Press Release: HMC150, "the new DVX"

As far as audio, from a software standpoint, putting uncompressed audio would be easy to do; however, whether the HMC150 has it or not, is a question of what Panasonic's marketing decides. My own personal feeling is, I'd like to see AVCHD crush HDV with so many better specifications. Nothing against HDV, but it would be nice to see AVCHD stand out against HDV so much, it becomes a :no-brainer" choice.


Something that may be of interest to some; the following link is to TV Technology March 26, 2008. This issue contains the NAB Show Exhibitor Listings.
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/tvt_20080326/


The following issue, April 2, 2008 contains the article, Panasonic Promotes AVC Benefits; page 64. Of interest is the following comment:
AVCHD_Position.png


This fits what Barry said many pages back about P2 and AVCHD being two different levels (markets) of production. Also, we see that Panasonic is pushing AVCHD as going against HDV.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/tvt_20080402/


Sometimes companies do stupid things and sometimes companies do smart, aggressive things. My big hope is that Panasonic will draw a new line in the sand for quality and features at a given price point with the MHC150. Stay tuned...


Bob Diaz
 
Robert M Wright said:
Even if they can handle the format that footage is shot in, television stations can be awfully finicky about what they will accept. A couple years ago, I was on a major highway just outside St. Paul, and happened upon the scene of an accident where a semi had crossed the median and rolled just a few minutes earlier (fortunately nobody was hurt - somewhat miraculous, given it was rush hour). It was pretty obvious that this accident was going to close a major artery for quite awhile (turned out to be over a day) and was newsworthy. I had a TRV70 in the car with me, and realized the conditions were pretty close to perfect to capture great footage with that camera, so I got it out and shot the scene. I headed back to my girlfriend's (much closer than home) and called a couple television stations. When I told them I shot the footage with a TRV70, they had absolutely no interest whatsoever. Apparently, they were thinking the footage would look like it was shot with a cell phone camera or something, not realizing that a TRV70, in ideal conditions, can shoot an excellent image (which it did). When I watched the news later, they sure didn't have anything better than what I had shot (or nearly as fresh from the scene at the time it occurred either).
Click to expand...

Never tell them what its shot on... Just say, you want the shot or not.
 
Source: http://governmentvideo.com/articles/publish/article_1425.shtml

Points Of Interest
The NAB Show always has plenty to catch your attention, but here are a few exhibitors on the show floor that are particularly intriguing for 2008:

JVC. According to a company spokesperson, JVC will have a solid-state announcement at NAB. The company's theme for NAB is "HD As It Should Be." A solid-state solution would provide JVC customers with yet another recording option for its ProHD line.
jvc.com/pro
...
New Panasonic AVCHD camcorder
Panasonic is adding to its AVCHD product line with the AG-HMC150 handheld camcorder. Similar in appearance to the company's popular AG-DVX100, the new HMC150 feature three 1/3-inch native 16:9 CCD imagers that produce 1080i and 720p images. Other features include optical image stabilization, Leica Dicomar wide-angle zoom lens, XLR audio inputs, and 3.5-inch LCD monitor. Anticipated for fall availability, the HMC150 records in AVCHD, a long GOP HD standard based on MPEG-4 compression, and records on SD and SDHC memory cards.
panasonic.com/broadcast
Click to expand...


My guess is that the JVC solid state recording solution isn't going against AVCHD, but against P2. However, this is only a guess and who knows... NAB should prove to be very interesting this year.


Bob Diaz
 
Interesting. I'm certain it won't be AVC-HD, as JVC is the one manufacturer that has held out on the AVC-HD coalition. I'd guess it'd be more along the lines of a solid-state FireStore; they've worked with Focus before to make a JVC-badged, integrated FS-100. Maybe it'll be akin to Sony's new CF recorder for their HDV cameras?
 
Robert M Wright said:
Most television stations might currently be unable to open the MTS file one of these cameras generates, and convert it for broadcast. . . .
Click to expand...

That wasn't there reason, it was that they felt the format was a high end consumer design and that their ENG group tries to "fix" their production facilities around pro.
 
Barry_Green said:
There hasn't been a professional AVC-HD camcorder yet. So anyone you've asked has only had experience with something like a Canon HF10, so of course they'd say "no".

Let's ask the question again 8 months from now when the HMC150 is out.
Click to expand...

Actually that wasn't what they were saying at all. They actually said that it had to do with the format being a "consumer" oriented format like HDV and that they were 100% pro side and use high end cameras. They did say that they will have conversion ENG but that their ENG groups would frown on a television who are supposed to be pro having anything that looked similiar to that which a potential viewer could pick up at Best Buy (their words exactly) the latter of which I too understand. Our TV clients actually thought we stepped down when we sold all our DVC60's (that look big studio like to an amateur) and went to the much higher and more professional DVX100B and they really felt better when we picked up the HVX200. When I showed them the HPX500 they said that they would approve the pay increase if we put 3 of those on instead of the HVX but of course we can't do it, too much $$$ for our budget :eek:(
 
BobDiaz said:
. . . Something that may be of interest to some; the following link is to TV Technology March 26, 2008. This issue contains the NAB Show Exhibitor Listings.
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/tvt_20080326/

The following issue, April 2, 2008 contains the article, Panasonic Promotes AVC Benefits; page 64. Of interest is the following comment:
AVCHD_Position.png


This fits what Barry said many pages back about P2 and AVCHD being two different levels (markets) of production. Also, we see that Panasonic is pushing AVCHD as going against HDV.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/tvt_20080402/

Bob Diaz
Click to expand...

