Sony Targets Release Date for XDCAM

by News Editor
Published on Jan 31, 2004 12:00 AM



This coming March, Sony will begin shipping production models of its XDCAM optical disc camcorders and players. Sony has already received orders for the XDCAM units from broadcast and cable news gathering organizations worldwide.

The XDCAM optical disc is designed for heavy-duty field acquisition and promises to redefine workflow for a variety of applications. It has excellent picture quality, operability and reliability. These enhancements are derived form the Sony Betacam kits, and feature MPEG IMX/DVCAM switchable recording, as well as an optional 24P card for "film-like" footage.

One professional-grade XDCAM disc holds around 90 minutes of 25Mb/s material, 45 minutes shot at 50Mb/s, 55 minutes at 40Mb/s, and 75 minutes at 30Mb/s. The first generation of XDCAM camera software will not include the ability to create and manage video proxy files with metadata for particular scenes. These low-resolution versions are used to select and edit scenes quickly, then adopt the edits later in the full resolution files stored on the camera's Blue-laser optical disc. This capability will be available in software updates to be released in August of 2004.

The product will include a seven-year warranty on the Optical Drive Powertrain Systems (BRD-P1 and BRD-P2) inside the XDCAM camcorder to ensure its longevity. The standard warranty coverage for remedial repair of the XDCAM Optical Disc Products is one year parts and labor from date of purchase.