36 TVBEurope Camera and Lighting Focus
with higher than 3x speeds,” claimed Weber. The 3x LDX Compact HS camera system is software upgradable to the LDX Compact XS.
Reality bites
Although miniature cameras are usually seen as adjuncts to a larger camera operation, they are increasingly used as the sole cameras on multi-camera productions.
In the last year, there has been a surge in fixed rig production with many series shot using discreet camera heads and pan/ tilt/zoom cameras. Production specialist Minicams has used such rigs on Secret Eaters, Hotel of Mum and Dad, Motorway Cops and Barely Legal Drivers, and recently invested in a new recording system, the Quadrus Ingest Machine for multi-channel recording, which promises to deliver immediate workflow efficiencies and enhanced creative output. “Traditionally, multi-channel capture has been the preserve of OB facilities and broadcasters. By investing in Quadrus Ingest Machine, we can now offer secure eight-channel recording to an HD codec that suits the customers’ workflow,” said Nick McLachlan, MD of Minicams. The Quadrus system, distributed by Holdan, was used for Channel 5’s Medicating Lewisham, where four individual
streams were captured as Avid DNxHD. This meant there was no need to transcode prior to editing. It also integrated with the Avid ISIS storage used on the production and could check clips into the Interplay asset management system.
Alternative means of recording weren’t as suitable for fast turnaround location shoots. Racks of individual recorders could be bulky and inflexible, while broadcast servers are not only expensive but better suited to use in a studio or OB truck. Quadrus, however, is PC-based “so it’s light, portable and easily maintained. It works with local or network storage, and as it runs on a standard workstation, it can be configured to our changing needs,” McLachlan explained.
Minicams bought the Quadrus system (from Altered Images) fully configured on an HP
Z820 workstation, and it means there is no need for individual decks to record each camera output, which would also require regularly swapping out recording media and then manually ingesting and logging files from each card. With Quadrus, each channel is recorded to a central storage silo, with production management systems able to manage every asset during the shoot. The software also supports chase editing, allowing editors to cut the programme as it is recording.
Minicams now plans to integrate the software more fully with its portable production units. “Currently the Live Cut
feature allows us to create a basic EDL on the fly via a keyboard, which can be read by most NLEs. We’re now working on ways to tie the vision mixer
into the live recording
The 4K Panasonic HX-A500 miniature camera and recorder/controller
workflow. By creating dynamic sequences as well as an EDL at the production stage
— instead of in the edit suite — the director will potentially save considerable time in post,” he explained.
The system was also used for a new Channel 5 fly-on-the-wall series about a health centre, GPs Behind Closed Doors, using Panasonic HE60S PTZ cameras controlled remotely over Cat-5 cable.
4K action cam
The new Panasonic HX-A500 is the first Ultra HD 25p/30p wearable camcorder, and can also record HD at 50p. It is waterproof (to 3m for 30 minutes) and dustproof, and uses the umbilical design Panasonic prefers for miniature cameras. The 31g camera is connected via a cable to the 119g operating and recording unit, which has a built- in 1.5-inch LCD monitor. The $400/£380 HX-A500 can connect via Wi-Fi to a smartphone or tablet, and be used with Panasonic’s Image App to record and edit video remotely. It uses a new high-speed image processor, Crystal Engine Pro+, with a new high sensitivity BSI sensor, and offers levelling correction, image stabilisation and loop recording.
Aerial offerings JVC introduced the world’s first handheld 4K camcorder, the GY-HMQ10, in 2012, but has only now begun to build on
that with further 4K cameras. It showed prototypes at NAB based around a new 13.6MP 4K CMOS image sensor developed by its sister company, AltaSens. Two of the offerings were compact: a two-piece mini 4K camera, the GW-SPLS1, which records to SDHC media, and offers IP control and viewing; and the GW-GBLS1 small- head camera gimbal system. This has a 4K camera unit with a Super 35mm CMOS sensor that delivers 4096x2160 or 3840x2160 resolution at up to 60p.
It is housed in a gimbal designed using proprietary technology developed by JVC, and records locally to SDXC or SDHC media cards. However, the base of the gimbal also houses wireless technology with the same IP capabilities as the new GY-HM890 ProHD shoulder-mount camcorder. The HM890 has a built-in streaming engine with FTP and 4G LTE connectivity to allow live HD transmission directly from the camera without needing an external bonded cellular system. It uses a built- in processor with proprietary algorithms, advanced content- aware error-correction and JVC’s new Advanced Streaming Technology to maximise bandwidth, provide realtime feedback of streaming status and compensate for up to 30 per cent packet loss to ensure reliable transmission under difficult conditions. JVC is also introducing Professional Streaming Services, a cloud-based news management resource to complement its cameras with built-in IP integration. It is based around a new ProHD Broadcaster server powered by Zixi, and is claimed to make it easy and affordable to deliver live HD for web and broadcast. It can be a physical server or cloud-based system, receives the live HD video from any compatible JVC camcorders (such as the new GY-HM850 or upgraded GY-HM650), transcodes the signal for a variety of delivery platforms and should provide reliable transmission of the signal. It will mean that delivery from the cameras to the internet merely requires entering a single IP address. Content can be directed to multiple destinations, including off-the- shelf HD-SDI decoders for live broadcast. With Broadcaster’s built-in matrix switching, it’s easy to manage signals for distribution, while automatic
www.tvbeurope.com June 2014
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