PARK RIDGE, N.J., Feb. 26, 2009 – The expanding family of Sony’s XDCAM® HD422 Professional Disc™ system now includes a new high-definition field recorder, model PDW-HR1. This mobile unit is designed as the ideal ENG/EFP complement for Sony’s newest XDCAM HD422 optical camcorder while also supporting legacy formats including MPEG IMX®, DVCAM™ and 4:2:0 HD 24P content.
“With its fast file-based operations and HD production flexibility, this new recorder is perfect for applications where speed is a key concern, such as pool feeds, documentaries, or reality programming,” said Wayne Zuchowski, group marketing manager for XDCAM systems at Sony Electronics. “It’s compact enough to fit in a car or helicopter, and also offers 4:2:2 HD image quality for TV or motion picture production, where the right look is critical.”
The recorder features a built-in up/down converter, and provides multi-format (1080i/720P) recording flexibility, as well as HD/SD conversion and cross-conversion during playback between 1080i and 720P. It has 24P (23.98) record/playback capability for 4:2:2 HD content as a standard feature, making it suitable not only for ENG/EFP, but also for use in an HDCAM SR™ production workflow, recording content acquired by Sony CineAlta™ cameras.
A range of video and audio interfaces allow for easy interoperability with other devices and editing systems, with connectivity via HD-SDI in/out, HDMI™ out, SD-SDI in/out, composite in/out Gigabit Ethernet, RS-422A control and optional i.LINK® TS in/out and DVB-ASI out.
The PDW-HR1’s user interface is designed with a “VTR-like” jog/shuttle operation, with control either through the front panel or a remote control unit. A 9-inch (viewable area measured diagonally) color LCD display and built-in speakers are also incorporated, and the unit can be battery-operated or used with AC and DC power sources.
Users can record HD content to the dual-layer 50GB version of Sony’s optical Professional Disc™ media, model PFD50DLA -- approximately 95 minutes at 50 Mbps, 150 minutes at 35Mbps, and 200 minutes at 25Mbps HD. It can also handle content on PFD-23A single layer discs.
Other features include scene selection for EDL-based clip editing and trigger REC on SDI.
The PDW-HR1 recorder is expected to be available in June at a tentative list price of $21,000.
