LA QUINTA, FREBRUARY 6, 2004 -
Today was Day 2 of the HPA Technology Retreat hosted by broadcast
engineering guru Mark Schubin. Without a doubt the highlight was
tonight's softball round robin tournament at Wrigley Field in the Field
of Dreams Park in Palm Springs. The Spatial team led by Pat Griffis of
Microsoft went undefeated with your humble correspondent playing first
base on a 2 for 2 night. For those of you keeping score, HDTV Magazine
contributor Pete Putman's Bit Depth team was soundly defeated by Spatial
7-3.
There are several outstanding demonstration exhibits here at the Tech
Retreat, though only a few may be of real interest to the HDTV consumer.
JVC has brought a keen demonstration of their full D-VHS based HD
Distribution Suite. This includes their newly released
DM-JV600 encoder,
SR-VDA300US ProHD Mastering Recorder (basically an HM-DH3000U with a
grafted ASI input box on the bottom), and the SR-VD400US
ProHD D-VHS
VCR (modified from the HM-DH40000U). Security on this digital daily
system now contains up to three tiers of password protection. The system
has been used on many recent films including Sea Biscuit and Pirates of
the Caribbean. Combined cost of the package is well under $30,000. JVC
officials are very hush hush with regards to a potential second
generation HDV MPEG2 camcorder. However, I was able to learn at CES that
plans are in the works for a true 720p/60 recorder, with an introduction
that could come as soon as the NAB Convention in April. JVC also has the
 CU-VH1,
a very cool portable tiny mini-DV HDV VCR with a pop-up LCD display.
This is a natural travelling companion to an HDV camcorder. Price still
not set but hopefully under $2K.
Sony is a signatory to the HDV
format (along with Sharp and Canon) and they are also denying comment on
rumors that their maiden HDV camcorder will be the first to incorporate
the highly coveted 1080i 25mbs format contained in the HDV specs.
Sony is showing off their new
HDCAM SR acquisition and storage system which can deliver a whopping
440 Mbps payload of full bandwidth 1080i with 10 bit video sampling.
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Another very cool and inexpensive product is the
HDVI-10
from Doremi Labs. This tiny box will convert HD and SD SDI to DVI for
use with the the
3840x2400 IBM and ViewSonic "Bertha" 22 inch wide screen LCD
computer monitors. Forget everything you've heard about these displays
not being capable of handling full motion high definition. With the
HDVI-10 Bertha delivers honest to God full resolution HD video with
ease. Price near $1000.
Mike Tsinberg of Key
Digital is showing a box, the HD Hanna, aimed at the high end home
theater user that will convert analog component to DVI scaled up to
1080p60 that should also be compatible with these very high resolution
displays. Moreover, Hanna contains a true digital path ATSC STB with two
firewire ports for archiving to hard disc or D-VHS with on board video
scaling. Mike will also be moderating the high definition video disc
panel tomorrow which should be a major source of fireworks. No word yet
on whether the US Justice Department will be sending along a panelist.
The mother of all demonstrations this year without a doubt is the
Cobalt Entertainment
NFL in HD in 3D. Details of this system were discussed in a recent New
York Times article. NFL Films has contracted with Cobalt and its CEO
Steve Schklair to produce an NFL in
3D IMAX production using
high definition cameras instead of IMAX film. Steve had just returned
from the SuperBowl where he reports having captured both Janet Jackson
and the streaker in 3D. Seriously, the demonstration footage shot with
this system at a recent San Diego vs Seattle game was simply
astonishing. Coming to an IMAX or Digital theater near you in less than
two years!
Continued
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