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Sony IP Live is the next generation of the Sony IP55 video over IP technology. The IP55 is a point-to-point solution that carries video and audio via a LAN connection. Sony IP Live is a software management solution that allows for multipoint to multipoint video control via a network switch.

URSA a full size production 4K camera gives the user the ability to switch camera sensors. BlackMagic Design is the first company to offer user upgradeable sensors in the professional digital cinema market. The URSA is designed with production crews in mind. The camera’s design accommodates EFP crews or larger commercial video crews with stations for the Camera Operator, Camera Assistant, and Audio Engineer. There are two CFast card slots which span for continuous recording. The camera is currently available in an EF and PL mount with a broadcast and HDMI camera coming soon.

Tim Smith from Canon says that 4K is here to stay. Canon currently has two cameras that record 4K the EOS 1DC and the EOS C500. The 1DC records 4K within the camera with a form factor that that is very similar to a Canon 5D Mark II or 1D. The C500 has a larger form factor and is similar in size to the Canon C300. The C500 offers 4K recording to an external field recorder like the Convergent Design Odyssey 7Q.

Convergent Design is breaking out of the on-camera field recorder mold with the Athena to deliver a product for production and post. The Athena is a 4K recorder/ player and an encoder/ decoder. Its’ intended uses are for on-location production such as for an EFP crews, live event productions, commercials, and studio productions. As a recorder it has the ability to capture one 4K stream at 60p or two 4K streams at 30p. It can also capture four HD or 2K cameras on location or in the studio with 64 channels of audio. The Ethernet connection allows the Athena to be recording and sending the signal live to post for a quick turn-around edit or another location to view the feed. The Athena, which is the size of half a rack, is also moving into post as a player and decoder. This device can even run point of sale monitors. The Athena is a dedicated hardware device not a computer with software that needs to be maintained, updated, and may crash.

Current IP55 customers include: corporations, houses of worship, state and local governments, and broadcasters. The biggest benefits for customers using the IP55 is the latency in conjunction with high quality. The IP55 can support up to four channels of 1920x1080 HD video with one field of delay to one line of video. The IP55 is a point to point solution that is plug and play.

Based on feedback from the field Sony made lighter, smaller monitors, with more features. The PVMA170 and PVMA250 monitors take lens and camera metadata from the camera inputs and display it on the monitor. The monitors showcase HD and 2K productions with all the benefits of an OLED monitor: accuracy, stability, and a picture that remains the same overtime.

This Sony 4K player is great for Event Producers, staging companies, or any organization that need to playback XAVC 4K, HD XAVC Intra, and HD MPEG-2 Long GOP 50Mbps. The unit is DC powerable, small, and portable for on-location productions but it can also be used in the edit suite or machine room. The player can read any type of SxS card and SD cards or memory sticks can both be used with an adapter. Currently, it has a HDMI and 3G-SDI interface for playback. The player also has two USB interfaces, one for a mouse and the other can transfer footage to an external drive. Sony’s target release for this player is the end of 2014.

Transferring digital video files on-site is as easy as dragging and dropping a folder from the finder to an external hard drive until something goes wrong. Eliminate human and technical errors while managing your valuable media with ShotPut Pro 5 from Imagine Products. This media management software allows video Producers, DPs, and DITs to copy files that are exact matches to one or many drives at the same time. ShotPut Pro works with HDVU 2.0 and gives the user an easy way to view any video file from all professional camera manufactures like canon, Sony, Panasonic, RED, Sony, Arri and more. These are two tools that every Producer, Camera Operator, Media Manager and DIT should have.

Do you have copies of video files on external hard drives, editing suites, and archived? Are you sure that they are exact copies? ShotSum is a file utility that uses checksum technology to compare one file to another. This program helps you manage your media by letting you know if an exact copy of the file or folder exits before you delete what you think is a duplicate folder.

New Sony PDW-850 professional video camera extends the life of the long time XDCAM HD workflow. Sony has made some improvements to the PDW-850 that include: GPS in the camera handle, improved signal to noise without any loss of sensitivity, higher resolution QHD side panel LCD, decreased power consumption, the PDW-850 can also dock a fiber or triax back on the camcorder. If you aren’t ready to give up your XDCAM HD workflow for 4K and need to add a new camera for ENG, EFP, studio, multi-camera switched shoots this might be your best bet.