Overview Chapter 1

1-1Features

The PDW-V1 Professional Disc Recorder is a compact and lightweight unit, offered as an affordable solution for playing back optical discs as well as for audio and video data file recording through its (network) connector or S400 (i.LINK 1)) connector. It is ideal for field applications, and for desktop viewing by journalists, producers, and other production staff.

1) i.LINK is a trademark of Sony Corporation.

The features of the PDW-V1 include the following.

Playback of MPEG IMX/DVCAM

The PDW-V1 offers the capability to play back both MPEG IMX 1) and DVCAM 1) streams. Users have the flexibility to select from these formats according to their picture-quality needs.

1) MPEG IMX and DVCAM are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

Recording video and audio data as files

Though the PDW-V1 does not have video and audio input connectors, it is possible to record AV data as files through its (network) connector or S400 (i.LINK) connector.

Proxy AV data

The proxy AV data is a low-resolution, MPEG-4 based version of the full-resolution MPEG IMX/DVCAM stream. When a full-resolution MPEG IMX/DVCAM file is transferred, a proxy AV stream file that is time code synchronized with the full-resolution stream, is also created automatically on the disc. This proxy AV data, which is smaller in size, is easier to work with and can be transferred over common networks at much greater speeds. The proxy AV data can be transferred at upto 30 times faster than real time.

Thumbnail search operation

Simply press the THUMBNAIL button and the PDW-V1 instantly displays these thumbnails on either its LCD display or a connected monitor. You can easily cue up the desired scene by guiding the cursor to the corresponding thumbnail and confirming your selection with the SET button.

Scene selection

You can create and play back clip lists of selected clips from the disc, arranged in any order.

One disc can store up to 99 clip lists.

Clip lists make it simple to perform offline editing in the field for later use with full-scale nonlinear editing systems (XPRI 1), etc.).

1) XPRI is a trademark of Sony Corporation.

Quick picture search by jog and shuttle dials

The PDW-V1 has jog and shuttle dials as a conventional VTR to search picture in a clip. The jog dial is for frame- by-frame search at ±1 times normal speed and the shuttle dial is for high-speed search at up to ±20 times normal speed.

IT-friendly system

In the Professional Disc, clips are recorded as video and audio data files 1). This file-based recording system also allows material to be viewed directly on a computer linked to the PDW-V1 via an i.LINK (file access mode, called FAM below) connection—in the same way that a computer reads data files on an external drive. The interfaces include the S400 (i.LINK) connector, supporting AV/C (Audio/Video Control) and i.LINK (FAM) protocols, and (network) connector. The (network) connector supports MXF (Material eXchange Format) file transfer capability to exchange contents with other equipment supporting MXF.

16 1-1 Features