HDCAM

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Ready-to-shoot HDW-750P HDCAM with Angenieux lens

HDCAM is a format developed by Sony in 1997 for a complete production system for the production of feature films and HDTV .

It includes digital cinema cameras , monitors, viewfinders, tape recorders and transmission technology and exists in the two sub-standards HDCAM and HDCAM SR. In addition to HDCAM, Sony also uses Cinealta as a brand name for the system in order to underline the focus on cinema production and as an alternative to 16 mm and 35 mm film . In 2004 Sony received an Emmy for its HDCAM camera HDW900.

Other providers

Numerous other suppliers make devices that use HDCAM and HDCAM SR. For example, the following manufacturers offer cameras that can record on HDCAM:

commitment

The format quickly established itself and is mainly used instead of or together with 16 and 35 mm film for series and cinema productions. Which devices are used in which combination varies. Typical examples for different uses are:

Typical areas of application for TV and live productions are sport, for example the 2004 Summer Olympics or the 2006 World Cup , concerts, for example by Robbie Williams or in the Metropolitan Opera, or series, for example Battlestar Galactica or Star Trek: Enterprise .

equipment

HDCAM master recorder for digital cinema and HDTV

For HDCAM there are devices for the entire production process. The devices can be divided into six categories, the typical devices are named in each case.

  • camcorder
    • The F900 / F900R has a refresh rate of 24p, 25p, 30p or 50i and 60i.
    • 750P / 790P has a refresh rate of 25p and 50i.

These camcorders have the same optical block, the same housing and offer an uncompressed 1080p HD-SDI output as well as an integrated HDCAM recorder. They mainly differ in terms of the refresh rates available. These camcorders are the most widely used devices for making digital cinema and HDTV productions.

Construction of a set and checking of the illumination using a BVM-HD reference monitor from Sony
Connection panel of a BVM20 measuring monitor
  • Recorder
    • J-H3 is an HDCAM player.
    • HDW2020P is an HDCAM studio recorder.
    • The SRW5500 and SRW5800 are HDCAM SR studio recorders.
    • SRW1 is a portable HDCAM SR recorder. It is often used to record from camera heads from other manufacturers such as ARRI , Panavision or Thomson .

There is a large number of different devices for the recorders. Relevant differentiation criteria are, for example, the ability to play SD formats such as Betacam , Digital Betacam or IMX as well as the ability to copy losslessly using SDTI .

  • Monitors
    • The BVM14, 20, 24 and 32 models are measurement and reference monitors based on tubes. They are very heavy and expensive and are used almost exclusively for mastering and color correction. You have extensive connection options.
    • The LMD series includes LCD-based production monitors. They are compact and inexpensive and are used for viewing. They do not offer perfect reproduction and have limited connectivity.

Unlike recorders and camcorders, Sony faces tough competition when it comes to LCD monitors. Other manufacturers such as Panasonic or JVC offer numerous alternative devices. Since these can work together with the standardized HD-SDI interface with HDCAM devices that also use other HD standards, there is a large selection of non-Sony solutions. There are also highly specialized solutions, such as the monitors from Astro. These offer numerous additional functions for turning.

HD camera heads that can be used with HDCAM are available from numerous manufacturers such as Canon , Ikegami , Panasonic or JVC .

  • Viewfinder
    • Sony HDVFC30 is an LCD-based HD color viewfinder with focus assist functions.
    • Accuscene is an LCD-based HD color viewfinder, typically used with Panavision HDCAM cameras.

Some cameras used with HDCAM, such as the ARRI D-20 , have optical viewfinders.

  • Editing stations and color correction
    • Sony XPRI is currently the only native HDCAM mastering system.

Numerous other solutions exist, for example from Apple , Adobe or Autodesk . These do not work with native HDCAM data, but have to convert the image data.

  • Further device classes

In the field of HDCAM technology, a large number of different device manufacturers have established themselves who manufacture different devices for use with HDCAM, such as image mixers and switching devices, wireless transmission systems, vector / wave measuring devices, etc.

