’d expect, though with the neat twist of compatibility with XDCAM HD422) are on the rear, with a silver cover – a nice detail making card changing or monitoring very easy; There is an accessory shoe next to the LCD screen above the lens, and a second mounting at the rear of the handle, ideal for radio mics;

The menu is accessed from the rear left flank of the unit OR from the panel atop the handle, where playback is accessed from – and again this allows speedy changes to be made; All the connectivity is on the back panel, except for the XLR audio inputs which are in the usual place on the handle; The audio controls are covered with a clear panel for safety – but the slightly indented rotary audio controls can be adjusted with the panel closed, and are recessed enough so that knocking them accidentally is near on impossible; and all the other switchgear, such as white, gain and so on is well placed. In short, the PMW 200 is ergonomically a thing of beauty. And that, on a busy shoot, is worth its weight in minutes lost.

So it looks good, it feels good, but does it perform good? The answer, on paper is a resounding yes.

It is the first camcorder in its class to feature 3 x ½ inch Exmor CMOS sensors (two more than it’s baby brother the PMW 100) – better for depth-of-field, and offering surprisingly good sensitivity. Sporting a Fujinon HD lens with 14 x optical zoom, and with the ability to record full HD 422 at 50mbps, it fits EBU recommendations for broadcast production and falls nicely into the acceptable range for ENG and Documentary work. But where this camera really shines is in it’s multiple-format support, with various HD formats including NTSC and PAL – and the ability to record and playback SD in DVCAM format.

Using the MPEG-2 Long GOP codec the 200 can record in UDF or FAT modes. And the key word here is flexibility. In UDF, HD 422 gives you 50mbps CBR 1920 x 1080, with 59.94 and 50i, and 3 choices of progressive including 25p; HD420 gives you 35mbps VBR in 1440 x 1080 and 1280 x 720, and the same choice of scan and frame rates; and UDF also offers DVCAM recording. In FAT again there is much flexibility, with HQ1920, HQ1440, and HQ 1280 all offering a choice of frame rates at 35mbps VBR, HQ 1280 offering progressive only at frame rates from 59.94 to 23.98; SP 1440 provides 25mbps CBR at 59.94i, 50i, and 23.98p; and finally in FAT DVCAM mode offers 720 x 480 at 59.94i or 29.97p, and 720×576 offers 50i and 25P. In HD, the UDF file format is MXF as opposed to FAT where it is MP4 – MPEG-HD 422 50mbps in MXF gives really detailed colour reproduction – which is going to make CSO a doddle.

On top of this there are slow and quick functions from 1fps quick, to 60 fps slow in 720P – but just 30fps in 1080P – It would have been the cherry on the cake to see 60fps at 1080P, but for unfathomable reasons it seems a step too far to include this desirable feature – though I suspect the word affordability would feature in any explanation. Frame recording is included, if you’re into moving bits of clay ‘just a tiny bit’ – and interval recording is on-board too, for those clever skyscapes or flowers bursting into bud. So despite the lack of 60fps slo-mo in 1080P, it’s a fair armoury.

Each of the three newly developed sensors has a pixel count of two million, and full HD is achieved with no pixel interpolation. Sony has employed multiple A/D converters, in parallel, which lower power consumption so you can squeeze those vital extra minutes from the battery. Feeding the sensors is a fixed Fuji HD lens with f5.8/81.2mm at the wide end and selectable manual or auto modes, a macro function, an image stabiliser and of course a variable shutter with slow shutter function; Cache recording is included, and rather neatly Sony have made the 200 wifi connectable with iPads or Android devices via an optional CBK-WA01 wifi adaptor – giving you remote control of zoom, focus, iris, white balance and record start/stop – though a firmware upgrade will be required too (available from November 2012). So on paper this seems to have all the toys. But what is it like in the field? I say field, because that is exactly where I headed off to on a bright Saturday morning, the 200 in hand, to see if it would deliver what it promised.

Having powered up and set UDF HD422 I set to work. The 3.5” LCD is big, sharp, and very useful – menu data appears here, and you can set what other information you want. The viewfinder is colour, and again, perfectly suitable for the task. Menu operation is simple, with an access button and a thumbwheel to select and set. Better than that, menu functions can also be accessed from the top panel where the playback functions sit, under the flip out screen. If you’ve had your mitts on a PMW 100 then menu wise you’re right at home – the main difference being the ability to select the output signal on the 200.

