Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/26533
Panasonic previews P2 & AVC products S ECAUCUS — Panasonic has previewed a number of new products, as well as hinted toward its plans for the NAB show coming up next month in Las Vegas. The company is seeing increased support for its AVC HD and AVC Intra codecs. AVC Intra offers 100mb/s, 10-bit/4:2:2 quality H.264 video. Editing solution providers, such as Apple,Adobe and Avid, all support AVC, and finishing system manufac- turers, such as Quantel, are also sup- porting it, allowing for a complete AVC-based post workflow. Panasonic VP of sales and product management Joe Facchini says more recently, that server manufacturers have also come on board, offering support for the format as well. Panasonic has reduced the prices of its P2 card line.The 64GB card has been reduced by 30 percent to $695. The 32GB card is now priced at $480, a reduction of 25 percent, and the 16GB card has been reduced by 15 percent to $380. Also on the P2 front, Panasonic introduced the AJ- PCD30, a three-slot drive with USB 3.0 connectivity. Priced at $2,255 and set for release this summer, the PCD30 offers transfer speeds of 15x realtime (4.8Gbps). Its small form fac- tor allows for installation in a five-inch tower PC slot. The AG-HPD24 is a new solid state P2 deck featuring two slots that can play and record. In addition to recording 4:2:2 video, the unit can also record four channels of 24-bit audio. The HPD24 has HDMI output and supports AVC Intra, DVCPRO 50, DVCPRP and DV recording. It can be used to record directly from a camera and offers 24p recording capabilities in both 1080 and 720.Two decks can be used together and synchronized for capturing stereoscopic 3D footage. Pricing is $6,000, and availabil- ity is anticipated for this summer. The BT-LH910 is a new nine-inch LCD monitor that offers 1280x768 resolution, high brightness and a high contrast ratio.The unit weighs 3.7lbs and supports many HD and SD for- mats. Panasonic reps say its light weight and small size make is well suited for on-set production as well as for 3D stereo rigs. The unit fea- tures two HDSDI inputs and will be available in April for $3,500. The company introduced a new plug-in for Apple’s Final Cut Pro called AVCCAM Importer Software. The plug-in will be available for free this summer, and creates ProRes files that are immediately available for editing. In camera news, Panasonic reports that it has shipped more than a thou- sand AG-3DA1 3D camcorders to date, including units to Florida State University and WealthTV. They are also seeing interest from the indepen- dent filmmaking community via rental houses that offer the camcorder. The company’s AG-AF100, which it positions as an affordable HD cinema camera, is also seeing great interest. There are currently 1,000 units in the field.The AF100 has a 4.3-inch MOS im- ager and is 1080/720 switchable. The AVCCAM format offers long record times, and the unit’s ability to accept vari- ety of lenses makes it desirable. While Panasonic didn’t reveal spe- cific plans for NAB, reps said the company will focus on its P2 HD and AVCCAM product lines. They also hinted toward new acquisition prod- ucts, so don’t be surprised to see new cameras at the Panasonic booth. By Marc Loftus