A look at Sony XDCam HD 4:2:2 technology
For more information on the Sony XDCAM range of products click here.
Up until September 2008 Sony has sold in excess of 37000 units of XDCAM optical media with orders, in Europe alone, exceeding 2000 XDCAM 4:2:2 units. This represents significant in-roads for XDCAM 4:2:2 which is a broadcast format used for high-end acquisition.
Advantages of XDCAM 4:2:2 include the fact that it uses affordable optical media which can be used either to shoot and archive, or one can reuse the media, making the format economical and versatile.
The PDW-700 XDCAM 4:2:2 camcorder records multiformats including DVCAM, IMX, 4:2:0 HD recording as well as 4:2:2 HD recording. Low resolutions proxies are recorded to optical disc, allowing for quick turnaround edits. This integrates particularly well with Avid, where one can download the proxy, edit the media, and then auto-conform to the high resolution content.
On show for the PDW-700 was a prototype of an SxS dockable recording unit. This features two slots for SxS media which will allow for dual recording to both XDCAM optical media and SxS. This will provide for smooth integration of XDCAM EX cameras with the XDCAM 4:2:2 - as a common media can be shared.
