New Panasonic Products!

[mikkowilson]

I just talked to a rep now who just happend to walk by where I'm sitting after the show has closed, I have info on some new high end Panny gear.

I spoke to the good gentalman for a few mintues and he filled me in on some excitign new gear from panny.
I've just found the press releases here: http://panasonic-broadcast.com/index.cfm?uuid=A13140BAC09F11269BE3DBF1F3CEFB2D

The main new products are:
AJ-HPX2100 . a 2/3" Big brother to the HVX, inluding most (all?) of the features of the HVX and more including AVC-intra.
720/50p support in their AG-HD 1400 deck.
AV-HS300 low cost HD/SD viedeo switcher.

.zip of all the press releases here too: http://ibc.mikkowilson.com/amsterdam2006.zip


Here's some key quotes about the HPX2100:



Specifications:


2/3” 1.0M pixels Progressive 3CCD
High sensitivity up to F10(2000lx)
5 P2 card slots with hot swapping capability giving continuous shooting.
ND/CC Filter (two filter wheels)
Rec. Formats:

HD; DVCPROHD & AVC-Intra (H.264)

· DVCPRO HD :
　　1080/60i, 50i, 25P(over 50i), 30P/24P/24PA(over 60i)
　　720/60P, 50P, 25P(over 50P),30P/24P(over 60P)





· SD; DVCPRO50, DVCPRO & DV
　 480/60i, 30P/24P/24PA(over 60i), 576/50i, 25P(over 50i)

· AVC-Intra (H.264) :
　　 1080/50i, 60i, 25PN/30PN/24PN
　　 720/50P, 60P, 25PN/30PN/ 24PN


- Mikko

[Barry_Green]

Cool -- thanks for finding that!

Looks like Panasonic has a bunch of new press releases about new products.

One is the HPX2100 -- curious, as I thought they were announcing an HPC2000. Looks like the HPC either got replaced or upgraded to an HPX. 2/3", 5 P2 slots, and 1080 @ 24p, 25p, 30p, 50i & 60i, and 720p @ 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60, in both DVCPRO-HD and also AVC-Intra! And, unlike the HDX900, it also does standard-def in DV, DVCPRO, and DVCPRO50, in both NTSC and PAL, in 24p, 25p, 30p, 50i, and 60i.
Availability is 1Q 2007, with a suggested retail price of $29,990 Euros.

They've also announced AVC-Intra, an intraframe-only codec based on H.264/AVC. They introduced two bitrates, 50 megabits and 100 megabits. At 50 megabits they say it's equivalent in quality to DVCPRO-HD but at half the bandwidth (or, put another way, the effective recording time on P2 cards is now doubled). But in the 100 megabits mode it's higher quality than DVCPRO-HD and records the full 1920x1080 raster.

They also announced a "P2 Mobile", which they describe as a P2-based laptop-style field editor with six slots and an LCD screen, speakers & a jog-shuttle controller, with built-in upconvert/downconvert capabilities. Supports P2 in DVCPRO-HD and AVC-Intra as well as all the SD formats; MSRP = 12,000 Euros.

Also announced the AV-HS300, a live HD/SD switcher, 7000 Euros.

[FatDaddy]

Any idea Barry about where they would put this AVC-Intra codec? Meaning a new camera (replacing the 100b) or is it something to record on P2 on the HVX? Or will it settle into a higher end camera.

Looking to move on from my DVX-100 and shooting long format stuff overseas. Will go 100b out of convience or llok for something coming down the pike...

FD

[MovieSwede]

AVC intra is for the high end cameras.

So in the prosumer class its gonna be AVCHD

[Barry_Green]

As MovieSwede says, there's two new formats coming out.

AVC-HD is their answer to HDV. It's a long-GOP 4:2:0 format, but based on H.264/AVC instead of MPEG-2. I would expect any potential DVX replacement to be based on AVC-HD (but note: there has been no mention anywhere of the DVX being replaced).

AVC-Intra is a new professional format, an intraframe-only version meant to provide DVCPRO-HD quality at lower bitrates, and even better quality at the same or higher bitrates.

So I would expect that AVC-Intra is likely to appear on the big 2/3" cameras and above (like the aforementioned HPX2100) and AVC-HD would be on the consumer/prosumer lineup.