OK, there you have it . . exactly what the TV ENG guys told me. They said it was that "line" that would keep the format out of their shop. This conversation was last week when I first happened onto this thread and right away started interfacing here with questions and went to the people who will buy my work and according to them the stations will NEVER end up with a production solution that a Best Buy or Circuit City consumer could identify with. That would make them (the TV station) pretty small in the eyes of the viewer.

In their defense as I mentioned above, we had (and still have for that matter) the same issues to deal with among our TV clients. Moreover, when we went P2 that changed the whole "wow" factor and SD cards aren't exactly WoW. I have a dozen of them in my drawer and my wife has two in her purse plus four in her camera case. We use them like hand lotion. But we only have two P2 cards and no readers or other P2 gear. In the eye of the public that's Pro.

One local station said that they will take media from the public in any format that they can somehow work with because it's eye stopping news but not from a freelancer pro. As the one Director of ENG said, "Let me know if you plan to go that route because we want to be prepared to find a replacement." By that time I had already decided I would stay with P2 and HVX or HPX and indicated as such and was commended for an excellent decision.

So, in our mid-eastern work AVCHD is Best Buy - Circuit City consumer level stuff like HDV is.
 
TimurCivan said:
Never tell them what its shot on... Just say, you want the shot or not.
Click to expand...

Wow, that won't work around here. They always want to know the details of the format and we have to log it before delivery and sign off on certification and permission.

And when I was in the Cleveland market recently with an approved Indians videographer he said it was the same way there too.
 
Some folks here wanted to see some "normal" footage from the SD9 (rather than footage to test the codec under stress). This is a very short "normal" clip that I shot last weekend with the SD9:

http://www.elink123.net/SD9avcHD/SD9atCC-clip4.avi

The above file was not re-compressed, so you are seeing exactly the images the camera produced and recorded. The camera was essentially at default settings (at least I don't think anyone changed a setting before I tried the camera). The only thing I changed, was to set the camera to shooting 24p, rather than 60i.

I just now noticed that there is some unmistakable blocky artifacting in the first few frames of the clip. Look at the Coke machine in the first few frames. Clear as day (not sure how I missed that before now).

Thanks, once again, to drdimento for hosting the file.
http://www.elink123.net/SD9avcHD/
 
Barry_Green said:
Interesting. I'm certain it won't be AVC-HD, as JVC is the one manufacturer that has held out on the AVC-HD coalition. I'd guess it'd be more along the lines of a solid-state FireStore; they've worked with Focus before to make a JVC-badged, integrated FS-100. Maybe it'll be akin to Sony's new CF recorder for their HDV cameras?
Click to expand...

A friend of mine in Akron who travels the networks between Columbus and Cleveland said that he had seen some "insider" information on a SSD like the one I put in my laptop when it died and I am to wonder if it was a JVC?
 
I wouldn't expect the HMC150 to be the camera of choice for any TV Station, except maybe a small station with limited funds or a TV News doing a story where the camera can't look professional. (Think any hostile country that that doesn't want reporters showing something wrong.)


To me the market for the HC150 is: Schools/Student Filmmakers, Wedding Video/Event Production, Prosumer, and Small Operations With Big Dreams, BUT limited funds.


JVC's Solid State Solution should prove to be interesting; my guess is that it's going after P2, but who knows, maybe they'll have a Compact flashcard recorder... I've tried to see if anything new and interesting pops up form Canon or Sony, no luck yet.

For anyone interested, I've been playing with generating Podcasts:
http://web.mac.com/bobdiaz/Site/Podcast/Podcast.html

Not a whole lot of stuff now, but after NAB it should have lots of good things to listen to...


Bob Diaz
 
"Dave my mind is going. I can feel it."
HAL 9000, 2001 A Space Odyssey 1968
Click to expand...

After all those years, I now understand why HAL went crazy.
Clearly he was running Windows XP!!!!

:D

Bob Diaz
 
I'd really like to see an offering from JVC, that is basically an HD200U repackaged in a handheld (with OIS and push auto focus). I love the fluid look of 720p60. An option for recording to cheap flash memory would be a big plus too.

It will be great if JVC offers something to compete with Sony's new flash memory HDV recording device. With competition, the cost of those devices could be driven under $100 (cheap as heck to make them).
 
BobDiaz said:
After all those years, I now understand why HAL went crazy. Clearly he was running Windows XP!!!! :D Bob Diaz
Click to expand...

Actually I think it was a IBM OS . . .

H+1 = I
A+1 = B
L+1 = M

In several scenes are IBM, NATO, and other important icons that would lead us into the Abyss :eek:)

Stanley had a rough time with that project too but selected some of the most amazing pieces to background it :eek:)

Crank it up Dr D and now I know why I have trouble hearing :eek:)
 
Bob
Its a very good pod cast !
Thanks
and helps me understand some of the issues

-Did you know Don Miscowitz?
He wrote compression alogorythims
for "efilm"
 
Bruce Morgan said:
Bob
Its a very good pod cast !
Thanks
and helps me understand some of the issues

-Did you know Don Miscowitz?
He wrote compression alogorythims
for "efilm"
Click to expand...


Sorry, but I don't know Don Miscowitz.

I did have a chance to meet and talk with David Newman. If I'm really lucky, maybe I'll run into David again at NAB.

Best Wishes,

Bob Diaz
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top