Sony Continues The Evolution Of XDCAM Tapeless Acquisition Technology

"Sony is continuing the evolution of its XDCAM line of tapeless acquisition by unveiling new technologies at NAB. These include recording to ExpressCard high-speed flash media, as well as 50 Mbps 4:2:2 optical disc recording.

Future versions of the XDCAM system are planned to include a camcorder and deck with multi-format 2/3-inch HD progressive CCDs (1920 by 1080), recording bit-rate of 50 Mbps, 1080 and 720 native recording and eight channels of audio. The camcorder, deck and drive will support both single- and dual-layer versions of Sony’s Professional Disc media for the XDCAM system, which enables recording up to approximately 100 minutes at 50Mbps HD 4:2:2.

The planned XDCAM EX unit will expand upon Sony’s XDCAM line of tapeless acquisition technologies, using flash memory technology: the SxS memory card specification, with high-speed transfer technology compliant to the ExpressCard industry standard. According to Ott, ExpressCard’s higher speed and smaller form factor will make Sony’s evolution to flash media a natural progression and open the door to a broader range of applications for tapeless production.

The planned camcorder is based on MPEG-2 compression technology with three-inch imagers. It will be switchable between 1080/60i and 720/60P, and be capable of recording 1080/50i/30P/25P/24P and 720/50P. The camera will also have slow and quick motion functionality.

The camera will feature two card slots, and users will be able to record approximately 120 minutes of content on two16 GB card. Sony is planning to introduce both 8GB and 16GB flash memory media initially."

source