Sony DSR-PD170 Displayed and Announced at IBC, Signals Release of VX2000 Replacement

by News Editor
Published on Sep 14, 2003 12:00 AM



In an extremely uneventful release for what seems like an extremely anticlimatic camcorder, Sony has displayed the European DSR-PD170P, the replacement for the popular DSR-PD150P at the International Broadcasters Conference in Amsterdam. Information has also become available on the US version of the camcorder, the DSR-PD170. The DSR-PD170 is a simple upgrade over the PD150, not including 24 frames progressive or HD recording capability as was hoped for by many consumers. The release of a PD150 replacement means that a replacement of the very popular DCR-VX2000 is also near.

Sony reports that the minimum LUX for the camcorder has gone down from 2 in the PD150 to 1 in the PD170. The new DSR-PD170 includes a larger viewfinder through the use of a magnifier, a hybrid LCD and improved sound quality with an improvement of 6dB (S/N Ratio) .

The new PD170 also includes an extra 0.7X wide-angle adapter and an extra lens hood. Sony has changed the handle grip on the camcorder and the general layout. Sony has also added VCR control button to the top handle bar - similar to those that are on the VX2000.

The DSR-PD170 includes two XLR inputs, a black and white viewfinder, and a 200K pixel color LCD screen.

The DSR-PD170 falls under Sony's professional line and includes manual control of all picture functions as well as a zoom ring and a focus ring. Pricing information is not yet available, though the camcorder is expected to be priced somewhere in the $4,000 to $3,000 range.

The announcement of the DSR-PD170 is likely to cause quite a stir and many upset prosumers. The DSR-PD170 is designed for the professional videographer on a budget. It's predecessor, the DSR-PD150 was extremely popular with documentary makers and wedding and event videographers. Professional television networks including CNN and Fox used the PD150 in Iraq. The camcorder became very popular for it's reliability and high quality. After Panasonic released the AG-DVX100 nearly a year ago, the camcorder with it's popular 24 frames progressive filming mode hurt the sales numbers of the existing DSR-PD150. JVC dealt a second blow to the PD150 with the GR-HD1 and JY-HD10U, the first affordable high definition television camcorders on the market.

Many users were expecting Sony to come out with a camcorder that would compete with either the AG-DVX100 with a progressive filming mode or would include HD capabilities. The DSR-PD150 is now almost three years old, and consumers will likely be very upset that Sony has not made any major upgrades to the camcorder.

The DSR-PD150 is the professional version of the consumer DCR-VX2000 - they include nearly identical recording mechanisms however the DSR-PD150 records to DVCAM whereas the DCR-VX2000 records to MiniDV tape. A replacement of the DSR-PD150 means that a DCR-VX2000 replacement will likely come out over the next few months if not sooner. Sony declined to comment however on whether or not a VX2000 replacement was in the works and whether or not it would have similar upgrades as the PD170. If the VX2000 replacement includes similar upgrades as the PD170, it will almost certainly cause an uproar among consumers anticipating the camcorder.

Pricing information was not available on the PD170, however the camcorder is expected to be available in Europe as the PD170P by December. Information on the availability of the US version of the camcorder is unknown.