AVC-Intra can be recorded to the P2 cards. AVC-HD is much lower bandwidth (18 megabits or even less, Sony's AVC-HD goes down to 5 megabits) so you could get up to 20x as much recording on a P2 card with AVC-HD (but obviously not at the same quality!) AVC-HD can be recorded straight to SD cards as well, which points to tiny HD cameras as a possibility.

[Fugitive]

Price of the new cam?

[lpcvideo1]

That would be a nice firmware upgrade! . . .

:birthdays:

[Barry_Green]

AVC-HD cannot be implemented in a firmware upgrade. It would require a hardware encoder chip, and that's not something you can download off the internet! :)

[lpcvideo1]

AVC-HD cannot be implemented in a firmware upgrade. It would require a hardware encoder chip, and that's not something you can download off the internet! :)

I'd still try! :grin:

[Drew Ott]

Wish Panasonic came out with something new in the $4,000 range that is a competitor of the Canon A1.

[MovieSwede]

I wish for a 4000$ HVX ;)

[videomaniac]

I noticed that this camera (HPX2100) can't shoot in 24pn with DVCPRO HD, only in H.264/AVC... or am I reading it wrong? ...another thing, is H.264/AVC 4:2:0?! not 4:2:2?! WHY!!?? forget green screening with that codec huh?

another thing - anyone know if you can overcrank/undercrank?

[Tzedekh]

H.264/AVC 4:2:0?! not 4:2:2?! WHY!!?? forget green screening with that codec huh?AVC-HD is 8-bit, 4:2:0. H.264 supports up to 12-bit encoding and 4:4:4 color sampling.

[videomaniac]

Great! thanks for clearing that up :)

[Tzedekh]

Great! thanks for clearing that up :)I should have been more precise: although the H.264 standard supports up to 12-bit encoding and 4:4:4 color sampling, there are many levels/profiles, so the details of what Panasonic has implemented in AVC-Intra for the HPX2100 -- beyond the 100-Mbps maximum data rate -- are unknown (at least to me). But I doubt that 4:2:0 color sampling is one of them -- that would be a big step backward.

[Emanuel]

I thought this was an announcement... And the last info is from one month ago?

[Ming]

I'd still try! :grin:

That's the spirit.:)

[Fernando Kurezyn Jr.]

Barry... what about VFR (variable frame rate) ????? this new HVX´s big brother
has this IMPORTANT feature?...
i mean... is the must important feature in the HVX... we just can´t forget it with this new camera... right?...

Fer

[Barry_Green]

Correct, and yes, this 2/3" camera does variable frame rates too.

[Fernando Kurezyn Jr.]

Correct, and yes, this 2/3" camera does variable frame rates too.


WOOOOOW!!!.. so.. this is the real big brother!... duhh... what a nice cam!..
do you think that this beauty is the new official competitor of Grass Valley´s Viper?...

are you preparing a comparatione thread between HVX, this Big Brother and.. i dont know... Viper??....some one..

thanks Barry :thumbup:

[Barry_Green]

I don't know anything about the HPX500 other than what the press release said. It's supposed to be introduced in April at NAB.

[Jarred Land]

heh heh come on barry you know everything :)

[Barry_Green]

I have no inside knowledge about the HPX500. Everything I know about it is off that there sheet of ... er... paper? PDF? :)

[Fernando Kurezyn Jr.]

we will be patient Barry, thanks

[James Appletyn]

Does anyone know does this camera have hd-sdi output and/ or 4:4:4 sampling?

Thank you
James

[Barry_Green]

It looks like yes, HD-SDI is included. There are very few English words & letters here, but those letters are included.

http://panasonic.biz/sav/p2/ag-hpx500/AG-HPX500J-pre.pdf

[James Appletyn]

:) Thanks Barry. Yes, HD-SDI Out would be good. I figure if they have it on the hdx900 they should have it on this one. I'm guessing it uses 4:2:2 colour sampling but oh how great it would be if it did 4:4:4!

[Barry_Green]

If it's DVCPRO-HD, it's 4:2:2 on the outputs. Don't know about the HD-SDI output though.

But these new cameras don't specifically say DVCPRO-HD on them, they instead say HDP2. Interesting. I wonder if that's to promote the idea of being codec-agnostic, or if it means that it can take the AVC-Intra codec card? Because as I understand it, AVC-Intra will be 1920x1080 at 10 bits (at least in the 100mbps version).

