Sony Boosts XDCAM Range with New Additions to its Profeional Disc Product Line

Sony today announced two new additions to its XDCAM Professional Disc lineup, the PDW-850 XDCAM HD 422 camcorder and the PDW-HD1550 recorder. The new products are equipped with a host of features for greater operational performance. The PDW-850 incorporates a newly-developed 2/3-inch CCD image sensor, and the PDW-850 recorder supports both 3-layer (100 GB) and 4-layer (128 GB) high-capacity Professional Discs.

The multi-use PDW-850 shoulder-type camcorder combines high performance and low power consumption in a lightweight form factor(1). Its high-quality imaging (with a signal-to-noise ratio of 62 dB) and excellent mobility make it ideal for use across a wide range of news reporting and production environments.

The PDW-HD1550 multi-codec recorder is also well-suited for a wide variety of production environments and setups. In addition to handling XDCAM formats (such as 50 Mbps MPEG2 HD422), it also supports the XAVC HD 100 Mbps video format(2) by optional software key provided(3).The USB 3.0 port on the front-panel of the PDW-HD1550 enables easy copying from the SBAC-US20(4) and HDDs, SSDs. The recorder was designed to be used for Professional Discs with high reliability, but can also be integrated into a workflow incorporating external media. The PDW-HD1550 is an excellent candidate for use in the field due to its compact half-rack size and its ability to run on three different types of power supply AC, DC, and battery power.

Since the introduction of the first XDCAM products in April 2003, the XDCAM format based on blue-violet-laser recording onto optical discs has become the de facto standard for news production and broadcasting throughout the world. As of the end of March 2014, the total sales of XDCAM products worldwide (including both Professional Disc and SxS memory card models) has exceeded 350,000 devices. Sony will continuously enhance its XDCAM line-up and evolve its workflow, in response to the ever-increasing demands of various video productions ranging from news production to TV program production.

In order to further enhance stable supply of Professional Disc products, Sony also has a licensing agreement with Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co., Ltd. Towards the production of Professional Disc products executed by Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co., Ltd., Sony, as a licenser, will support the verification of such discs to ensure that they fulfill the required capabilities and work well on XDCAM products.

(*)Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co., Ltd. has been conducting its optical disc business under the brand Verbatim.

Sony remains dedicated to providing useful, reliable formats for broadcasters, production companies and other video production professionals, said Ryosuke Hayashi, Deputy Senior General Manager, Content Creation Solution Business Division, Sony Professional Solutions Group. We are extremely pleased to work with industry partners like Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co., Ltd. to ensure the long-term sustainability of Professional Disc media and related products, and we will continue to make efforts in the further development and manufacturing of such formats.

The PDW-850 camcorder and the PDW-HD1550 recorder will be available from October 2014. Sony is exhibiting at NAB 2014 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, booth #C11001.

(1)Weight: 4.2 kg (9.3 lb); Power Consumption: 37 W

(2)XAVC Intra frame Method

(3)Optional software key : XDBK-106

(4)4Video source in a professional disc cannot be written to SxS memory card via SBAC-US20 through PDW-HD1550.

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