Ikegami Electronics (U.S.A.), Inc., the manufacturer of advanced high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) television production solutions for broadcast and professional video, will present a wide array of leading-edge products at this year's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) exhibition. Ikegami's product display will include: the tapeless Editcam and EditcamHD family of news/field-production cameras and accessories; new HD cameras with multi-format CMOS imaging sensors; versatile HD cameras with native 1080i and 720p CCDs for all production applications; full-size and compact HD/SD production switchers; and RF microwave systems.
"HDTV production activity is rising sharply and the demand for SD cameras remains strong," states Alan Keil, VP and Director of Engineering for Ikegami. "The broadcast and professional television industries demand innovative products to meet the many challenges of HDTV and SDTV, and that's what Ikegami will be showing at NAB 2006. From Ikegami's fully tapeless HD and SD workflow solutions to advanced, seamless implementations of new CMOS and CCD camera-imager technologies, to new HD/SD production switchers, and wireless RF microwave systems, Ikegami's NAB 2006 product exhibition is designed to enable the broadcast television production industry to smoothly transition to the coming Age of Digital Television."
The Advantages of CMOS
Ikegami's NAB 2006 exhibit will feature several HD cameras employing new multi-format CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) imaging sensors. CMOS camera-imager technology provides several advantages, including decreased power consumption, smaller camera size, multi-format video capture, and high-speed imaging capabilities. Among Ikegami's new CMOS-based cameras on display will be the HDK-79EC/HS, which operates in standard and high-speed HD formats; the camera will be demonstrated in 720/120p and 1080/60p for slow-motion HDTV applications. Other Ikegami CMOS-based cameras on display at NAB 2006 include the HDK-79EC, a top-of-the-line portable camera featuring docking-style triax and fiber capability from the same CCU for excellent cable flexibility in field-production applications. Also on display will be the HDL-40C one-piece full digital native multi-format HDTV box-style camera for POV and other specialized applications, and the HDN-X10 tapeless EditcamHD camcorder.
Tapeless EditcamHD and Editcam Acquisition and Post
Ikegami pioneered tapeless portable camcorder technology, and the HDN-X10 EditcamHD is Ikegami's newest innovation in this area. In addition to employing a multi-format CMOS HD imager, the HDN-X10 EditcamHD is the first camcorder to use Avid's DNxHD high-quality mastering codec to deliver HD resolution, full-raster (1920 by 1080) images that can be edited on laptop and desktop systems in real time. The DNxHD codec is an open system that can be licensed for free, ensuring viability far into the future.
The HDN-X10 EditcamHD currently employs a data rate of 145 Mbps (Megabits per second) to provide 1080/60i, 1080/24p, and 720/60p recording and playback using removable hard disk FieldPak2 or solid state RAMPak recording media. Ikegami's new 120 GB FieldPak2 provides 90 minutes of HD recording time. FieldPak2 and RAMPak media can be mounted and edited immediately without the need for digitizing or transcoding. Desktop editing workflow with video recorded on FieldPak2 media acquired with the HDN-X10 EditcamHD as well as the original standard definition DNS-33W Editcam camcorder will be shown in a special section of the Ikegami booth, dramatically demonstrating Ikegami's Tapeless, Wireless, and Seamless NAB 2006 exhibit theme.
Recognizing the continuing demand for standard-definition video acquisition, Ikegami will display a strong complement of studio and portable cameras for a wide range of applications. Among such cameras will be the HK-399W and HK-399PW, which are Ikegami's latest full-size studio and portable SD companion cameras. Also to be demonstrated in Ikegami's SD camera display in booth number C-3226 are the HL-60W, the top-of-the-line HL-series high-performance portable camera, and the HC-D57W professional series portable camera, now including triax capability. Accessories for Ikegami SD and HD camera models will include the new OCP-200 and MCP-200 assignable Arcnet-based control panels.
