Press Release from SONY
At NAB 2013, Sony is exhibiting an array of innovative technologies, from its full line of HD technologies to new solutions for HD and 4K, and professional production at all levels.
Sony’s theme for NAB 2013, “Beyond Definition” illustrates how Sony is driving innovation with the development of diverse and new solutions for high-resolution content creation, far beyond HD, in broadcast as well as a range of markets.
“We’re no longer defined by hardware or software, codecs or resolution,” said Nick Buchner, Senior Product Manager for Content Creation at Sony ANZ. “We’re also moving beyond broadcast to many other markets that require the highest-quality video, such as education, corporate applications, defence and houses of worship. And we’ve moved beyond the actual hardware to deliver full-scale solutions for content production, enterprise workflow and media asset management.”
The 4K Evolution
Workflow Innovations
This year at NAB, Sony continues to innovate in 4K production environments and workflows, beginning with workflow innovations to help build a stable environment for both industrial and consumer XAVC-based production. Currently, 31 manufacturers’ products plan on their support for Sony’s XAVC format and workflow – an open format for 4K and HD recording designed for both professional and consumer markets. In addition, Sony will also be featuring a new consumer-oriented XAVC S format, that will support MP4 encoding of both 4K and HD video.
Shooting Innovations
Sony will be showcasing its flagship F65 CineAlta™ camera (Version 3 with upgrade kit), which leads the market in resolution, with its large 8K CMOS sensor. The Version 3 upgrade will allow the camera to support two independent SDI outputs and allow use with the DVF-EL100 0.7-inch OLED viewfinder, providing a better solution for on-set needs.
Sony’s recently released PMW-F55 and PMW-F5 CineAlta™ 4K cameras, featuring newly developed Super-35mm 4K CMOS image sensors, as well as a modular design that enables easy attachment of a wide range of peripheral devices, will be on hand for preview.
By the end of April 2013, over 2,000 sets of PMW-F55 and PMW-F5 will have been shipped worldwide.
Sony’s exhibit will feature a 4K shooting system that will demonstrate real-time 4K shooting and image processing, with necessary facilities such as intercom and return video. The system is suitable for live or recorded broadcasts, using a PMW-F55 fitted with camera system adapter “CA-4000” and baseband processor “BPU-4000”. Current model camera control units HDCU-2000 and HDCU-2500 are able to set-up as the system interface to achieve functions such as remote control, intercom, return video and so on. Mixed operation is also possible with current HDC-2000 series studio cameras, as well as future migration from HD to 4K shooting.
Viewing Innovations
As 4K moves into the home, and to highlight the ongoing work in development of OLED monitor technologies, Sony will be presenting a technical exhibit of 56-inch (3840×2160) and 30-inch (4096×2160) professional 4K OLED panels, and a new Trimaster EL A series of high-definition OLED monitors with a newly developed panel featuring industry-leading wide viewing angles, reducing the colour shift by half when compared with their predecessor models. To date, over 20,000 Trimaster EL professional OLED monitors have been shipped worldwide.
IT-Driven Improvements in Production Workflow
Optical Disc Archive Solutions
Sony has worked to incorporate IT-driven improvements in production workflow, starting with the expansion of its Optical Disc Archive Systems that accept discs with capacities up to 1.5 terabytes. To further provide an advanced archiving solution, Sony has agreed to partner with Dalet Digital Media Systems based in France. Sony is working towards solutions that integrate the Dalet Media Life MAM software with the Optical Disc Archive product line. Moving forward, Sony and Dalet will jointly propose archiving solutions for a wide range of areas, including News and Sports production, Media Digitisation, and Disaster Recovery. The two companies will also collaborate in Solution Selling, System Integration/Delivery and Contract Services in order to provide customers with total efficiency, benefiting from both application system and service and support. The partnership will start within the US and European markets, and will progressively be introduced to other areas.
At NAB 2013, Sony will be presenting a technical exhibition of drive units and extended libraries currently under development to support faster and more extensible systems, including the forthcoming “ODS-D77U/F” drive systems to deliver double the read and write speeds of the current drives, making them ideal for storage of high-bit-rate movies, TV shows, and commercials. The “ODS-L30M,” “ODS-L60E,” and “ODS-L100E” extensible libraries provide sufficient capacity to meet the demanding requirements of broadcast studios and other high-volume data users. They are planned to be launched to the market in autumn 2013.
Live IP Transmission System
Sony’s exhibit will also feature the NXL-IP55 live IP transmission system. The NXL-IP55 transmits multiple HD video signals, audio signals and control signals both downstream and upstream over a single network cable, enabling bidirectional live transmissions. Known for its high picture quality and low latency, the system is now in use not only in broadcast studios and production companies, but also in medical and educational settings. To further enhance the system’s effectiveness and ease of use, a new software system “IP Live Manager” will be introduced, capable of providing centralised management of multiple NXL-IP55s. It enables users to easily pre-set the paring of NXL-IP55s on the same LAN as well as one-click switching of paring depending on transmission section and multi-point (up to 8 points) monitoring of audio/video signals.
Media Cloud Services
Sony has launched Media Cloud Services Company, a new subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, that will give creative professionals a virtual workspace with revolutionary media applications to store, share and manipulate content from any location in the world. The new company’s robust, scalable cloud platform, Ci (pronounced “see”), will provide a “one-cloud” solution to collect, produce and archive high-value, high-definition content, allowing fast and secure collaboration on a global scale. Media Cloud Services will first be available within the US and European markets, with plans to be launched within the year.
New HD Products Offer Stronger Industry Support: Live Productions
When it comes to live production, Sony HD production products embody the core technology for today’s broadcasting businesses, and Sony remains committed to offering customers a total solutions approach to support the rapid changes in the business environment. Sony will preview new decks and shoulder-mount cameras targeted at key broadcast customers, enhancing the 50p/60p products that are required by the many broadcasters committed to natural, smooth sports and live images.
News Production
Sony will feature the PMW-400 XDCAM shoulder camcorder that supports 50-Mbps HD422 MPEG and includes broad functionality, making it suitable for a wide range of uses – from TV programme production to studio camera applications. There will be a technical exhibition of a wireless adapter which connects mobile devices and camcorders in LAN environments and helps streamline field workflows. The adapter mounts directly on supporting camcorders and enables 3G, 4G, and LTE transmission of proxy files through a network.
Sports Production
Sony continues to offer top-of-the-line live production capabilities with its HDC series cameras, standard for major prime-time events. For sports and live productions, Sony will present enhancements of the 1080 50p/60p production system. The HDC-2750 60p studio camera for both triax and optical fibre allows easy use for live broadcast facilities such as a sports stadium. The camera gives producers more flexibility on location, providing features such as ease of switching between fibre and triax environments and more stable transmission over longer distances.
Sony’s Anycast Touch solution, directed at customers looking to take their first leap into serious live production, is an all-in-one broadcasting and streaming system operated from an easy-to-use touch panel. Its compact and smart white design provides a powerful but easy to use and extremely portable live production solution.