techimoto

Introducing the Holophone H2Pro microphone. Now sound engineers can leave behind their well padded mic cases, and set up only one, instead of 5 or more, mics to capture surround sound audio. The H2-Pro terminates in eight XLR microphone cable-ends (left, right, center, low frequency, left surround, right surround, top, and center-rear) directly into your mixer, and in theory, the channels should not require in additional audio processing. These channels co-relate to the standard 5.1-channels and add a top channel for formats such as IMAX, and a center rear channel for extended surround formats such as Dolby EX and DTS ES.

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It’s like having your own personal composer, i.e., Hans Zimmer-in-a-Can; and you don’t have to be a Beethoven to use it. Its a new software product, called “Abaltat Muse”, from the Ireland based company, Abaltat (www.abaltat.com). They call it the “worlds first video-driven soundtrack composer”.

First, you import your video segment into the program. Muse can use several methods for formulating your composition; In the demo we were given at the NAB convention, Siun Ni Raghallaigh, the companies CEO, chose “color” as the key for the program to use in constructing it’s unique composition. Neuronets can also be used by the software to construct melodies (one primary, and one secondary melody), and other musical decisions needed to complete the composition. Using either of these techniques, in theory, will never give you two compositions that are exactly alike. We selected the color “red”, since the video’s main visual topic is a red sportscar. The software is also “smart enough” to take the time length of your video, and will adjust the composition to fit exactly in the video’s time frame. (more…)

We’ve got pictures and videos for this article but none will convey the realism of this new technology - it is so crystal clear it almost hurts to look at. Feature this: the camera shoots at a resolution of 8k, and is displayed on their Ultra High Definition TV System, with 4320-scanning lines (7680 x 4320 pixels). The video with this article captures the demo on NHK’s wide-screen display, already “downgraded” to a 4k resolution by NHK for use on their convention based wide-screen. We used a HD camera for this video, which brings us down to 1280 x 720, and God knows what your computer screen is doing to the images. (I guess, as the saying goes, you had to be there to truly appreciate the view).

A second demo station at NHK featured another aspect of their revolutionary technologies: video capture at 10,000 frames per second. The demo video was dramatic, displaying a water balloon in the process of a needle-induced burst. The video was replayed in slow motion, with so much detail that the audience, (us), could see the thin rubber of the balloon peeling back while the ball of water remained intact, hanging in mid-air suspension for a seeming eternity, then denigrating into thousands of droplets scattering to earth.
The camera can record with frame rates of up to 1 million frames per second.

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Are you coaching a little-league baseball team, and the batter, due to the 1000’s of fans roaring in the stands, can’t hear your instruction to “bunt” because your player is encased in protective head-gear?

We have just the technology for you (that is, if your team is well funded and can afford gear designed for, and sold to, NBA teams). They call it the QTR-1000 PlayerMic”, manufactured by Quantum5x Systems ( www.q5x.com ). It is also harolded as both the worlds tiniest transmitter, and simultaneously, the worlds “first and only rubber transmitter”. In case you’re wondering, the flexibility is there in order to absorb body-checks from 300 pound tackles (if used in football), or the impact of a hockey-puck traveling at 106 miles per hour (as clocked on December 3rd, 2006, at a Toronto MapleLeaf game). It is basically a very small wireless microphone bodypack (.35 inches thick, 1.4 inches wide, and 3.8 inches long, weighing only 1 ounce), waterproof (for sweat-resistance, and other unexpected activities). It’s Lithium batteries will last up to 12 hours, with a power output ranging from 50-250mW. The QTR-1000 has no external connectors!

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Did you know that gas prices in Norway are $10/gallon, and a beer costs $14/pint? But, they have an incredible health-care system (free), and going to a major university costs as little as $60/year. No wonder they are so educated over there, and leaders in cutting-edge technology. (BTW: Norwegian politics give a whole new definition to our perception of “far left”, they would consider Senator Specter a hard-right conservative!).

They brought their booth and sales reps. all the way from Norway to Las Vegas, where they were demonstrating their latest interactive software solutions at the National Association of Broadcasting (NAB) annual conference. Their product, called “never.no Interactivity Suite”, is an interactivity enabling software solution. They describe it as “the world’s first platform for universal interactivity in broadcast media”. This suite allows consumers to influence a broadcast in real time, and conversely, allows media owners and advertiser to track consumers through various mediums, and allows them to tailor and optimize consumer content based on consumer response. (more…)

This 5K camera has a full frame S35mm Mysterium X sensor matching 35mm film resolution. The RED 5K EPIC tops out at 100 FPS, features HD-SDI, 2-XLR inputs, HDMI, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0. Like the Scarlet you can also control it using WiFi.

Owners of the RED ONE will be happy to know that RED will allow you to trade in your camera for for a full $17,500 credit towards the EPIC when it ships in 2009, Pricing is said to be about $30,000.

Red announced its smallest camera yet 3K Scarlet. This teeny camera has a 3K resolution and is based on a 2/3″  Mysterium X sensor, capable of 1 to 120 frames per second and records to dual CompactFlash cards supporting up to 100MB per second of REDCODE RAW HD video.

It features a 4.8″ LCD, 8x RED zoom lens, HDMI, HD-SDI, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 connections. The camera is also compatible with many of the RED ONE accesories. You can even control the camera via a WiFi Connection.

Price should be under $3,000 and be available early 2009.

This camera is the newest in the family of AVCCAM line cameras and is capable of 1280 x 720 and 1440 x 1080 recording using the MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 codecs. You will also find native 16:9 1/3″ 3CCD imagers, and has a digital signal processor with a 14-bit A /D conversion and 19-bit processing.

Like many other Panasonic cameras the AG-HMC150 is equiped with a 13x Leica Dicomar zoom lense with optiacal image stabilization.

The camera has 4 quality modes - PH (average 21 Mbps/Max 24 Mbps), HA (approx.17 Mbp), HG (approx. 13 Mbps) and HE (approx. 6 Mbps). (more…)

Sony is unveiling its first color professional camera viewfinder using Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Technology.

The HDVF-EL100 is an 11 inch display and is Sony’s first non-consumer application of an OLED panel. Consumer OLED displays were introduced in January, and continue to generate strong demand.

“High-definition acquisition requires extremely precise focusing, allowing the operator to accurately see contrast and color levels when framing a shot,” said Rob Willox, director of Sony Electronics’ content creation group. “This new viewfinder is a perfect example of our unique ability to leverage the innovation and expertise from one part of our company and apply it in another area to meet customers’ needs. (more…)

JVC announced a new feature for the GY-HD200 by adding 1080/50i and 1080/60i output though the FireWire connection. The 1080i footage is not recorded to tape, but when combined with a hard disk recorder such as the DR-HD100 you will be able to capture in 720P or 1080i in native QuickTime or M2T files.

The new feature is not a firmware upgrade. Customers who purchased a GY-HD200 since February 1, 2008 will be eligible for an upgrade. All other owners will have to stick it out with 720P or buy the new camera.

The product name has been updated to GY-HD200UB and is available immediately, and is $5995 with 16:1 Fujinon lens or the body only for $5695.