In the constantly evolving professional and broadcast video marketplace, JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY is proud of its history of uniquely anticipating market dynamics and providing logical, affordable, high performance solutions. As we say, our products have "The Power to Take You Further."
This year at NAB, JVC offers exciting new products for three core market segments: traditional broadcasters and video professionals, digital cinematography (from production through presentation) and webcasters. In its booth, JVC will demonstrate the versatility and value of its products with compelling demonstrations that drive home why now, more than ever, customers across the spectrum are relying on JVC. In each case, JVC has engineered application-specific solutions across its product line, providing users a wide range of economic and technical options.
Traditional Broadcast Market
JVC offers powerful, economical solutions for the broadcast market. Although broadcast customers are facing an FCC-imposed timetable, they've taken a methodical approach to embracing HDTV--choosing practical, cost-effective interim solutions. In many instances, facilities are installing an SDI infrastructure, and upconverting standard definition programming. JVC's Professional DV, D-9 and upconversion products are ideally positioned to effectively and economically meet the needs of today's broadcasters.
What is Professional DV?
JVC's Professional DV products offer high quality (better than Beta SP) and are the sensible alternative to other manufacturers' 25 mbps interim formats. Using economical and widely-available MiniDV cassettes, the product line is fully professional in every respect, as evidenced by the widely acclaimed GY-DV500. Professional DV products also uniquely offer extremely low operating costs. Maintenance is easy and inexpensive, and tape costs are the lowest of all digital formats. Furthermore, tapes made on Professional DV can be played on DVCAM and DVCPRO, and directly spooled to most non-linear editing systems.
JVC has expanded the Professional DV line-up to include the GY-DV550 and GY-DV700WCL. While other manufacturers have introduced lower priced models missing features essential to broadcasters, JVC's models are fully equipped to satisfy the demanding needs of today's newsgathers.
The GY-DV550 is a feature-enhanced GY-DV500 camcorder with a video input for pool feeds, full bandwidth camera video output, and is the only DV camcorder in world to offer out-of-the-box full studio capabilities.
The GY-DV700W is true 16:9 2/3-inch 3-CCD model designed specifically for wide-screen content providers. This model was co-developed with the BBC, who is now using it for program production.
JVC's newest Professional DV camcorder is the JY-VS200U, a single CCD camcorder that offers performance superior to some competing 'prosumer' 3-CCD camcorders. This tiny camcorder is perfect as a back-up, or for use when the shooter wishes to remain inconspicuous. It also has 1.9 megapixel UXGA still capture capability, making it ideal for evidence gathering and other applications requiring both video and still shooting simultaneously.
JVC will also be demonstrating plans for a future hard disc based recording system. Shown will be a hard disc unit together with a GY-DV500 that provides parallel or series recording or back-up. This system is especially convenient for non-linear editing.
JVC's D-9 is Broadcasters' Choice
JVC's D-9 format has become the logical choice for hundreds of broadcasters and producers worldwide seeking pristine artifact-free images via 4:2:2 digital processing. In fact, D-9 has the world's largest installed base of any 50Mb digital format. It has won critical acclaim for its legendary durability, resulting in lowest cost of operation of any 'high-end' format. D-9 is uniquely suited for broadcast applications, and provides the best quality for conversion to film, as well as the best quality for upconversion to HD with JVC's new BC-D2300U Upconverter. At NAB, JVC has expanded its line-up of D-9 products and is demonstrating both standard definition and upconverted programming.
D9HD Delivered to Strategic Partners
Although the release schedule has been tempered by the industry's cautious adoption of HD, JVC has begun delivering to its strategic partners specially ordered D9HD recorders. In March 2001, 20th Century Fox Studios took delivery of custom configured D9HD recorders capable of recording in film-friendly 720P/24frame mode. These recorders offer extremely high quality HD recording and hold promise to replace film for episodic television production.
Advanced products through collaboration with other high technology companies
Developed in collaboration with 3DV Systems Ltd, the world's leading developer of depth sensing technology, (www.3dvsystems.com) JVC is demonstrating the world's first real-time depth sensing camera, the new "ZCAM.TM" The ZCAM is an amalgamation of JVC's renown KY-D29 digital signal processing camera and 3DV's Zbuffer technology, and is configured as an add-on to the KY-D29.
The ZCAMTM employs depth sensing technology that supplements every video frame with an additional frame called the "Zbuffer." This information is generated in real-time and allows the camera to see the geometry of the scene, and segment it into different objects. ZCAM gives users the ability perform advanced keying and graphic effects without the usual green screen and is not dependent on lighting. JVC and 3DV have essentially "put the studio inside the camera" opening up vast creative opportunities in production and live broadcasting.
