The entrance to the open MPEG world
Ever since the launch of the Betacam® system concept 20 years ago, Sony half-inch camcorders have set distinctive milestones in the evolution of news reporting and program production operations. The analog Betacam and Betacam SP™ formats introduced a new freedom for mobile acquisition in ENG (Electronic News Gathering) and EFP (Electronic Field Production), and the Digital Betacam format was the subsequent innovation that brought true 4:2:2 digital recording into the field. Today, both analog and digital formats remain in service in virtually every type of program origination, offering a level of reliability and performance that only Sony Betacam technology provides.
The wide acceptance of the Digital Betacam format paved the way to the subsequent development of a digital replacement for the analog Betacam format in the broadcast newsgathering world, with the unique advantage of using MPEG technology for data rate efficiency and high quality video capture. This was the Betacam SX® format series equipment, which is now known as the ‘digital workhorse’ for use in the arduous environment of ENG operations.
The rapid success of Betacam SX gear used in ENG applications, together with the advent of DTV distribution and transmission, was the motivation behind the development of a higher bit-rate MPEG 4:2:2P@ML format for use in broadcast studio operations. Through close collaboration between key manufacturers and research centers, the prime goal of achieving seamless interoperability between equipment to provide an open, end-to-end, MPEG-based solution was achieved. The conclusion was to utilize an I-frame only, MPEG 4:2:2P@ML infrastructure to provide the highest level of efficiency throughout the entire programming chain. Sony indicated its commitment to the MPEG-based infrastructure with the introduction of a range of I-frame only, MPEG 4:2:2P@ML equipment, represented by the MPEG IMX™ studio VTRs, Video Servers, XPRI™ NLE, and MPEG transcoders. To complete this picture, Sony has now introduced the MSW-900 MPEG IMX camcorder. The MSW-900 originates 50 Mb/s 4:2:2 digital video with four channels of digital audio by combining all the benefits of I-frame only, MPEG 4:2:2P@ML recording with the two decades of Sony experience with 1/2-inch broadcast camcorders. It inherits the proven advantages of the Betacam format series, providing the same level of reliability, mobility and operability for which they are famous. In addition, new and unique camera and recording features are also part of the MSW-900 design.
The MSW-900 is poised to play a vital role as the primary acquisition tool for a complete 50 Mb/s MPEG-based system solution.
*Two models of the MSW-900 are available: the MSW-900 for NTSC and the MSW-900P for PAL.
