Giving the customer what they want
Brooking was originally a cameraman working in Australia and South East Asia, where he was president of the Australian Cinematographers Society. . After basing himself in the UK, he then worked at broadcaster BSkyB in the UK for 13 years, before joining Sony in September 2008.
He has massive operational experience of how TV is made from a customer perspective and an excellent grip on what people want from the technology.
“When I started to shoot, all I had was black and white balance, a gain control and that was just about it,” he says. “Now we’re listening to the people using the equipment and offering them what they want – whether it is more choice of pre-sets, or a greater range of user-configurable menu options that are easy to understand, and quick to navigate to.”
User Gamma settings are easily uploaded using Memory Stick. User Gamma settings are easily uploaded using Memory Stick.
One of the features most demanded by potential F800 customers was User Gamma. The PDW-700 has HyperGamma, which gives four pre-set gamma settings, but the PDW-F800 goes a step further by allowing camera operators to set up their own gamma with a laptop, using CVP File Editor software originally developed for the Emmy Award-winning HDW-F900.
User Gamma means that in camera tests, for example, if the camera operators want particular gamma curves for their production, they can write back up to five User Gamma settings, in addition to four pre-set gammas.
“It’s all about having more control,” Brooking says. “The gamma allows you to have more creative control over the image, particularly in the shadow detail and colour rendition .”
In some ways, this feature mirrors the capabilities of film, he adds. “User Gamma is a feature giving camera operators more control of image they’re shooting. We’re moving back into the realm of traditional cinematography, where camera operators and DOP’s have much more control over what they do.
“Another feature we’ve developed from listening to customers is the dual optical filter wheel,” says Brooking. “The PDW-700 Camcorder has one filter wheel. With the PDW-F800, we’ve gone for two optical filters, one for control over neutral density and the other over colour temperature.
“When shooting inside under tungsten light, the image does not require any filtering. But if you take the camcorder outside, all the pictures look blue. Historically, what you do as a cameraman is add an orange 85 filter to correct the blue cast. We decided to do this electronically, but top cinematographers have asked us to bring the manual control back again. This is what the optical filter wheels do.
“The PDW-F800 is the highest model in the XDCAM range. It is bringing in high-end features. People with a cinematographic background will be looking for features like this.”
Over and under-cranking
The PDW-F800 has Slow and Quick recording as standard. So, when shooting a programme you can over-crank up to twice normal speed. In other words, when you’re playing back, you have recorded at half real time. This is an important feature for drama, sports, documentaries and natural history.
“The camcorder records time lapse as well,” Brooking says. “Right down to one frame every 24 hours. It also allows frame accumulation up to 16 frames, which is great for recording under starlight without having to turn the gain on. It means the shutter is open for 16 frames of time for each frame recorded. It gives you the option of creating very interesting fluid time lapse sequences. It is very much a cine or film effect. If someone walks through the frame, it gives a really nice motion blur.”
Multi-format support
The PDW-F800 is an international camcorder that can shoot a large number of formats, including interlace and progressive.
“Progressive shooting is a big creative decision,” says Brooking. “‘Do I want to shoot interlace or, if I’m doing drama, will progressive shooting give me more of the look I am after?’ This is where this camcorder comes into its own.”
The PDW-F800 has multi-format recording flexibility, from 1080i, 25P, 23.98P, 720, 4:2:2, 4:2:0, IMX at 50, 40 or 30Mb/s, DVCAM quality SD, or PAL and NTSC 4:3 or 16:9. “It allows you to record everything from PAL or NTSC SD all the way up to 1080i and film style 24P or 25P,” says Brooking. “It is a multi-format recording device, all as standard.”
Support for Standard Definition might seem surprising on such a high-end camcorder, but the advantage of this is, if you are using the camcorder for a non-broadcast application, you can essentially double the record time on each Professional Disc. If you record in SD, you have 190 minutes on every Professional Disc. So, the cost per minute of recording is small. It makes SD really cost effective and this kind of flexibility really appeals to many customers.
The image inverter makes it easy to use optical Primes The image inverter makes it easy to use optical Primes
Attention to detail
Customer feedback not only affected headline new features, but also a host of refinements that make a big difference in the way they work.
For example, the PDW-F800 has an image inverter, so camera operators can use two-thirds inch cinema lenses on the camcorder. It allows you to use Ultra Prime lenses and anamorphic lenses. Without the image inverter, the image would be upside down.
