In Broadcast - January 2015 - 26

26

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 1 | January 2015

InFocus

Advances In Camera
Technology
Contributing Editor Adrian Pennington
ﬁnds that broadcast friendly 4K camera
systems, new options for cine-style TV
and lightﬁeld capture to Avid are among
recent developments in acquisition...

A

decade ago - that's pre-YouTube
- pretty much the only way you
could watch TV was on the box. Today
you can view video on your watch. The
accessibility and demand for video has
changed almost beyond recognition
while the advance of higher resolution
is continual. In live events, theatre,
concerts and corporate productions as
well as motion pictures and television,
4K is now the premium production
value.
Without needing to overhaul their
delivery infrastructure, IPTV services
like Netﬂix have led 4K to the home

but producers of drama, natural
history and increasingly documentarystyle shows are looking to master at
higher quality because UHD is seen
as an inevitable replacement for HD
broadcasts.
Ferdinand
Kayser,
CCO
at
Luxembourg-based satellite operator
SES, expects some key European
broadcasters to have 4K channels on
air next year [2016]. "The catalyst will
be the UEFA soccer and Rio Olympics."
SES expects that by 2020 there will
be some 200 UHD channels on air
worldwide, being viewed on about

AJA's CION records
4K 60p in RAW & ProRes

100 million screens. "By 2025 that will
grow to 1000 UHD channels, and more
than 500 million displays in use."

Grass Valley's LDX 4K/UHD camera
due to launch around now is for
studio, OB or shoulder-mounted work.
It deploys three 2/3-inch sensors
each offset by half-pixel from each
other. It records a 4:4:4 RAW signal
upconverted for maximum quality.
"The advantage is the same
sensitivity, depth of ﬁeld, and dynamic
range as a regular HD camera," said
Klaus Weber, GV's Senior Product
Marketing Manager. "Unlike cameras
that need a PL-to-B4 converter, it
doesn't lose any sensitivity and it has
the depth of ﬁeld you need to track a
player across a ﬁeld and keep them in
focus."
It onboards a solution to improve
the sharpness of broadcast lenses and
supports GV's full range of accessories,
including the SuperXpander for large
lens productions.
Panasonic
is
thinking
along
similar lines but is a little behind
in development. It wants market
feedback on its concept camera which
seeks to unite a single 4K sensor with
standard broadcast lenses.
It may even produce this idea as
a third interchangeable head for
its modular new Varicam 35 which
already has a 2/3-inch high-speed
240fps HD head and another for 35mm
UHD.

Higher Rates
The stumbling block for broadcasters
is 4K live. BT Sport, BBC, Sky
Deutschland & BSkyB have conducted
extensive tests on a range of live
sports and all feel that higher frame
rates need to be built into the UHD
package. They and their OB suppliers
have also been reluctant to invest
in 4K single sensor systems camera
technology.
That will change now there are 4K
cameras with native B4 lens mounts
coming to market allowing use of an
operator's existing broadcast lens
stock which not only saves on investing
in cine-style lenses but retains the
ability to cover fast-paced sports
action with a deep depth of ﬁeld.
The Hitachi SK-UHD4000 4K camera
was developed using feedback from
sports production companies. It
houses four 2/3-inch CMOS sensors
(one red, one blue and two green
for extra sensitivity) and delivers a
simultaneous UHD and HD output.
At time of writing the camera was
still in test at Gearhouse, the rental
ﬁrm which shelled out several million
pounds to acquire 50 units.
"It can output HD
SDI for those not yet
ready to transmit 4K
but who want to build a
library of 4K footage,"
conﬁrmed Paddy Roache,
Hitachi's UK Director.
"It's the most logical
way forward, to allow
production
companies
to make reasonable
ﬁnancial
evaluations
about moving into 4K."
Hitachi SK-UHD4000 4K camera has UHD and HD outputs
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://vimeo.com/115109981 http://www.truelens.co.uk http://www.hitachikokusai.us/Products/BroadcastandProfessionalCameras/BroadcastandStudioProductionCameras/POC_021492.html http://www.truelens.co.uk
In Broadcast - January 2015

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