HDCAM SR cassette, type S
HDCAM cassette, type S
HDCAM cassette, type L

Tapes

The recording time of the cassettes depends on the frame rate. A 40-minute cassette offers around 40 minutes of recording capacity at 30p, but around 50 minutes at 24p. HDCAM uses the typical Sony half-inch format. There are two sizes of cassette

  • S: 6, 12, 22, 32 and 40 minutes at 30p / 60i,
  • L: 34, 64, 94 and 124 minutes at 30p / 60i or 149 minutes at 25p / 50i

The smaller S-cassettes are typically used for spinning in the camcorders, the larger L-cassettes for making master tapes. HDCAM tapes are usually black with an orange border, HDCAM-SR tapes are black with a cyan border.

technology

HDCAM processes 1080p with a color depth of 8 or 10 bit in YUV or RGB. The devices are typically connected using HD-SDI or SDTI. The two sub-formats are rasterized differently internally:

  • HDCAM camera via HD-SDI live or on hard disk: YCbCr422, 10 bit. Corresponding to: 1920 × 1080.
  • HDCAM recording on tape: with YCbCr311, 8 bit. Correspondingly: 1440 × 1080.
  • HDCAM-SR recording on tape with YCbCr 422 or RGB444 with MPEG-4 , 10 bit. Corresponding to: 1920 × 1080.
  • HDCAM-SR on HD-SDI, RGB444, 10 bit. Corresponding to: 1920 × 1080.

Both tape formats are used for cinema film productions and represent the lion's share of all previous digital feature film productions. The article Digital cinema camera provides an overview of relevant directors, films and the camera used .

In filming practice, recording is made either on HDCAM tape, HDCAM-SR tape or directly on the hard drive. The quality increases here from HDCAM (YCbCr 3: 1: 1) via SR (YCbCr 4: 2: 2 / RGB4: 4: 4) to disk (YUV / RGB 4: 2: 2/4: 4: 4 uncompressed) on. The cameras and their source resolutions are identical, only the recorded material varies. The HDCAM camcorders use 8-bit 3: 1: 1 compression for tape recording, while uncompressed material with a color depth of 10 bit is available at the HD-SDI outputs (1920 × 1080). The video bit rate stored on tape is 144 Mbit / s and the stored sound is encoded on 4 audio channels with 48 kHz and 20-bit PCM , alternatively for cinema films according to AC3 with 5.1 sound.

The extended version HDCAM SR was introduced in 2003. This system uses a tape that can store the data in a higher data density and records the video signal in 4: 4: 4 RGB or YCbCr 4: 2: 2 with a bit rate of 440 Mbit / s. The increased bit rate allows HDCAM SR to record the full bandwidth of the 1080p or 1080i signal (1920 × 1080) without reducing the image to 1440 × 1080 pixels using 3: 1: 1 as with HDCAM. HDCAM SR uses MPEG-4 compression and extends the spectrum of audio channels to up to 12 tracks.

The HD-SDI outputs of the 750, 900R and 950 cameras are used for very complex recordings in cinema production (the older 900 camera only offers HD-SDI outputs with the HDCA901 camera adapter) and is completely loss-free and uncompressed on the hard drive recorded. Although this does not provide any improvement in the quality of the image that is immediately perceptible to the human eye, it does create reserves in post-production for keying, tracking, etc.

Both formats offer almost all the necessary image recording frequencies 23.97 / 24/25 and 30p as well as 50 / 59.97 and 60i. For higher frame rates, only camera heads are available, not camcorders.

The smaller models camera 730 and recorder HDWM2000 / 1 do not offer the progressive full-screen function necessary for cinema production and only work with interlaced images. The large models camera 750 and 900 and recorder HDWM2000 / 20 and 500 offer interlaced and progressive images.

SDTI

The SDTI interface is of particular importance with HDCAM . This interface can be used for lossless copying, similar to a DV using FireWire, for example . With the non-linear editing suite XPRI, Sony offers a native editing and mastering system for HDCAM. Thus, in the 0 generation, the material can be recorded, copied, cut and mastered with the camera without creating a generation of tapes. The digital data on the tape, not the video signals, is transferred using the SDTI interface.

Spread and outlook

As with all changes from analog, mechanical and chemical processes to digital production (e.g. from lead typesetting to laser imagesetter in printing, from multi-track tape to hard disk recorder in sound, from classic film to digital photography, etc.), there is a lively discussion about the consequences the HDCAM format for chemical film.

Many TV series that were previously made on film so that they could be marketed internationally are now being made in HDTV format. In the last few years, feature films made on HDCAM and HDCAM SR have regularly made their way into the cinema top ten or, as with Sin City , number 1 in the visitor charts.

Sony is trying to drive digital development further by establishing strategic partnerships with previous competitors for development and sales. Sony developed the Genesis for Panavision . The high price for HDCAM devices has hitherto prevented the Betacam from being widely distributed and many devices are only used on loan.

See also