Re: Is the HDX900 history?

Dear Jan,

I don't think Ernie is alone in his fears. The full court press that Panasonic is putting behind the P2 product line is giving lots of us a bit of concern. For some folks the P2 is a great solution, but some of us need/ want tape for very good reasons. As more and more content producers decide on format choices DVCPRO 100 tape may be less appealing because of the big elephant P2 push. As a courtesy and to provide clarity for all of its customers Panasonic should make a stated, overt commitment to DVCPRO 100
tape based solutions for a stated time period going forward. This may be a lost cause since the new Varicam models are P2.

To be honest I have put off the purchase of a AJ-1400 deck because almost all of the marketing push is towards P2 technology. Although not as good a compression technology I am holding off to see how the XDCAM 2/3" cameras take hold and may adopt that since at least for news CBS and CNN have adopted it (and ABC looks like it will). I know for higher end production DVCPRO 100 is superior, but for a shoot and ship freelancer this may be where the market migrates. As far as shooting and editing HD projects in house I digitize out of my HDX-900 via SDI to ioHD for now. HD is less than 20% of my work right now and I have 2000 hours left on my HDX heads so this seems like a great solution until this whole matter sorts itself out.

I have no regrets buying the HDX-900 because of its 720/1080 flexibility and every freelance shoot request I get is for that or a Varicam (and after a brief discussion the HDX fits the bill).
What should Panasonic do?

1. Clearly state support and ongoing production of DVCPRO 100 tape technology so others will not be fearful of investing in the HDX-900/ AJ-1400. A parallel marketing campaign for the tape based system does not have to undermine P2.

2. Reduce the price of the 1400 or roll out a "work horse" DVCPRO HD tape machine. Most edit systems can do all of the down/cross and up conversions so what smaller shops need is a deck in the "spirit" of the Betacam SP 1800 -- affordable and practical. I hate to say this, but maybe a player NLE deck since lots of projects will be output to Blu-Ray or some file type. I think most broadcast and cable shows require a HDCAM SR tape print anyways.

3. Keep an eye on new product opportunities in the tape work flow space. A lower cost tape camera built in the chassis of the HPX-500 is one that comes to mind. Having different levels of product cost helps a format thrive.

4. Explore Disk technology and maybe (gasp!) license the XDCAM format because of its random access strengths and proxy file creation. I don't think I will live to see this happen, but disks have the benefits of producing instantly deliverable shooting product with the benefits of P2's random access.

5. Make a P2 recorder like a Firestore drive that us HDX-900 owners could attach to the camera and record P2 files. If we have lost the battle, this would let us preserve out $30K investment in the tape based camera. I would bet that there are schematics for such a device in a file cabinet somewhere. If P2 is the future for Panasonic I see this as a moral imperative for its HDX-900 tape customers (Varicam has no Firewire). I envision a flat pack style (2X2) case powered from the camera and using the 1394 port for data. Those who want to archive to tape and have instantly available P2 media can have it both ways. Panasonic can still champion P2 and give us an option to boot.

I want to say how happy I am with the HDX-900 (and SDX-900) cameras that I own. Customers keep calling for them, the menus (especially PAINT) are clear and powerful. They look great, are reliable, and have paid for themselves quickly. As we move ahead in acquisition technology every manufacturer needs to see the continuing need for a recording medium that we an pop out of a camera and hand to a producer, uplink facility or the FedEx guy.

Those are my thoughts and would be interested in the thoughts of others.

Sincerely,
George

George Griswold
www.videonow.info
New Orleans, Louisiana