PARK RIDGE, N.J., Jan. 23, 2009 –Sony Electronics’ Professional Media Group is conducting the third session in its annual series of online seminars on high-definition recording media and formats.

These web-based courses, designed for production professionals, are available at no charge. They will begin on Jan. 27 and again be led by Wayne Desmond, national training manager for Sony Electronics’ Media and Applications Solutions Division.

Targeted toward cinematographers, directors, directors of photography, editors and other content creators working in TV and motion picture production, the seminars are designed to raise awareness of professional recording media technologies – including tape, optical disc and solid-state – and their roles in enabling high definition formats.

“The positive industry response and strong user participation we received for the first two rounds of seminars was overwhelming and is continuing proof that production professionals are eager to learn more about the latest developments in professional media,” said Desmond. “Based on that feedback, we’ve once again enhanced the coursework for these new sessions, and we’re confident that attendees will find them to be a positive experience and a valuable professional resource.”

This third round of seminars will include in-depth extensions of the previous sessions offered last year, including “HD Tape Media in Perspective” (Seminar 214) and “Optical Disc, Hard Drive and Flash Memory…at the Forefront of Acquisition” (Seminar 215).

Seminar One (214) will include an overview of the range of Sony professional HD tape formats and their respective recording media currently used in broadcast, production and digital cinematography including HDCAM SR®, HDCAM™ and HDV™.

Participants will learn how continuing advancements in compression technology have enabled longer record times and how transfer rates and color sampling rates can affect a format’s performance.

 The second seminar (215) continues the discussion on how faster transfer speeds and higher storage capacities have challenged recording media manufacturers to develop technologies to meet these requirements while still maintaining viable price points. This session will focus on optical disc, flash (solid-state) memory, and hard disk drives including Sony’s Professional Disc™, CompactFlash™, SxS PRO™ Memory Card and hard disk drive products.

The online seminars will be conducted in January and February. For more information, including the current schedule of seminars and how to register, visit: www.sony.com/promedia.