[James Appletyn]

well I'm excited for it either way. Let's just hope the price comes down if even slightly...otherwise I might have to sell my car...haha. But we will see hopefully it is another great addition to the panasonic p2 lineup

James

[Oleg 2]

http://www.sportsvideo.org/artman/publish/article_2891.shtml

now , would they apgrade it for hvx-200?

[joemiked]

my dvx is still top shelf goods man!!!
every obnes going to hd all ready i just got my cam like a yaer ago
im still trying to find a 24 frame veiwing device ,im falling behind i guesse or just becoming the the budget cam pro!!!
hvx seems dreamy allready at least the post suite is about as dreamy as well
will i ever find clients that dont want hd for anything?im sure i can still get great impressions from a dvx no dought
now if panny cuold make a new car that fits my budget!!!!
mike d

dvx for ever!!
:Drogar-Smoke(DBG):

[teddytalker]

I feel the same way. whew...Got mine last Christmas and now..it's taboo unless your doing local work. I'm producing short films and have a feature going in Jan.
I Get tired of the chase...

[mikkowilson]

Update:

The Panasonic AV-HS300G SD/HD video switcher is now available.

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/images/models/av-hs300g.jpg

6 SD/HD inputs - 5 HD/-SDI and one DVI. SDI, and Component outputs. Optional Component input board. Full tally. 6 channel frame sync (So no genlock'd cameras necesarry. Program, Preview and Aux busses. And an internal DSK too. PLUS internal framestore for graphics loaded via Ethernet.

All for an amazing $7,990! That's a new low for a HD live switcher.
Paird with Canon's XL-H1 or XH-G1 cameras that's an amazingly cheap HD multicamera system. - Or add in the compoent card and you can use any of these new cheap HD cameras!

Full details here: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=104037&catGroupId=14632&surfModel=AV-HS300G&displayTab=S


EDIT: I just read the manual, and I must say that I'm very impressed by the power & flexibilty and simplicty of this switcher. I want one.

- Mikko ... currently reading the manual.

[Eric Papa]

So we would need component to sdi converters to use the HVX?

[mikkowilson]

... or the optional Componenet Input board for the switcher, yes.

This is where the cameras with HD-SDI have a distinct advantage.


- Mikko

[journalist]

How long can an analog component gable be? If compared to S-video gables, which can reach really long distancies, what is the acceptable lenght of video feed in HD.
jussi

[mikkowilson]

That's impossible to say.

It depends on cable type, quality, connectors used, environmental circumstances, etc..

But some hundreds of feet with good cables is very possible.

If you need to go a long way, you could used the CamplexHD system that sends HD-component quite some distance over CAT5 cables.

Missä päin Suomea olet?

- Mikko

[journalist]

That's impossible to say.

It depends on cable type, quality, connectors used, environmental circumstances, etc..

But some hundreds of feet with good cables is very possible.

If you need to go a long way, you could used the CamplexHD system that sends HD-component quite some distance over CAT5 cables.

Missä päin Suomea olet?


- Mikko
Terve, Pohjanmaan poikia, kuvataan kiekkoa Sportin saitille ja vähän muutakin, käytössä on 1 datavideon 8000 mixeria, jossa myös ko. liitänät ja 1 kameroista on HVX, eli aihe kiinnostaa jos webbistriimin ja livemixauksenkin laatua voisi parantaa...
jussi

[mikkowilson]

(I'll continue in English for the benefit of others)
... Yes, Component, and then of course SDI (Which is just Digital Compoent really) are a major step up in quality over Composite and S-video (I find S-video prety much worthless to be honest. Composite is good enoguh, or you need something much more than S-) in terms of not only pure quality, but noise resistance and signal clarity.

DataVideo's mixers aren't much compared to the Panny switchers.

Though mixers and cables asside, note that the best way to improve footage - especially for the web - is good lighting and carefully shoot footage that can be encoded well. :)


- Mikko

[journalist]

...Hi, thanks for comments, we'll test Component as soon as possible. Anyhow sport's, low budjet and D##aV###o stuff go hand to hand! I have one model of that (500) of my own (price!), so up to near future we are stuck in S-video/composite side, but also looking for the next step, which might be more portable mixer-set... Waiting to see these new develoments in practice. As my sign "journalist" gives a hin't I am mostly dealing something else expect videos, but during last a couple of years "Dvx user" and others have been a great learnig experience... Thanks to all members of these forums - appriciate!

Jussi