Sony Sets High Benchmarks with New Product

In response to the rapidly growing HD trend, Sony recently announced an expansion of its HD product line to meet the diverse requirements in picture quality, operational efficiency and production costs for video professionals. Sony offers a full lineup of HD product choices - from entry level through top of the line.

Offering a networked HD product at an affordable price, the newest member, the PMW-EX1 XDCAM EX™ camcorder - is a powerful HD handheld camcorder with incredible feature sets that include three ½-inch CMOS sensors, amazing full 1920 x 1080 and 1280 x 720 HD recording capability plus flash memory recording. The technological breakthrough product has been developed using Sony's comprehensive technical expertise and knowledge that made Sony's proud and groundbreaking CineAlta™ family of products possible. The high definition PMW-EX1 compact camcorder is ideal for customers from broadcasters through to independent videographers and film makers who want exceptional HD quality workflow at an affordable price and uses a newly developed SxS™PRO Memory Card which is based on the rapidly-growing ExpressCard industry standard as its recording media.

Another member of the Sony HD lineup - the XDCAM HD optical disc-based recording system -is well accepted by video professionals thanks to the high level of production efficiency that it offers through its nonlinear capability as a networked HD solution.

The current XDCAM HD lineup has also been enhanced with two new camcorders, a new deck and a new drive unit. One of the most advanced features of the new PDW-F335 and F355 camcorders is the long recording time of over four hours of 1080i HD video. This is achieved by the newly developed dual-layer disc, the PFD50DLA, which has an extremely large storage capacity of 50 GB. These camcorders are joined by the new PDW-F75 recording deck that touts a full range of interfaces and can handle both the PFD23A single layer disc and the new PDF50DLA dual layer disc. Packed with many other powerful new features, this lineup provides greater system flexibility and operational conveniences for all types of production. What is remarkable in this new lineup is the addition of a new PDW-U1 drive unit, which offers a compact, mobile and highly cost effective solution for many applications. It serves as an external PC drive connected via USB.

Sony will round out the XDCAM family with high-end additions that include two premium products: The PDW-700 camcorder and the PDW-HD1500 deck. They will offer striking quality HD recording at a data rate of up to 50 Mb/s using the MPEG HD422 compression technology. The PDW-700 is equipped with three 2/3-inch type CCDs - a newly developed “Power HAD™ FX” progressive CCD with 1920 x 1080 effective pixels, which can handle 1080i as well as 720p recording. Stunning-quality HD images can be captured by this high-resolution CCD and advanced digital signal processing. The PDW-HD1500 is a half-rack-wide recording deck equipped with a range of interfaces including HD-SDI, SD-SDI, i.LINK® interface, and Ethernet. This will be ideal for both video-based installations and file-based nonlinear operations.

Yet another member of the Sony HD lineup - is the tape based HDV™ product line which warrants tape based DV users with a smooth HD migration path at an affordable price. Introducing the HVR-HD1000U digital high definition HDV camcorder that is ideal for videographers who are looking for high definition HDV 1080i recording on a budget.

With more choices, the newly expanded Sony HD family will provide solutions for all types of production and budget needs.