“Cinematographers are very attached to their Prime lenses. They give a beautiful image on any camera they’re put on to. The image inverter gives the end user access to their choice of optical Primes,” Brooking says.
Another new feature on the PDW-F800 is Focus Assist, which allows precise focusing.
When the viewfinder is switched on, a box is superimposed on the image. With anything in that box, the focus assist will provide a bar graph at the bottom of the viewfinder to indicate precisely how in-focus it is. As you pull focus, the bar chart moves to the right and at its sharpest point of focus, the bar chart is as long as it can be. As you pull through the focus, the bar chart shortens again. So it gives you a visual indicator as to what your focus is.
The PDW-F800 also has a range of marker indicators superimposed in the viewfinder showing the Safety, Aspect, 100%, User Box, SafeZone, Center, Skin Gate & Zebra. This is also available on the SDI output, so if you’re using a location monitor, the director can look at the output of the camcorder with these markers to see if the action is in the safe markers or not.
PDW-HD1500, PDW-HR1 Field Recorder, PDW-F800 The XDCAM HD422 line-up continues to grow.
Advanced AV/IT Workflow
While Sony worked hard to integrate all the features high-end customers demanded, one key advantage of the PDW-700 remained unchanged; the radical ease-of-use made possible by the proven and cost-effective XDCAM workflow. TV broadcast production is rapidly moving to file-based production for convenience in acquisition and in the production environment allowing material to be moved cost effectively and efficiently. XDCAM HD422 is designed to fit in as easily as possible, offering 4:2:2 picture quality at 50Mb/s but with familiar MPEG2 long GOP compression.
“With file-based acquisition, the file can be in multiple places at one time,” Brooking says. “While I grade, someone else can be doing an edit, someone else can be making a promo, someone else can be adding titles. It is allowing assets to be in more than one place at once. You can take an XDCAM Professional Disc and ingest into a file-based production system that can move the material around.
“Tape is great. It is very cost effective, but it can only be in one place at one time and you can’t go faster than real time. People want to use a file-based system because it can save them money because it is saving them time. XDCAM also uses proxy files which save time, network bandwidth and storage capacity.”
Professional Disc itself is an exceptionally robust and reliable format which can withstand climatic extremes, having been used in everything from below freezing to over 55 degrees C.
Brooking concludes, “XDCAM is a reliable, cost effective format to shoot on and with the PDW-F800, people have a creative tool to allow them to create great TV.”
PDW-F800 First shipments of the F800 are due in July.
Versatility & upgradability
“Many of the add-on options available for the PDW-700 come as standard with the PDW-F800 so it is a very versatile camcorder,” says Brooking, who also stresses that the 700 can itself be upgraded with many key F800 features via firmware or option board upgrades.
The arrival of the PDW-F800 as a fully featured partner to the more mass market PDW-700 strengthens the XDCAM HD422 line-up significantly. First shipments of the F800 are expected in July and demand is likely to be high, so registering your interest with a Sony Specialist Dealer as early as possible is recommended.
Sony's top-of-the-line XDCAM HD422 Series is being embraced around the world for its file-based recording capability utilizing high-capacity and highly reliable Professional Disc media. Thanks to its newly developed MPEG HD422 codec, the XDCAM HD422 Series provides high-quality video and audio recording capabilities, with an image resolution of 1920 x 1080 and eight-channel 24-bit uncompressed audio.
Now, Sony is proud to announce a new addition to the series – the PDW-F1600 deck. The PDW-F1600 offers multi-format recording flexibility as standard – including SD recording and a frame rate of 23.98P in 1080 mode.
The foundation of the PDW-F1600 deck incorporates the features of the PDW-HD1500, and acts as more than just a file-based recording deck. With its insert/assemble editing capability, it can be used as a recorder in a linear editing system – just like a conventional VTR.
