HD Cameras

[Jimmy]

Can anybody point me in the right direction with the new f4 software release from Tandberg for the MXP what is a good hd camera to use and where can I buy it in Ireland
Thanks

[tom9933]

I think that’s going to be a problem for the next few months. If you have the budget here is one to look at in the coming months. I’ve also heard rumors about some lower end units from the various manufacturers but nothing that’s been seen. I would assume at InfoComm the new lower end HD cameras will be the big news.

http://picturephone.com/products/sony_brc-h700.htm

BTW notice the little add at the top talking about Sony’s HD VTC interesting, this is the first I’ve seen anyone talk about a product.

[tonyi]

I've actually allready used the off the shelf GY-hd100 from jvc with the MXP and it looks great
http://dv411.com/gyhd100.html

[Jimmy]

Thanks for the info

[tom9933]

Tonyi,
Does this camera output DVI or are you converting the output with an adapter box? I would assume you would need some sort of component to DVI adapter for this.

[tonyi]

Yea i used a simple Extron box to convert it to DVI. I used a USP405 but that was becouse i had one lying around. Theres much lower cost units to do it with.

[tom9933]

Wow that’s quite a nice little converter; it reminds me of the old Sony 1024 units we used to use. We used to call the Sony units the video Swiss army knife.
I wish the codec manufacturers would follow the broadcast industry and go to SDI/HDSDI for camera inputs. On the SD side it was never a big deal because composite worked great for most of the applications but on the HD side there are just too many ways to send an HD signal. HDSDI would probably be a bit more costly but you can get that as an option on most of the switching gear and even a lot of the higher end displays.

[Vtech]

Any idea if they will start using the HDMI connector as opposed to the DVI. It seems to me that this is where things are going and would make things a lot more compact on the back of the cameras and codecs.

[tom9933]

I expect we might see some HDMI stuff this year at infoComm, but then again HDMI is more of a home theater standard so it will be interesting to see if industrial/broadcast market supports it. I think the biggest problem with HDMI or DVI is the cable distance limitations. In our classrooms we still use RGB for hi-res signals and honestly I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Either way it will be interesting to see how the market continues to develop.
For what it’s worth the new Sony HDV camcorder and deck we just purchased outputs the HD on component and fire wire.

[Sean Lessman]

I think the biggest problem with HDMI or DVI is the cable distance limitations

Don't forget, TANDBERG has a DVI-I port which is both digital and analog. It also supports analog VGA. The limitations people speak about are around the digital transmission on copper cable. There are also fiber cables that will go much farther.

Sean

[tom9933]

The big issue for us with the fiber is cost. Not only do we then need fiber to DVI converters at each end, but our telecom group requires that we also put the fiber in innerduct. Now that sounds simple, but in existing rooms that can be a huge problem.

I am glad to hear though that Tandberg was thinking ahead and supports DVI-I rather than just DVI-D. I’m not sure how much the costs increase to do this but there are an awful lot of DVI-D devices and that really creates a headache.