DV Info Net - PDW-F330 Sony XDCAM HD Camcorder

Sony debuts XDCAM HD format

Norwegian Sony has completed its line-up of HD formats with the launch of XDCAM HD, which sits between its HDV and HDCAM lines and offers users picture quality options through three bit rates, writes George Jarrett

Behind the three products on the stand at the upcoming IBC -- the PDW-F330 camcorder and PDW-F30 and F70 decks -- is an MPEG-2 Long GOP recording structure and some cute design thinking. This includes the ability to mix the three bit rates on a single disc.

"From pricing, quality and feature set perspectives we are positioning XDCAM HD between HDCAM and HDV," said Sony PE senior marketing manager, Olivier Bovis. "It offers you the bit rates of 18, 25 and 35 Mbps, the 25Mbps being constant to give users a bridge to HDV, and the other two rates being 'variable'. The 18 Mbps allows for a recording time of two hours, and the other two allow for 90 and 60 minutes."

The bridge to HDV via i-link will prove useful in some applications but, as Bovis points out, there are significant audio differences: HDV has two compressed audio channels to XDCAM HD's four uncompressed audio channels. Apart from the Long GOP element and the bit rates, the featureset is common to XDCAM as we know it, which means users will be able to use proxies in third party environments just as before.

Most NLE manufacturers will want to put MPEG-2 Long GOP codecs into their platforms, but most have already adopted HDV anyway. Bovis reckons that over two dozen vendors have had sample HD files and the format specs, and first implementations at the show (XDCAM proxy on the editing timeline) include the Avid Liquid editor.

The three products will not ship until NAB time next year. The camcorder, the first half-inch CCD HD camera available, looks like the existing XDCAM equivalent, but for the different position of the LCD screen and the option to use an auto focus lens. It records both DV and HD, so will be promoted as a 'bridging' product.

The F30 deck is an entry-level unit with i-link interface that Sony expects to sell into the NLE sector. The F70 will have HD-SDI, plus features like slow motion. This will be the merging point with HDCAM.

Signs of what can come with XDCAM HD can be seen on the SD format with 1.4 software. Apart from consumer memory for proxy recording (using memory sticks), there is live proxy streaming enabled by the IP address inside the camera. Data can be grabbed remotely, but Bovis emphasises the frailty of WiFi in broadcast applications.

"It is short range, there are bandwidth issues, and you can lose the signal," he says. "It is not a Sony thing, just that WiFi is not up to television work."