JP/17/HDTV
JP/17/HDTV
hi the bit in yellow Chisato is checking on, the other bolded
bits can you check with writer or get him to read through, thnks
Sony launches world's first high-definition compatible camcorder
To promote its HDV 1080i compatible video camera recorder,
Sony held a press conference in Tokyo on Sept. 8. Scores of
journalists from the Asia-Pacific region were invited, including
Hyginus Hardoyo of The Jakarta Post:
Have you ever wished your television's picture was a little
sharper, so that scenes from around the world sprang to life, and
you could really imagine you were there?
Don't worry, high-definition television (HDTV) technology, a
new broadcasting standard that is a complete departure from the
existing broadcast formats of NTSC, PAL and SECAM, will blow your
socks off.
To be more specific, Sony introduced early this month a high-
definition handycam, called the HDR-FX1.
It weighs two kilograms and is set to be priced at between
US$3,600 and $4,500.
Ideal for home or professional usage, the Sony HDR-FX1 records
and plays back images through 1080i scanning lines, the most
widely used for high-definition technology applied in HD
broadcast.
The HDR-FX1 is the latest addition to Sony's handycam family
and is expected to revolutionize the industry.
Masahiro Tamura, managing director of Sony Electronics Asia
Pacific Pte. Ltd., said the worldwide trend in digital
broadcasting was for high definition.
In Japan, the United States and Europe, he said,
high-definition TV is gathering momentum, and this revolution is
set to take off in the Asia-Pacific region as well.
High-definition TV broadcasting is already available in
Australia, Korea and Hong Kong, with China predicted to start
using it in the near future.
According to Sony, DV format is gaining popularity in
Singapore and Taiwan, while camcorder sales are accelerating in
Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Expectations are high that camcorder sales in the Asia-
Pacific will reach the 3 million mark this year. Sony holds up to
50 percent of the market share in the region.
"The Asia-Pacific, comprising South East Asia, Oceania, the
Middle East and Africa, has constituted a very important region
for Sony,
"We see tremendous market potential and we are continuously
stepping up our efforts to provide the latest products and
technology to consumers in the region, which has a population of
over three billion," Tamura said.
Sony expects to sell 5,000 units of the HDR-FX1 in October
alone. It will hit stores in the United States in November and be
available in Asia and Europe by the end of the year.
"With high-definition technology more widely available, we
envision that it will become a standard for people -- not just
for viewing TV, but for recording and sharing their memories,"
Tamura said.
Until now, high-definition has mainly been used by
professionals.
"The HDR-FX1 Sony makes video shooting more fun, enabling
consumers to capture their memories as highly defined images."
Tamura said.
The new handycam resembles the type of units perched on the
shoulders of cameramen at outdoor locations, rugged -- yet
lighter and slimmer. It is equipped with a wide screen, balanced
grip, big view finder, new cassette-loading function and manual
controls.
Sony said users of the new handycam would enjoy the clearest
and smoothest high-definition video images available at a
resolution of 1440 pixels x 1080 lines (compared to conventional
DV formats of 720 pixels x 480 lines in the case of NTSC).
Applying inter-frame compression through MPEG2 encoding
technology, the HDV format is recordable on digital video tapes.
The new handycam can be utilized to make home movies look like
professionally shot films. The Cinematone Gamma and Cineframe
functions on the handycam enable high-quality picture processing
and 24 frames/second or 30 frames/second shooting.
Smooth, seamless, professional-looking shot transitions are
achieved using the Shot Transition function. With settings to
control focus, zoom, iris, gain shutter and white balance, focus
can gradually shift from the front of the screen to a deeper
subject, or vice versa, enabling a smooth depth-of-field
transition. Transitions may be linear, soft stop or soft
transition.
Not only does the HDR-FX1 record and play back superb images,
but the wide-range stereo microphone provides superior audio
quality. Wind noise is minimized through the camera's own shape,
and sound adjustments, previously adjusted via a menu, can now be
directly adjusted via the external audio level meter.
Once limited to the world of digital broadcasting, the HDR-FX1
takes advantage of Sony's proprietary HD Codec engine to bring
HDV recording and playback to the consumer. This highly advanced
processing circuit efficiently compresses data, while maintaining
the quality of the digital images. The unique 1080i HD CCD
separates light into the three primary colors and with 1.12M
total pixels, more defined HD images are achieved.
Masashi Imamora, Sony's senior general manager, said that the
main message of the launching of the new product was the creation
of a kind of a bridge between standard and high-definition
formats.
"The HDR-FX1 plays back simple DV recorded tape and down-
converts high-definition pictures to standard definition," he
said.
Is compatible editing software available?
Yes, no matter what functions or settings are employed, users
can edit footage via a Mac or PC using the rapidly expanding
range of compatible HDV editing software.
Adobe Systems Inc., for example, is planning to introduce an
HDV plug-in for Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 later this year. Other
companies, including Apple, Avid Technology Inc., Canopus
Corporation and Pinnacle Systems and Ulead Systems Inc. have also
expressed their commitment to supporting Sony's new handycam for
the non-linear editing of personal HD content.
With such support, Sony's intention of revolutionizing
documentary film making and other film production should
materialize -- but in stages.