Sony have released an HDCAM-SR camcorder, the SRW-9000. This will be a winner for steadicam shots, where the F23/35 have limitations due to their size and weight. This is the first Sony camcorder that permits 10-bit acquisition in HD.

Over at Panasonic, good news for those who find P2 cards too expensive. They have released an economy line, the E-series in 16, 32 and 64GB. The 64GB card will sell for $998.

Harmonic announced that they are integrating Google’s Content ID into the Rhozet Carbon Coder. When content is transcoded to a distribution format the Content ID can be generated on the fly (typically at 10X realtime). The ID is submitted to Google with usage tags. If that content is uploaded to YouTube, when it is processed to the web format, a fingerprint is generated and checked against their database. Unauthorized content is then automatically blocked. This is an easy way to control piracy from YouTube, and can be built right into a post workflow.

As stations add sub-channels after the digital transition, providing EAS to many outputs becomes expensive with discrete channel systems. Many Public stations cover a state, and may want to target one area with an EAS alert. Trilithic released at the show a way to insert EAS into an ASI transport stream. An announcement can be inserted into chosen program streams, with optional graphics insertion for snipes and logs. The system uses RGB Networks BNP for the transport stream processing.

This morning I met with Jim Frantzreb, Avid senior market segment manager for broadcast. “We’re back at NAB and exhibiting on the show floor,” he said. “We’re happy to be here, and the show’s been great for us so far.”

Frantzreb said that the company is back with a new focus. Historically, Avid has been a family of separate businesses – Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle Systems and Sibelius – that served audio and video customers independently of one another. Recognizing that Avid is stronger as a whole than as separate parts, “We realized we had to come together as one company,” Frantzreb said. more

This afternoon, I met with Shawn Maynard, Florical vice president and general manager. Before joining Florical, Maynard was the director of operations for NBC Universal’s Television Stations Division. This experience, according to Maynard, is what makes the company unique. “I run this company from a broadcaster point of view, not a vendor point of view,” he said. “This is how Florical is different from other automation companies.”

This year at the show, Florical has introduced four optional modules for its S.M.A.R.T. Central product, which is a smart client-based gateway into the company’s television broadcast automation system. It is designed to reduce redundant tasks, make systems accessible over a closed network to improve workflow while maintaining a secure system and automatically e-mail critical reports to key personnel to improve communication and response times. more

I just got done meeting with Ken Christensen, marketing manager for Sencore, who talked to me about where he sees the company going. In January, The Riverside Company acquired Sencore, and John Suranyi was named Sencore’s new CEO. Christenson said now the company is looking forward to expanding, through acquisitions and by moving into the global market.

“We’re well-positioned to expand our footprint globally,” Christensen said. “We’re definitely trying to expand into other countries.” more

This afternoon I met with Victor Herring, senior director, Video Solutions Group, Fujitsu Computer Products of America. He showed me the company’s new IP-900, a compact MPEG-4 AVC encoder for real-time IP transmission of HD and SD content for news gathering and remote applications.

The encoder features low power consumption and a compact size. At 1RU and half a rack wide, “you save money and precious rack space,” Herring said.

The IP-900 is designed to be cost efficient for mobile television newsgathering. Its versatility and high-performance capabilities enable broadcasters to deploy the encoder in unfavorable environments to ensure that the entire transmission is intact.

Among the many new products at the TANDBERG Television stand is the WatchPoint Content Management System (CMS), which provides service providers a view of the content that enters and remains in their library throughout its lifecycle. The system is designed for the centralized management of any metadata format, content type and workflow process. The file-based content ingested into and stored in the CMS may include VOD programs, advertising, music and games.

WatchPoint CMS relies on a rules management interface and extensible workflow to automate customized content processing for increased operational efficiency. It provides a scalable technology infrastructure for efficient single or multiscreen strategies, and it enables increased revenue opportunities by accelerating VOD business on any platform.

JVC (C4315) is unveiling a new compact shoulder professional camcorder developed for electronic newsgathering. The new GY-HM700 camera records directly to SDHC memory cards in the QuickTime (.MOV) format and optionally to SxS media as well. more

On March 6 Snell & Wilcox and Pro-Bel announced they would be merging to form one company. And just recently they debuted the new company name — Snell.

Representatives from both companies formed a unified front at NAB 2009 under the new name, and there were plenty of new products to see, including Pro-Bel’s 800 series. more

I met with Shawn Maynard, vice president and general manager of Florical, to see a demonstration of the company’s InventoryBrowser.

InventoryBrowser is an optional module within Florical’s S.M.A.R.T. Central product that allows the user to browse the database and view low-resolution copies of their inventory (i.e. on-air content). more

It’s for conferencing

Dave Walton showed me a technology demo that JVC (C4315) has assembled for a potential teleconference customer. It’s a 4K camera. Yep, 4K for teleconference.

Since the camera could cost $200K, I’ll only assume the potential customer has more money than most broadcasters. With this camera, the image quality is so good you could see the frown lines on your CEO’s face from 10,000 miles away!