That really surprises me considering we converted to Sony XD 2 years ago and they've been flawless as far as I'm concerned. The workflow with the XD discs keeps getting better and the cost of storage is super duper cheap expecially when compared to P2.
The cost comparison goes something like this XD = $1.30 per gig of storage. P2 = $275 per gig of storage. (That's no typo...XD less than 2-dollars, P2 almost 3-hundred-dollars PER GIG OF SPACE TO STORE VIDEO!)
I don't know where in the world I'll store all of my future footage.(stuff I shoot way ahead of time.) Right now I have 15 or so discs, with hours and hours of footage, in the hands of reporters who are writing the stories for edit and air dates that are still weeks away.
I don't know a tremendous amount about the P2 but I do know that it's storage capacity is limited and expensive.
Hopefully we'll have some time before the P2 transition trickles down to us and it will be a world different. Right now I'm not looking forward to it.
Ont the bright side, I'll know where to get a good deal on an XDCam!
PRESS RELEASE
FOX TELEVISION STATIONS ADOPT PANASONIC P2 HD/P2 FOR ALL OWNED-AND-OPERATED STATIONS
SECAUCUS, NJ (January 16, 2007) -- Panasonic Broadcast today announced that it has signed a three-year agreement with the Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. to supply P2 HD and P2 solid-state camcorders and recorders to all Fox owned-and-operated television stations.
Fox Television Stations, Inc. part of the Fox Entertainment Group, is one of the nation's largest owned-and-operated broadcast groups, and comprises 35 stations in 26 markets, covering nearly 45% of U.S. television homes. This includes five duopolies in the top 10 markets, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Washington D.C., as well as duopolies in Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Orlando.
Under the terms of the three-year agreement, Panasonic will be the exclusive supplier of certain electronic news gathering (ENG) equipment for Fox’s owned-and-operated television stations. The agreement covers AJ-HPX2000 2/3" P2 HD camcorders, AJ-HPM100 P2 HD mobile recorders, P2 Cards as well as P2 drives and other P2 products.
John Baisley, President, Panasonic Broadcast, said, "We are very pleased to be chosen by Fox, one of our original development partners for P2, to supply its television stations with P2 HD and P2 equipment. This substantial commitment reinforces Panasonic’s leadership in high definition."
"P2 is a proven technology with extensive customer experience, and Panasonic is deeply committed to the continued development of innovative yet practical P2 HD solid state solutions that deliver substantial workflow improvements and overall operating efficiencies," added Baisley.
Currently, five Fox stations – WNYW-TV and WWOR-TV, New York City; WTXF-TV, Philadelphia, KRIV-TV, Houston; and KTVI-TV, St. Louis; are using Panasonic’s P2 standard definition equipment in their news production operations.
About P2 HD
P2 HD provides the reliability of solid state production, the immediate connectivity to existing IT infrastructures; the speed, ease of use and portability of P2 cards; and the interoperability with leading NLE systems. The core products within the P2 HD product line offer solid-state high definition recording without the mechanical wear and environmental limitations of tape, hard disk, and optical disc based systems. P2 HD insures the highest reliability, especially in challenging conditions of extreme temperature range, shock, and vibration. P2 HD products provide a significant reduction in maintenance costs, longer useful product life, and immediate access to recorded video (no need to digitize, ingest or create proxy video files) and metadata.
The multi-format AJ-HPX2000, the first shoulder-mount camcorder in Panasonic’s P2 HD series, features a native HD progressive 2/3" 3-CCD system that offers superb recording in 1080i, 720p, 480i, 576i and in a total of 17 high definition and standard definition formats. Designed to support versatile compression rates, the
AJ-HPX2000 is switchable between DVCPRO HD/50/25 and DV as well as the new AVC-Intra codec, the industry’s most advanced image compression technology.
The AJ-HPM100 P2 Mobile features multi-format recording and playback with a six-slot P2 card reader, versatile inputs/outputs (including HD-SDI, IEEE 1394, USB 2.0), an SD memory card slot, broadcast-level editing controls including a job/shuttle dial and audio faders, and a 9-inch widescreen HD LCD monitor with stereo speakers. The P2 Mobile offers the benefits of solid-state performance with on-the-go recording, editing and playback in the world’s leading video formats, including up/down/cross conversion between 1080i and 720p and between high definition and standard definition.
About Panasonic Broadcast
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast and professional video products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Panasonic Corporation of North America. The company is the North American headquarters of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast.
4 comments:
If you read the blog this summer, you'll know we went P2. We love it. Any questions just holla
This is a bizarre move considering the XD infrastructure is already there and people are happy with it.
Either Panasonic did a really good sales pitch, or the 1/2" thing has really bitten Sony in the backside. After all, the 2000's AVC Intra codec records 10-bit colour (like Digibeta) at high bitrates. They may consider it more versatile in that regard.
This sounds like a pretty serious blow for Sony.
Hate to say it but I think our network will go P2.
I did all the trials with other staff elsewhere and we made our assesment. I suggest the decision was already made before we did the trials.
Management love the idea of moving away from a tape/disk etc.
Ask me again soon, should have an answer on final decision.
I'm sure management loves the idea. And it's probably mgmt so far removed from the actual day to day duties of shooting and editing and archiving and holding footage to air way later....(breath!)
The biggest problem to me though, is going to be holding on to the footage I am gathering until it is time to edit.
Post a Comment