38 TVBEurope NAB Wrap-Up The world goes 4K
NAB was awash with tools and concepts for solutions that capture, post produce, display and even transmit resolutions at least four times greater than HD. Adrian Penningtontakes a detailed look at the key moves and vendor strategies
and Man and Beast shot respectively on the 4K DSLR and C500 with cinematographers Shane Hurlbut and Jeff Cronenweth eulogising about the kit — which did exhibit impressive results on screen. With Canon’s 4K announcement following less than six months since the C300 there were also hints that higher sensor imagers are pending. Workflow is being built out: Canon and Panasonic are bowing 4K professional monitors this year and there are multiple black box recorders ready to take the data from camera to post. With a 20-inch 4K 3.5mm thick
screen, claimed as the world’s thinnest, Panasonic could at least say it was joining the 4K party. It aired the notion of a 4K Varicam but is forced to wait until the AVC Ultra codec is ready in 2013 before implementing it. “Everyone is talking about 4K
NAB information chase: The increasing power and reduced price of digital processing is changing the game, making high-res devices a commodity
WHILE THE vast majority of content that will be captured and distributed in the next few years will be HD, there are already 4K distribution channels opening up. These are primarily theatrical, where more than 17,000 cinemas worldwide are primed for 4K, but Sony and shortly Red will compete for 4K home theatre projection — and 4K TV screens were previewed at CES (though Blu-ray does not yet accommodate 4K media). The immediate benefit is that a higher quality original source provides greater latitude in post production but producers will also be encouraged to bet on a 4K future and shoot for the archive. As new UltraHD transmission standards are advanced at SMPTE, and tests continue at NHK and France Televisions, having cameras that can produce content at these higher resolutions will be critical in the not too distant future. Indeed Brazil’s TV Globo wants it here and now. “We’re
considering using 4K even for HD needs, as it has a high dynamic range, wider colour gamut, and gives HD a much better, more film-like look,” declared Fernando Bettencourt, engineering director, Globo TV at Sony’s press conference. TV Globo shot the Rio Carnival on F65s on which Sony is monitoring feedback on workflow before it takes its new DSLR-style camera NEX-FS700 into 4K. There were 200 UK pre-NAB
orders for the £6,500 unit which is pitched at general programming and ups the spec from the FS100 with inclusion of neutral density filters and a hi- speed capability which delivers HD at 240fps or SD at 960fps. By contrast, the new Phantom
Micro can manage 1540fps HD but its uses are more limited to slow-motion effects. Users can take advantage of the FS700’s 4K sensor and 3G/HD-SDI output by means of a Sony built external recorder, planned but without release date.
Accidental cinematography Canon’s entrance into the digital cine market, backed by Hollywood luminaries like Martin Scorsese, will impact the sales of Red, Arri and Sony. Complementing its HD C300
used as a B-camera alongside the C500, suggested Canon. “It’s no secret that the success
of the 5D Mk II DSLR was somewhat of an accident in terms of what people did with its video capability,” explained Peter
so we are gathering customer feedback about exactly what they want because when you dig into 4K you realise that there are many different variants and trade-off between resolution and dynamic range,” said Rob Tarrant, European product manager. “Anyone can do a 4K camera so we are asking what’s the next big leap?”
“I am often asked why we need to go to 4K, 8K or beyond but the right question is ‘what am I going to do with a device that can shoot at a higher resolution than I have ever seen before?’”
Ted Schilowitz, Red
Cinema EOS is the C500 due later this year priced £20,000 with a PL mount ready for features and high-end drama. The C500 records RAW 2K at 12-bit 4:4:4 RGB or 4K 10-bit and enables frame rates up to 120fps. The same 35mm-sized 8.5Megapixel CMOS is housed in the new digital SLR EOS-1DC, which costs £10,000 and could be
Yabsley, EMEA Business Development, Video. “From that came a realisation of what people might want to do with Canon products. We had all the core technology — the processors in the C500 are the same as in our XF camcorders — we just put it together in a different way.” The Canon press event
premiered short films The Ticket The most aggressive digital
camera vendor, Red, already captures 5K on its Mysterium X for the Epic which owners will be able to upgrade (for £4,000) by year end to a 6K Red Dragon sensor. Red’s Ted Schilowitz, isn’t shy about talking up devices capable of 8K and 28K. “There are no limits to what we can do,” he said. “I am often
www.tvbeurope.com June 2012
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