JVC is also demonstrating the Harmonics Transrater together with an encoder and decoder developed by JVC. As a world leader in MPEG2 HDTV technology, JVC encoders and decoders have become the most widely used in Japan broadcast TV stations.
The Dawning of the Age of Digital Cinematography
In a period of time better measured by months than years, the independent production community has pointedly seized the opportunity to use digital technology instead of film for cinematic production, realizing huge savings in the process. The cost savings achieved through Digital Cinematography allows producers and directors the freedom to spend more of their budget on creative elements of the production - such as acting, lighting, sound, makeup, costumes, props, location, and staging, thereby enhancing the film's creative and commercial potential.
We've seen evidence of this with several commercially successful releases shot, not on high definition, but with standard definition video equipment. Other manufacturers have attempted to address this market with expensive, high definition systems that, because of their cost, exclude huge numbers of burgeoning filmmakers. JVC's approach to this market is to offer tools that give the filmmaker better creative control, and at prices that most can afford.
Such was the case when Johnathan Benny used the GY-DV700WU 16:9 switchable Professional DV camcorder to produce "What Else Have You Got," winner of the Vancouver Film Festival's One Shot Challenge. Click for press release.
Another example was a film shot on JVC's GY-DV500 3-chip Professional DV camcorder, "Raw Deal," a documentary produced by cinematographer Lawrence Janus which was shown and critically acclaimed at Sundance and then sold for commercial distribution at a royalty figure of seven figures. Click for press release.
JVC will showcase segments from these, and other films in its NAB booth.
CineLine - Especially Developed for Cinematography
JVC is going a step further by introducing models that are specifically tailored for cinema applications.
While recognizing the viability of using off-the-shelf video products for filmmaking, JVC knows that modifying certain parameters will provide dramatic improvements in the quality of the resulting film. Additionally, those users choosing to remain in the digital video domain, will achieve more of a 'film-look' with equipment that has been specially developed for this application. JVC's designation for these products is "Cineline".
Initially two camcorders are being offered in JVC's Cineline, the DY-90WCL and the GY-DV700WCL. Each has a special DSP that was developed in conjunction with leading cinematographers to provide better blowups to 35mm and a more filmlike look.
The DY-90WCL uses the D-9 format that provides the cleanest, artifact-free images with the high chroma resolution afforded by 4:2:2 sampling.
Both cameras offer complete manual control over all camera functions--black stretch and compress, user adjustable gamma, color matrix control, gain and aspect ratio. All controls are at the filmmaker's fingertips. Genlock input and TC I/O are provided for multi synchronizing to other devices in the production such as audio recorders or slate. JVC's Super Scene Finder automatically creates a log of all the scenes. Significantly, a wide array of professional lenses can be used.
JVC is also developing a complete line of accessories specifically developed for filmmakers, including matte boxes, viewfinder extenders, tripods and more.
Cineline Display Products
Significantly, JVC is also developing display products within the Cineline that offer superior characteristics when used for cinema projection. Specially modified projectors that impart film image characteristics via proprietary gamma profiled software will be introduced within the coming year.
Web Streaming Content Creation and Storage solutions.
The webcasting market is spawning many new methods of distribution for traditional broadcast, and business communications. To help customers penetrate these new avenues quickly and efficiently, JVC is offering products that uniquely excel in these applications.
JVC is marketing its leading digital production products, such as Professional DV to the emerging "new market" users such as Yahoo! (click for press release) and other global webcasters. The affordability and high quality of Professional DV provides sufficient quality for web applications, with the added quality needed to expand content distribution to DVD, broadband and other modes of distribution, giving these webcasters The Power to take them Further.
JVC is introducing new "streaming-friendly" models such as the JY-VS200U single-CCD camcorder that records progressive scan video--superior for distribution over limited bandwidth connections. JVC is also showing how its advanced DV products, such as the GY-DV500U are superior for streaming applications because of unique performance characteristics and user settings that minimize the data needing to be compressed. The result is better image quality with less bandwidth.
JVC's DVD and CD library data storage systems are designed to work with streaming servers--providing viewers access to terabytes of content on demand. JVC is also demonstrating an IP MPEG encoder for this application as well as broadcast encoders and decorders.
JVC -- The Company to Trust
JVC has long been recognized and an innovative company that provides economical, real world solutions and not just products. As we enter the brave new worlds of digital television, HDTV, digital cinematography and webcasting, JVC continues to deliver high quality products that offer the Power to Take You Further.
