Panasonic
announced the expansion of its Professional
AVCCAM line of professional solid state high
definition products with the introductions
of the AG-HMR10 handheld, battery-operated
field recorder/player and the AG-HCK10
compact, multi-purpose camera head.
Offering the
unbeatable combination of high quality, low
cost and extreme mobility, the new AVCCAM
recorder and camera utilize advanced
compression (MPEG-4/AVC High-Profile) and
are ideal for applications in video
production, sports coaching, healthcare,
law enforcement, remote operation/
surveillance, and much more. Equipped with
an HD-SDI input and output, the HMR10
recorder is also suitable for back-up
recording from any HD-SDI-enabled camera or
for use in studio or event production. .
Designed for use
with the HMR10 recorder, the small HCK10
camera head features three 1/4” native HD
resolution MOS imagers. Iris, focus, zoom
control and power are supplied from the
HMR10 recorder. Cables connecting the camera
to recorder will be available in lengths up
to 10 meters .
The HMR10
provides the flexibility of low cost, SD
memory card based recording and full 1080
and 720 resolution capture in a small,
portable unit. Utilizing AVCHD, an MPEG-4 /AVC
Hi Profile-based format, the HMR10 provides
a near doubling of bandwidth efficiency with
improved video performance over the older
MPEG-2 compression used in HDV formats. SD
cards containing AVCCAM recordings can be
played directly in a growing number of
affordable Panasonic Blu-ray players, Sony
PlayStation 3®* game machines, PCs and other
devices.
The handheld
unit records stunning full HD 1920x1080
resolution images in three recording modes –
the highest quality PH mode* (average 21
Mbps/max. 24 Mbps), HA mode (approx.17 Mbps)
and HG mode (approx.13 Mbps). The HE mode
(approx. 6 Mbps) records at 1440x1080. The
HMR10 records in HD formats including
1080/60i, 1080/50i, 720/60p and 720/50p.
With the HMR10,
users can capitalize on the cost advantages,
reliability and widespread availability of
SD and SDHC memory cards. Using just one
32GB SDHC memory card, a user can record
three hours of full resolution 1920x1080
video and audio in PH mode, four hours at HA
mode and 5.3 hours at HG mode. In the HE
mode, the camera can record up to 12 hours
of 1440x1080 HD content – all on a single
32GB SDHC card.
The HMR10 comes
standard with interface connections
including the HD-SDI in/out, HDMI out and
USB 2.0. Professional audio features include
an internal speaker and headphone mini jack.
Compact and lightweight, the handheld unit
has a built-in 3.5-inch colour LCD monitor
that displays content in thumbnail images
for quick viewing. The HMR10 operates on
battery or 7.3V DC power.
For editing or
playback, professionals can instantly
transfer content from the SD Card to Mac or
PC computers with an SD/SDHC card reader or
by connecting the HMR10 recorder directly
via its USB 2.0 interface.
AVCHD is
supported by wide range of editing options
including Apple Final Cut Pro 6.0.5, Adobe
Premier Pro CS4, Grass Valley Edius PRO
v4.5, Pinnacle Studio Plus 11, Pinnacle
Studio Ultimate 12, Nero7 Premium Reloaded,
Apple iMovie, Ulead Video Studio 11 plus and
DVD Movie Factory 6 Plus. In addition, a
free transcoder, available for download from
the Panasonic Broadcast web site, will
convert AVCHD files to DVCPRO HD and
downconverted DV files for use with most
existing professional editing packages.
Panasonic’s
AVCCAM series brings the benefits of
solid-state recording to budget-conscious
professionals. Like digital still
photography, recording onto SD/SDHC cards
offers a fast and simple, file-based
workflow with ultra-reliable performance and
resistance to shock, vibration and extreme
temperatures and weather. SD and SDHC memory
cards are inexpensive, widely available and
can be reused repeatedly. Since AVCHD
records video as digital data files, content
can be transferred and stored on affordable,
high-capacity hard disk drives (HDD) or
optical storage media and transferred to
future storage media as technology advances.