The lens, it has to be said, in my view is a delight. A smoooooth servo function allows variable zoom rates and perfect easing in and out, and at the wide end it gives a pleasing field of view. The 14 x optical zoom gives plenty of scope for getting in tight, and critical focus can be checked with the expanded focus function, the button sitting on your right hand atop the zoom unit immediately behind the zoom rocker – just where you want it. The expanded focus automatically times out after 5 seconds, which on occasion was a bit of a faff, but after a while you get used to it and it quickly becomes an asset. Having the traditional three ring set up on the lens is a dream – intuitive and very flexible, allowing you instant control over iris, focus and zoom. But the auto iris and focus modes are useful too – with adjustable iris response to achieve smooth irising up or down whilst ‘live’. The on-board microphone, mounted on the handle right at the front is great for generic sound, and surprisingly there was a marked absence of noise transfer from the handle itself – I couldn’t see any reason for this but it’s definitely a huge step forward from some other camcorders I’ve used (and reviewed, if you want the names!!) in recent months. And no, you’re not going to be relying on the onboard mic in normal use, but it’s good to know that in an emergency you could get something useable down.

On the sound side it’s business as usual with XLRs mounted to the front right of the handle, selectable between mic and line level input, and with 48v phantom power. And a feature I really liked was the audio control board on the left of the unit, hidden behind a small but robust panel with cut outs to allow access to the rotary level controls with the cover closed. There is of course a short flying arm for a forward camera-mounted microphone.

Another neat feature is connectivity – Sony have grouped these together on the rear of the unit – Genlock, timecode, SDI, HDMI, AV, I-Link and USB are all here – no more searching the dark recesses of the flanks of your camcorder for the USB link! HD-SDI is a welcome feature allowing connection to a monitor – but also providing an output into a multi camera set up if required, which makes me think this unit will be right at home on a Polecam! Down conversion to SD is available too, for the ultimate in flexibility. Note too the presence of timecode in and out, and genlock – allowing you to hook into a multi-camera set up such as a truck or OB, the Genlock IN BNC also having the ability to be switched to provide composite video OUT – though that is also supplied at the AV connector.
Whilst out, I shot some skies and found the peaking function more than up to the task; ND is prompted on the LCD screen and switchable in 3 stages – off, 1/64 and 1/8; and later, I played with the 6 assignable and customisable picture profiles, offering plenty of pre-set personal choices for setups, including the Gamma curve so you can achieve the filmic look of your choice. Which, even though this is not one of the en-vogue large sensor units proliferating the market just now, is a great feature. Which leads me on to another great feature, the Aspect Mask – available on both the LCD and Viewfinder, where you can select the safety area for the format you’re shooting in using the Aspect Marker – and then using the Mask you can reduce the brightness of areas outside the marker – in bright conditions this is a real comfort feature, and I can imagine it would be hugely useful in a ‘run-and-gun’ situation. And one other thing I really liked is the ‘Quick Rec’ function, which allows you to accelerate the power on function by depressing the ‘rec’ button whilst powering on. Together with 15 seconds of cache recording available you are fairly bulletproof in the ‘not missing a shot’ category!

Transferring files to my Mac was simplicity itself via the USB cable and XDCAM transfer – I didn’t use it but there is the opportunity to preload Metadata via a USB stick or direct from the SxS card, the metadata being recordedas described in the XML file whilst recording. It seems in terms of workflow, the 200 is well sorted. I dropped the shots into Final Cut Pro, and – rather as I had expected – the shots looked really sweet. Nice colour, no sign of aliasing or artifacts, and good contrast between the lights and darks. The expanded focus and peaking functions had conspired to provide pin sharp focus, and one thing I was really impressed with was the lens macro function – I had literally put the lens against foliage and berries and got some lovely shallow depth of field with BIG close ups, and a pin sharp focal point where I wanted it. The slow feature in playback is gorgeous too – smooth, sharp, and begging to be used creatively – which of course I was entirely unable to do!!

So in summary, it’s really a no-brainer. Sony did good. They learned from the long-popular EX1, they listened to users on the single ring lens issue, they thought long and hard about ergonomics, they packed in everything you’re likely to need and they turned out a camcorder that feels somehow bigger, somehow higher-end than it truly is. I n corporate-speak the PMW 200 punches well above it’s weight – and I for one would be very happy to have one on location. And as the sun dipped low in the sky over deepest Essex, I fired off a few shots and it occurred to me that here was a camera outstanding in its field.

