ON-BOARD STORAGE

Many return home from NAB with stacks of information they hope will help them in making purchase decisions in the year ahead. We noticed a clear trend this year from manufacturers showing on-board storage solutions for content creators who want to capture to hard disk.

While disk-based acquisition is not new, the number of manufacturers showing these storage solutions suggests content creators want to avoid tape transfer times and take advantage of “ready to edit” functionality. JVC previewed a new file-based recording solution that combines solid-state memory and long length hard disk recording. The upcoming MR-HD200U attaches to any JVC ProHD 200 Series camcorder. It records on non-proprietary Secure Digital High Capacity solid state memory cards and also features a built-in hard drive for extended record times of up to 10 hours. The recorded image is the same, whether captured to solid-state memory or the disk drive.

Maxell introduced a lightweight and rugged removable hard drive for field acquisition. The Field Archive Media solution uses Maxell’s iVDR technology and connects directly to a camera through a bi-directional USB or eSATA adapter, delivering 10-bit, 4:2:2 master-quality video and native full HD video. A 160GB unit was shown at NAB and a 250GB unit is expected later in ‘08.

Sony expanded the capabilities of its XDCAM EX line with the PHU-60K, a 60GB storage solution with a USB 2.0 interface. EX cameras use SxS Pro solid state memory cards for acquisition and the new PHU-60K expands on record times, allowing users to capture 200 minutes in 35Mbps and 260 minutes in 25Mbps modes.

Focus Enhancements showed the FS-100 Portable DTE recorder, a “direct to edit” field recorder for Panasonic’s AG-HVX200 P2 camera. Available in 100-, 160- and 250GB configurations, the unit captures audio, video, timecode and control info through a single FireWire cable. Users can record to disk and P2 simultaneously.

And Shining Technology showed a 160GB version of its CitiDisk (Q2), which attaches to most FireWire-enabled DV or HDV cameras, as well as to many DVCPRO HD cameras. They claim up to 160 minutes of HD record time.