Sony XDCAMTM - Manual (Page 3)

Just as importantly, XDCAM saves you time and
money on every project compared with
traditional tape-based production. Good for a
minimum of 1,000 record/re-record cycles, the
rugged optical disc cartridge stores up to
2 hours of broadcast-quality pictures – plus all
your associated project files – while taking up
less shelf space than a Betacam cassette. And
since files can be imported faster than real-time
from XDCAM into your non-linear news or
production environment, there’s no need to
hang around ingesting hours worth of taped
footage into your NLE before craft editing starts.
Just think about it. The savings in facilities and
operator costs alone can repay your investment
in XDCAM within months… or even less.
XDCAM is much more than just a standalone
production format. It’s been conceived as part
of a total environment that integrates content
creation, storage and distribution in a single,
seamless workflow. Leveraging support for MXF
and open IT industry standards, XDCAM offers
third party interoperability with hardware,
applications and complete solutions from over
thirty vendors.
Better still, XDCAM is ready for today’s High
Definition world. With XDCAM HD you can enjoy
all the benefits of file-based, network-oriented
acquisition and production – plus true HD
picture quality to enhance the international
commercial appeal and shelf-life of every
project.
Broadcasters and programme makers in Europe
alone are rapidly embracing the benefits
of XDCAM to drive down costs, open up new
creative possibilities and secure a formidable
competitive edge for themselves. Isn’t it time
you joined them?
One format family. One vision.
Infinite possibilities.
High Definition
is changing the way we see the world.
Viewing audiences are demanding better-
looking pictures.
With Sony XDCAM HD you
can embrace the creative and commercial
opportunities that High Definition opens up to
programme makers everywhere.
XDCAM HD builds on the proven strengths
of Sony XDCAM to make
High Definition, non-
linear, end-to-end workflow a cost-effective
reality.
Whether you’re shooting news, your first
independent feature or a corporate training
video, XDCAM HD teams all the advantages of
file-based acquisition and production with true
High Definition picture quality.
Just like Standard Definition XDCAM, XDCAM
HD has been designed and engineered as a
no-compromise professional system for
dependable results under a wide range of
operational conditions. After all, you’d expect
nothing less from Sony – the worldwide leader in
High Definition video know-how, from scene to
screen.
Recognising that the creative and commercial
demands of every project are different, XDCAM
HD camcorders allow you to shoot true
1080-line High Definition pictures at a choice of
three data rates. Select 35Mb/s for the best
possible on-screen look with 60 minutes
shooting time per disc. Switch to 25Mb/s and
it’s easy to edit shots captured on XDCAM HD
with other High Definition material acquired
using HDV. Or switch to 18Mb/s and enjoy a
massive 120 minutes recording time on a single
disc.
The sheer versatility of XDCAM HD doesn’t
stop there. Variable frame rate shooting lets you
create super-smooth slow- or fast motion
sequences… a tricky-to-achieve feature that’s
normally the preserve of high-end camcorders.
It’s a formidable creative tool, but we haven’t
cut corners on quality, reliability or your
real-world operational needs. While XDCAM HD
delivers an immediate step up to High Definition
picture quality, it uses exactly the same
rugged,
re-usable, removable optical media as
Standard Definition XDCAM to keep your
operational costs down. What’s more, it offers
the same familiar operation and ergonomics as
other Sony professional camcorders – so
there’s no painful learning curve to slow you
down.
XDCAM HD also provides a perfect fit with the
rest of your non-linear production environment.
Support for a growing range of third party
editing applications means you can mix and
match tools from your preferred suppliers… and
have great-looking pictures ready for playout in
the shortest time possible.
If you’re already using Standard Definition
XDCAM, it’s easy to migrate to High Definition
working at your own pace. XDCAM HD players
can replay SD XDCAM discs directly – and you
can also downconvert XDCAM HD material if
you want to post produce in an existing SD
environment.
Best of all, you’ll be amazed at just how
affordable XDCAM HD is. Putting High
Definition production within reach of corporate
production budgets, XDCAM HD makes
fantastic business sense in today’s business
environment.
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