Literally.

Read an extended version of Badger’s review of the Sony PMW-200 in the Iris magazine, 3rd issue of 2012. Back issues of the Iris are available to read online at www.theirismag.com/irisonline.

GoPro go one better!

Karak — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:23:02 +0000

Just when we thought we’d seen it all, GoPro introduce the HERO3

and put 4K in the palm of your hand – quite literally!

The mark of a successful company is that it never stands still – and GoPro certainly can’t be accused of doing that! All around them, competitors were coming out with products that were challenging the supremacy of the HD Hero 2 and then, just when we thought we’d seen it all, they announced the imminent arrival of a whole new family of GoPro products that are clearly designed to seize back the high ground.

I haven’t got my hands on any of them yet, but I have been able to take a view based on their specifications. They emanate from the States, so they don’t make a big deal of it but THEY ALL ARE CAPABLE OF SHOOTING 25fps… Happy, happy, happy!

BABY HERO - The WHITE edition (approx £199 inc. VAT)

On the face of it, this seems to be an upgrade on the original HD Hero – but this time around it’s much lighter, better constructed and with vastly improved ergonomics (it’s predecessor’s most-criticised feature). The Hero3 has built in Wi-Fi (so no need to fiddle round with the silly BacPacs as on the previous versions) – this is a great addition and probably its best feature, especially at this price point. The White still uses a waterproof housing which now has a flat lens built-in to avoid distortion and increase sharpness above and under water which means there’s now no need to purchase two separate housings. The camera’s general specifications are still appropriate for the price point – a 5MP stills capability, time lapse mode with shots up from 0.5 up to 60 seconds apart, 3 shots per second on burst mode and 1080p/30fps, 960/30fps, 720p/60fps in video mode. GoPro also claim to have re-jigged the audio system but we’ll have to wait to discover what this means in practice.

The range of mounts remains unchanged but there are some new options which include Wi-Fi remote and the new GoPro App which enables the user to control via iOS Smartphone or tablet.
What you get is the camera, a 60m waterproof housing, rechargeable battery pack, QR buckle, curved mount, flat mount, other assorted mounts and hardware plus the USB cable – all for a whisker under 200 quid. Nice!

MUMMY HERO – The SILVER edition (approx £279 inc.VAT)

You could say this is a fancy looking HD Hero 2, because it sort of is – but with a host of improvements! It’s 25% lighter, 30% smaller and twice as good!

Take the WHITE model, add 8 & 11MP stills photos, 10 shots per second picture burst mode, manual white balance control video mode, 960/48fps, 120fps @ VGA, the Protune update and you have the Silver model – and it’s a stonkingly good little camera.
The new Protune firmware update technology offers 35mpbs data rate, colour grading and 24fps video mode, giving users the chance to vastly enhance their footage (albeit after bit of tweaking in post). The base package is as the WHITE but with a new 3-way pivoting arm thrown in for good measure.

The DADDY! – The BLACK edition (approx £359 inc. VAT)

If someone said to you – “I can get you a camera that is the size of a couple of matchboxes can record in 4K, and better still will cost under 400 smackers” – you’d be forgiven for calling in the men in white coats to whisk him/her away. Astonishingly though – they’d be right! The new BLACK Edition Hero 3 does just that. The same size, shape and weight as the WHITE & SILVER, the BLACK Edition can indeed record in 4K – albeit at 15fps. But still, 4K is 4K – and whilst most consumers and TV adverts are still banging on about 1080p HD TV’s and the like – to be able to offer 4K in this market, in this camera, and at this price point is pretty amazing. Whilst the 15fps will be a limitation for most people, it does have the following brilliant resolution modes to fall back on: 2.7K/30fps, 1440p/48fps, 1080p/60fps, 960p/100fps and 720p/120fps! It can shoot 12MP stills and 30 – yes 30 shots per second in burst mode! If the SILVER is an improved/beefed up version of the HD Hero 2, you could say the BLACK is a protein shake induced, steroid pumped, energy drink drenched Edition! Another key feature is the inclusion of a Wi-Fi remote (an optional accessory for the WHITE & SILVER packages), making it perfect for on the go shooting. Waterproof, wearable and durable, the remote will go anywhere you and your BLACK can go.

The BLACK Edition comes with everything the SILVER package contains, plus a whole heap more! It really is a stupidly powerful camera at a stupidly good price. Without being too greedy I’d love to see their next move!

