STOLEN! Have You Seen This Hi-Tech Colour Panel?

Quantel after a very successful NAB has come down to earth with a large bump as last night one of their few demo NEO colour correction panels (pictured above) was stolen from their office in Burbank, California.

Without a Pablo or their v4 software this panel is useless but might appeal to someone with a 'magpie' view of life.

Any sightings please contact Quantel either in the US or UK.

RED Launch New Products At NAB

Red today launched two new cameras – Scarlett, a dinky 3k pixel, 2/3in Mysterium X sensor (not so mysterious, just a de-militarised [probably Philips] chip) recording to two CompactFlash cards and compatible with most of the Red accessories. At under $3000, though, with an 8x f2.8 zoom lens, this is going to be fun. Of course, as Red point out, specifications and prices are very likely to change…

If you are frustrated that the 4k Red doesn’t have the resolution for you, try the new 5k Epic. A full 35mm frame Mysterium X sensor, 1-100 fps (like the Scarlett), a PL mount and fully upgradeable sensor, body, boards and mount, make this totally future proof.

I’m looking forward to early 2009 when both these new products will be available for test and purchase.

NAB 08 - first blog

NAB 2008


Tomorrow (or today, or a fortnight next Tuesday, depending on how your jet-lag is going) sees the start of the NAB show in Las Vegas. The two giant rivals of electronics, Sony and Panasonic, kick the show off with some exciting new cameras.

Panasonic
Panasonic have launched a brother to the HVX200, the AG-HPX170. This is a P2 only, 720p/1080i/p camcorder with a fixed, 13x Leica Dicomar lens offering 28mm (equivalent on 35mm film) focal length at its widest setting. You get variable frame rates (up to 60fps at 720p), CineGamma, HD/SD-SDI out (as well as Firewire and USB, of course), XLR mic inputs – all the usual stuff. The camera uses 3, 1/3” CCDs, though we don’t know their native resolution yet - we’re not great fans of low resolution sensors tweaked with pixel shifting and software interpolation. The AG-HPX170 will be available in autumn and will come with Panasonic’s 5 year P2 warrantee.
There will also be a new 64GByte P2 card on the shelves soon, cost unknown, but the recent deal signed with FujiFilm to become a second source of the cards may help to drive down the price.
A really interesting move in the lower cost marketplace is the introduction of some new pro cameras based on the ACVHD spec – christened by Panasonic AVCCAM. This CODEC uses the H.264 compression format seen on consumer solid state cameras and records onto the same, low cost, SDHC cards. AVCCAM, however, adds a higher bitrate (lower compression) PH mode, averaging 21Mbps (24Mbps max) which should easily beat HDV’s 25Mbps due to the more efficient CODEC and should rival Sony’s MPEG 2 based XDCAM EX at 35Mbps.
The handheld AG-HMC150 records 1080 and 720 images using three progressive 1/3” CCDs with a 13x Leica Dicomar lens of a similar spec to the new HPX170 – in fact the cameras look pretty similar in general. A 32GByte SDHC card gives you about three hours of 1920x1080 picture and sound at the ‘pro’ PH setting. AVCHD is supported by pretty much every NLE out there now, and at a suggested retail price of under $4500 (say £3000 once it hits the UK in the autumn) this camcorder looks pretty enticing.
Further down the price range, the AG-HMC70 is a shoulder mount AVCHD (not AVCCAM, so 13Mbps is the best quality you get) camcorder with three ¼” CCDs and a 12x zoom lens, designed as a step up from an AVCHD palm camcorder. Looks very promising for the institutional or event videographer, or companies generating HD web content. The best thing is the price – under $2500.
At the other end of the scale, the new tapeless P2 Varicam AJ-HPX3700 uses three 2/3” full 1080p sensors and 10 bit, 4:2:2 AVC-Intra recording to generate (potentially) the highest quality images available in a camcorder. The camera also offers 4:4:4 RGB dual-link output, multiple framerates (again, up to 60fps in 720p), Chromatic Aberration Compensation to get the best out of suitably enabled lenses and a whole host of other goodies to send those with the budget scurrying to the dealers when it’s released, again in the autumn.
The AJ-HPX2700 is a little brother for the 3700 without the 4:4:4 output and a few other bells and whistles.

Sony
Sony have an exciting new sibling for the EX1 – the PMW-EX3. We love the EX1 and rate it the best hand-held camcorder on the market, though the new P2 and AVC CAM Pannies are going to shake that status quo. The EX3 uses the same HDCAM EX CODEC and records onto the same solid state SxS cards as the EX1. However, the EX3 has a removable lens based on a new wide throat lens mount – expect a standard zoom and a wider angle zoom to be available at launch. There’s a new viewfinder and a lot more of the slightly fiddly buttons that marred the EX1’s handling, but the design is supposed to fit half way between a handheld and a shoulder mount camera, which should take weight much better than the wrist breaking EX1. If the image quality is as good, then Sony are onto a real winner here, and the demo footage certainly looked pretty fantastic projected using Sony’s 4k projectors in the Las Vegas auditorium.
There’s a new viewfinder for the professional HD camcorders (finally!) and the F35 is getting closer to release, but we knew that!
More from sunny Las Vegas as we hear it.

VOOM HD Sports Channel on Sky

RUSH HD is a 24/7 HD channel, delivered in 1080i high-definition format with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Its pulse-pounding programming includes adrenaline-packed competitions featuring some of the world’s best athletes across a wide range of sports and one-of-a-kind expeditions into remote, uncharted territories.

The signal for the 15Mb MPEG-4 1080i format HD channel is sent via fibre from Rainbow Network Communications Broadcasting & Technology Centre in New York to Arqiva’s teleport facilities in Chalfont Grove, UK, where the feed is multiplexed and uplinked onto Arqiva’s Eurobird satellite capacity for broadcast on the Sky platform.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with Arqiva on other channel launches and found the company extremely solution-oriented, with the customer firmly in mind at all times,” said Glenn Oakley, VOOM HD Networks’ Senior Vice President, Global Operations and Business Development. “In preparing the international launch of RUSH HD, we selected Arqiva not only for this strong customer service approach, but also for its working relationship with Sky and its commitment to the future of HD broadcasting.”

John Bozza, director of sales at Arqiva’s Satellite Media Solutions division, added: “We are pleased to support the penetration of VOOM HD Networks’ channel brands into Europe. HD TV is a significant investment for both broadcasters and service providers but it is a high-profile growth-market to which the content of RUSH HD is perfectly matched. As the VOOM HD Network continues to grow its international presence we look forward to working very closely with them on future HD channel launches.”