Multi-format HD/SD Recording/Playback Capability
– HD recording at up to 50 Mb/s using MPEG HD422 (MPEG-2 4:2:2P@HL compression)
– Recording and playback in the MPEG HD format (MPEG-2 MP@HL compression)
– 1080i and 720P recording and playback
– Up/Down conversion and cross conversion between 1080i and 720P*
– Three types of picture output mode are supported for down-conversion: Edge crop, Squeeze and Letterbox (16:9/14:9/13:9)
High-quality eight-channel (HD-SDI) 24-bit audio recording
Handles both the dual-layer disc (PFD50DLA) and single-layer disc (PFD23A)
High-speed file transfer
– i.LINK File Access Mode (FAM)
– FTP via Gigabit Ethernet
RS-422 9-pin remote control interface, which the deck to be used as a feeder for linear editing
A wide variety of video and audio inputs and outputs, including two HD-SDI outputs
Compatible with XDCAM Carts: the PDJ-C1080 and the PDJ-A640
Compact and lightweight: half-rack size and 6.5 kg (14 lb 5 oz)
AC, DC or battery powered
Built-in audio speaker
Low power consumption: 65 W (typical) and 54W (in power save mode)
A large easy-to-see 4.3-inch* type color LCD display
Easy and intuitive search operation
– Thumbnail Search function
– Expand function
– Equipped with a Jog/Shuttle dial, providing VTR-like operation (Jog: -1 to +1 time normal speed, Variable: -2 to 2 times normal speed, Shuttle: ±20 times normal speed)
Clip Continuous REC function
Compatible with the HDCA-702 MPEG TS Adaptor
IT/Network Friendly
In the Sony XDCAM series of products, recordings are made as data files in the industry-standard MXF (Material eXchange Format) file format. This allows material to be handled with great flexibility in an IT-based environment – easily available for copying, transferring, sharing and archiving. All these operations are accomplished without the need for a digitizing process.
File-based data copying allows for degradation-free dubbing of AV content, which can be performed easily on a PC. The file-based recording system also allows for material to be viewed directly on a PC, simply by linking it to the XDCAM unit via an i.LINK connection. This works in just the same way as a PC reading files on an external drive.
The PDW-F1600 XDCAM HD422 deck comes equipped with IT-friendly, computer-based interfaces. These include an i.LINK interface supporting File Access Mode as standard, and the Ethernet interface.
Easy Maintenance and High Reliability
XDCAM HD422 products use the same platform as the XDCAM products in wide use around the world. They share the advantage of no mechanical contact between the equipment and the recording media, achieving both a high level of durability and a long media life. XDCAM HD422 products also offer the same high resistance to shock and vibration as other XDCAM products.
Powerful Nonlinear Recording
The XDCAM HD products use a large-capacity nonlinear optical disc for recording, called the Professional Disc media, which Sony has developed specifically for professional recording applications.
The PFD50DLA and PFD23A are 12-cm, reusable optical discs. The PFD50DLA is a dual-layer disc with an overwhelming capacity of 50 GB, while the PFD23A is a single-layer, 23-GB disc. The large capacity of the PFD50DLA makes it possible to record up to approximately 95 minutes of high-quality MPEG HD422 material.
The Professional Disc is highly reliable and durable because it experiences no mechanical contact during recording or playback, and is packaged into an extremely durable and dust-resistant disc cartridge.
Non-contact recording and playback also makes it an ideal medium for long-term storage of AV assets. Whereas traditional tape archive systems must be rewound on a periodic basis to remove magnetic powder debris, the Professional Disc completely eliminates this process.
Its reliability has already been demonstrated by the huge number of XDCAM products deployed worldwide since 2003.
Highly Streamlined Workflows
At the same time as recording its high-resolution video and audio data, the XDCAM HD products also record a low-resolution version of this AV data on the same disc. Called "Proxy Data", this is much smaller in size than the high-resolution data (1.5 Mb/s for video and 0.5 Mb/s for audio).
Because of its lower resolution, Proxy Data can be transferred to a standard PC at an amazingly high speed, and easily browsed and edited using the PDZ-1 Proxy Browsing Software (or other compatible editing software offered by many industry-leading manufacturers). What's more, with the PDZ-1 software, it can be converted to the popular ASF format for playback on Windows™ Media Player, providing dramatic improvements in production workflows. Proxy Data can also be viewed directly on a PC without data transfer using an i.LINK (File Access Mode) connection, and can even be sent over a standard Ethernet network.
The overall flexibility of Proxy Data means that it can be used for a variety of applications, such as immediate logging on location, off-line editing, daily rushes of shooting on location, client approvals, and more.
Metadata
All XDCAM HD422 products are capable of recording a variety of metadata, which provides a huge advantage when searching for specific data after an initial recording has been made. Information such as production dates, creator names and camera setup parameters can be saved, together with the AV material, on the same disc using the supplied PDZ-1 software. This makes it possible to organize and search through all recordings effectively. One particular metadata, called EssenceMark™ (Shot Mark), is a convenient reference that can be added to desired frames to make them easy to recall in subsequent editing processes. Clipflag* is another convenient metadata which users can add to their desired clips as "OK", "NG" or "Keep".