Read DAVMO’s assessment of GoPro’s competitors in the ACTION CAM market in the Iris magazine, 3rd issue of 2012. Back issues of the Iris are available to read online; go to www.theirismag.com/irisonline

Optical Disc Archive

Karak — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 16:23:03 +0000

For many people outside the broadcast and professional industry, linear tape and optical disc media have long been seen as relics of the 1980′s and 1990′s, having been replaced in more recent times by hard-drives and solid-state media. History is a great testament to that fact – you only have to look at the evolution of the original Sony Walkman to a CD Walkman and then in the last decade to the Apple iPod. Oh, and somewhere in there is a very brief appearance by MiniDisc technology!

But things are different in the broadcast and professional industry. Where would we be today without linear tape and optical disc? Simple answer – archive hell!

Whilst camera and video tape recording systems have moved onwards and upwards from linear tape many years ago, many productions still prefer to stick with a tried and tested optical disc format – also known as XDCAM – for their large camera shooting formats. However, hard-drives and solid-state media have clearly become the de-facto media in smaller camcorders.

CD, MiniDisc, DVD, Blu-ray, Professional Disc and now Optical Disc Archive are all descendants of Sony’s optical disc family and clearly demonstrate that Sony has a long standing commitment to this core technology which over the years has been underpinned with significant funding in research and development by the company. On that basis, can we trust this new incarnation of the technology with our valuable digital assets moving forward? Hell yes!

So when Sony introduced the Optical Disc Archive technology earlier this year at the NAB 2012 exhibition in Las Vegas it gave us all a glimpse in to the technical direction the company was embarking on for mid to long-term archive storage solutions. More recently at the IBC 2012 exhibition in Amsterdam Sony revealed an interesting product line-up which will be unleashed on media professionals around the world before the end of 2012.

First off the Sony production line will be the ODS-D55U optical drive unit and its extensive family of “ODC” optical disc media, with capacities ranging from 300GB to 1.5TB. Also included in the box is the all-important Sony Content Manager software, designed to make the Sony archiving experience much more complete – certainly more so than competitor solutions which often require 3rd party software at an additional cost.

ODS-D55U optical drive unit

Built on the same tried and tested optical drive technology as the Sony PDW-U2 Professional Disc Drive, the ODS-D55U drive is only slightly thinner but is unfortunately almost double the height, length and weight. That said, power consumption is almost identical at 20W and the rear of the drive has the same familiar connections – a single 12V DC and USB-3 “SuperSpeed” connector.

Whilst not as compact and lightweight as the PDW-U2, the ODS-D55U can easily be accommodated into any location data wrangling kit especially given that USB-3 has started to become the de-facto data inter-face on the newer Mac and PC laptops. Powering such devices has always been an issue, but not one that can’t be overcome and since the ODS-D55U has a 12V DC connector like the PDW-U2 then all of its associated 3rd party powering solutions by default can therefore be used – ensuring that powering the ODS-D55U unit from a standard V-lock battery is easily achieved.

Optical Disc Media…

Looking like a cross between an old “Stereo 8-Track” cartridge and a very fat “MiniDisc” the new optical disc archive media comes in four different capacities with a choice of re-writeable or write-once media types. So whether you are on a fixed budget and looking for low-cost write-once media or have a more specific requirement for a flexible, rewritable and durable transportation media for ferrying camera rushes to and from location to the office – both scenarios are catered for with the new optical disc archive media line-up.

Here is the list of Sony optical disc archive media which will be available at product launch:

Why is the cartridge so big – what’s actually is in it?

The cartridge contains twelve optical discs, a simple loading mechanism and an RFID (Radio-frequency identification) chip. For example, the 300GB re-writeable cartridge is loaded with 12 x BD-RE “single layer” optical discs whereas the 1.5TB write-cartridge is loaded with 12 x BD-R “quad layer” optical discs. Like all of its previous optical disc family members the new optical disc media utilises the industry standard UDF (Universal Disc Format) file system and whilst each cartridge is made up of 12 individual optical discs when it is mounted on your PC or Mac computer it is presented as a single optical disc volume.

It’s worth noting that when the ODC cartridge is inserted in to the ODU-D55U drive the cartridge is opened and its internal loading mechanism loads each individual optical disc when requested by the host PC or Mac computer ensuring data read and write sessions across the 12 individual optical discs are transparent to the operator. This does however increase the seek times on large files spanned across multiple optical discs within a single cartridge – i.e. it may take longer to back them up and retrieve them!

RFID (Radio-frequency identification) tag – what is it? Well imagine not having to decrypt scribbled production notes, shuttle through a video-tape or mount a hard-drive to see what content is on it? Sound good? Well, you already have the first component – the RFID chip – which is embedded in the ODC cartridge. The data on the RFID chip is

populated and maintained by the ODU-D55U drive and its software. You will however need another component to complete the kit –this is an RFID reader – which is required in order to retrieve and read the data on the chip, for example this could be an Apple iPhone with a 3rd party accessory. Finally in order for the two components to communicate successfully you take your RFID reader and swipe the ODC optical media (ideally within 10cm) whilst it is happily sat on the shelf, once the pair have registered each other you’ll get an instant snapshot of the media’s identity and its contents! Voila, it’s that easy!

The ODC cartridge is clearly designed to be robust, durable and capable of withstanding a far wider range of environmental conditions than LTO tape or hard-drives. Whilst this all sounds impressive, please be warned – don’t go leaving these cartridges in direct sunlight! Like all Sony professional media there’s a place to accommodate a sticky label (i.e. QR or Barcode) as well as that very important “Record Inhibit” switch!

It’s important to stress that the ODS optical drive and its ODC optical media are really nothing more than another optical drive and media without its bundled software and that’s why Sony has clearly invested a considerably amount of engineering effort to ensure that its solution stands out amongst the crowd.

With that in mind, the final element of the new Sony Optical Disc archive package is content management.

Content Manager Software

It’s important that you don’t get this software confused with the Sony Content Browser software which is bundled with the Sony NXCAM and XDCAM products.

Let’s take a quick look at what makes this software so important…

If we breakdown the software interface in to three separate elements – Archive, Browse and Search it will help you better understand the flow of data and real benefits that can be achieved. But first of all, you’ll need to make sure you have the ODS drive attached via USB-3 and populated with a blank ODC cartridge. It’s worth saying that Sony does include an “Optical Disc Archive Utility” so that you can check the status of the drive and its media prior to an archive session. Additionally, this utility provides an advanced setting called “Write-verify” which is essentially a MD5 check sum verification option – however when this option is enabled it does considerably slow down the whole back-up process.

First question “Why am I loading the Sony Content Browser software from my Google Chrome web browser?” Well like most content management software being introduced in to the marketplace today they are all based on web-services. This type of approach to software design allows Sony to create a content management software application which can be run locally on the PC or Mac that has the ODS drive attached, or accessed via a web browser on a network client. Whilst the first product being introduced by Sony is the ODS-D55U which is clearly designed for locally attached device usage, future expansion of this product family will include more scalable networked solutions and therefore the foundations of the software must be designed accordingly.

So we have the Google Chrome web browser launched. Next we are asked to log into the Sony Content Manager web page using a user name and password, and from there we are presented with three further options – “Browse”, “Search” and “Archive”.

Archive

Starting with the “Archive” menu (shelf icon) you’ll find that you are presented with three additional options – “Full”, “Selective” and “Watched Folder”. The “Full” option allows you to select the physical drive letter of your Sony NXCAM/XDCAM solid-state card reader or the Sony XDCAM Professional Disc reader as your “Source Media”. You can then use the additional features of this option to name your “Archive Title”, create “Thumbnails & Proxy” and use “Speech to Text & Face Recognition” to automatically create metadata.

The final step is to select your “Target Media” which is the ODC optical disc media. Surprisingly that there is also an option to select a second destination which could ideally be a locally attached hard-drive or a network attached storage device. This is a great workflow for those wanting to archive file-based camera media on location to two separate locations – with the first copy going to the ODC optical disc media as your insurance/master archive copy and the second copy going on to your hard-drive for the post-production house to use as the ingest copy for the edit.

The “Selective” option has pretty much the same functionality as the “Full” option, except that you can select at folder level rather than being limited to just the physical drive letter. “Watched Folder” workflow is great for those productions that copy file-based camera rushes to hard-drives on location and then either want to mass archive hard-drives when they arrive back at the office, or want to mass archive media from a folder on a network attached storage device. This workflow is applicable and recommended for all those production companies that have been archiving file-based camera rushes on hard-drives (aka G-Safes) and storing them on book shelves for the last couple of years (you know who you are!)

Once you have started your archive session (whether it’s in “Full”, “Selective” or “Watched Folder” mode), if you go back to the “Archive” main menu you’ll find a full list of all the archive jobs that are in progress including the ones that have been successfully completed as well as any that may have failed.

Once you have flushed those solid-state cards, professional discs, hard-drives and/or networked folders on to the ODC optical disc media you are not only ready to eject it and put it on the shelf but you can start browsing the metadata you have created during the archive process!

Tape lovers are certainly not forgotten. Whilst the tape media in itself is an archive medium, the introduction of the Sony ODS product for tape camera owners and operators is more about preservation and the migration of archive assets from a tape to a file based workflow. Therefore if you have a Sony DVCAM/HDV camcorder or deck with an IEEE 1394 interface (also known as i.Link by Sony and FireWire by Apple) then you will have noticed that there is an “Ingester” option when using the “Watched Folder” archive workflow. If you click on this option you will then find it launches the Sony “DV/HDV Capture for Content Manager” application. This useful tool can then be used for either automatic live or batch capture of DVCAM/HDV footage to a chosen “watched folder” which can then be automatically archived to the ODC optical disc media.

Moving on to the two remaining elements of the Sony Content Manager – “Browse” and “Search” – you’ll find that these tools are only really usable once the media has been archived and the metadata along with the Proxy audio video files have been processed.

Browse

If we start with the “Browse” menu (disc icon) you will find that this can be further broken down to search media at a specific “Cartridge” level. However if you don’t have that level of information at this stage you can opt to browse “All Files”. If you have selected the “Cartridge” browse level then you will find that you have a wide selection of information at your disposal to aid in the search of your media. Not only can you perform the simplest of tasks from this menu – for example, creating ODC labels with a file index and a QR code – it’s also possible to take it one step further and by clicking on a media clip you can watch the proxy audio and video for that clip and add additional metadata. And should you decide that’s the clip you need for your project (and providing you have access to the ODC cartridge that the original clip is archived on) it will “Retrieve” the clip in its entirety.
A couple of points are worth noting at this stage: version 1.0 of the Sony Content Manager will not allow for time-code values to be added in to the proxy media which is generated (only a basic time track) and it is not possible to do a partial retrieval of media clips (only the whole media file). Also missing is something which is a must-have for most file based workflows – the ability to export an AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) file with or without its associated media. This feature would allow a user to take only the media required to the edit.

Search

The final element “Search” is exactly that, a basic search engine. There are only three sub-menu options to help in the search of media and they are “Text” (inc. speech to text), “Date” and “Person” (inc. face recognition).

Worthy of a more detailed explanation is the “Proxy” audio video format used by the Sony Content Manager software. Whilst many content management vendors have elected to go with the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video compression system, Sony have chosen to go with the “royalty free” video compression system sponsored and developed by Google – which is based on technology acquired from On2 Technologies. Built using the VP8 video and Vorbis audio codecs the WebM audio video format is specifically designed for web based applications, more specifically HTML5 video based applications. The file extension used is “.webm” and the files generated in this format can easily be played using a free of charge desktop PC and Mac media player from Apple (QuickTime) and/or VideoLAN (VLC). The specification used by Sony to create “Proxy” audio video media in Content Manager is:

· Video
o Resolution – 320 x 180
o Frame-rate – 15FPS
o Colour Sampling – 4:2:0
· Audio
o Channel – Mono
o Sampling – 48kHz
o Bit-rate – 60Kb/s

Competition? Well to be honest it’s a mixture of similar technologies – Consumer Blu-ray, Professional Disc formats and of course the industry standard LTO-5 tape format. Whilst the Sony optical disc archive solution is not quite as fast or as cost-effective as the LTO-5 solution – it clearly beats it hands down for simplicity, robustness, durability and overall total cost of ownership.

In summary, Sony clearly has a winner on its hands with the new Optical Disc Archive products. Specifically targeted at Sony DVCAM, HDV, NXCAM and XDCAM owner operators and production companies, it unfortunately means if you are using the Panasonic P2 format then you’ll have to hope and pray Sony add this support in the future (but personally, I wouldn’t hold my breath!). With additional native codec support and expanded workflows being planned for the next version of the Content Manager software, I would hope to see the introduction of Sony F65 RAW and HDCAM SR file format support as well as the more popular Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD formats…

The hardware package, the overall price and undoubtedly the Sony brand heritage in optical disc media will be enough for many to take the leap in to archive euphoria with the Sony Optical Disc Archive solution!