XDCAM Workflow in production and post-production environments

In 2003, Sony introduced the XDCAM for the first time. Both in post-production and in ingest, file editing and recovery solutions in broadcast environments, we find more and more possibilities for working with XDCAM files.

Sony organized a day this Thursday in Madrid's Image City in which it shared with numerous professionals the possibilities offered by working in an environment with XDCAM technology.

Jean Yves Martin and Tom Crocker, product managers at Sony, have explained the role that XDCAM plays in the daily life of the hundreds of productions around the world that currently use this format in advertising, fiction, entertainment, documentaries, magazines...

Both in post-production and in ingest, file editing and recovery solutions in broadcast environments, we find more and more options for working with XDCAM files since the launch of this format in 2003.

TVE, Aragón or Telemadrid in Spain; RTP in Portugal, M6 in France or France Televisions in France; BBC and ITV in the United Kingdom; RTE in Ireland; RAI in Italy; or NDR, WDR or SWR in Germany are just some of the examples that, in terms of broadcasters, use XDCAM in their workflows.

The emergence of file-based environments in the late 90s meant, first in post-production and later throughout the production chain, the ability to work in collaborative environments without tape. Today it is possible to move content with more flexibility and much faster.

Working with files now means asking questions such as what codec or bit rate to work with, will the post-production company accept my material? What backup or copies should I make?... The meeting between professionals organized by Sony has tried to answer these and other questions.

Currently you can work with a dozen codecs, of which about five are the most popular. “Each job and workflow will mean choosing one codec or another to achieve maximum efficiency, we cannot say that one codec is better than another, but it will depend on the application that is going to be given because each codec has its limitation,” Martin assured.

Jean Yves Martin has noted that while AVC-Intra compresses each frame individually in an intraframe compression, with the advantage of an absolute correspondence of the timecode and the disadvantage that at a low bit rate the quality would be affected, in the case of encodings based on Long GoP (Long Group of Pictures) algorithms such as MPEGHD422 or AVCHF, the encoding is carried out with a subsequence of groups of frames analyzing the similarity and differences of each image, therefore based on information redundancy.

There are four different product lines: XDCAM SD, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD422. Sony maintains that the Japanese brand is the only one that offers the choice between low-cost media and instant archiving on Professional Disc or ultra-fast workflow on SxS memory cards. Of note, a 64GB SxS card can store 7 minutes uncompressed and up to 120 minutes in XDCAM at high quality (at 50 Mbps).

XDCAM Capture Solutions

Among the camcorders of the XDCAM family, which we have been able to see at the conference organized by Sony, the PMW-F3 stands out. Based on a Super-35mm sensor and PL mount technology, it allows film professionals access to the highest quality image recording tools.

It should be noted that this camera can now have an SCL-Z18X140 zoom for certain production segments such as advertising. Offers 18-140mm (T 3.8), servo/manual zoom; manual/auto focus and iris and Steadyshot stabilizer.

Another camcorder worth highlighting is the PMW-500, currently used by broadcasters such as TVE, BBC, NRK or TRT. The PMW-500 was Sony's first professional XDCAM HD422 camcorder with solid-state recording. It supports recording and playback of Full-HD MXF 422 at 50 Mbps or HD 420 MP4 format at 35 Mbps, allowing for seamless integration when used in conjunction with XDCAM EX models.

As for the PMW-320, it is an XDCAM EX solid-state recording camcorder with a new shoulder design and three next-generation 1/2″ Full HD Exmor CMOS sensors. It offers all the advanced creative recording features of the compact PMW-EX1R camcorder, plus enhancements such as a scene file system and 4-channel audio.

The chassis of this camera is based on that of the XDCAM HD422, but it weighs only 3.2 kg and is one of the lightest shoulder camcorders in its class.

An improved version of the popular PDW-700, Sony now also has the PDW-800 camcorder in the XDCAM family that offers the flexibility of multi-format recording as standard: it includes SD recording and a frame rate of 23.98P in 1080 mode.

Functional improvements, including slow and fast motion functions (increasing and decreasing the frame rate during recording), make the PDW-F800 an ideal camera for film and television drama productions, natural history programs, documentaries, sports broadcasts and ENG applications.

XMPilot, getting the most out of metadata

One of the solutions that has drawn the most attention to professionals who have attended the event organized by Sony is XM Pilot. A system that allows you to manage all the metadata from a tablet, PC or smartphone at the same time as capturing images, making the task easier for editors, editors...

The XMPilot solution uses a compact Wi-Fi or wired connection module to simultaneously stream proxy-quality video and audio to a specific application on a laptop or smartphone (Wi-Fi only). The Windows PC/smartphone that supports applications will make it easy for the director, production manager, production assistant or camera operator to record, record and add EssenceMark metadata. This data is wirelessly returned to the camcorder's recording media for easy access during an improved and more efficient XDCAM post-production workflow.

At the same time, smartphone users can stream proxy resolution video and audio to headquarters or a broadcast center using the phone's own mobile data connection.

The XMPilot solution is designed to be as flexible as possible with a range of possible implementations. Direct access (Live Logging) is also enabled by installing the optional CBKZ-UPG01 software on a camcorder. When using direct access via cable, the user needs the XDCAM browser that supports Live Logging function.

TalkBack Thames, one of the largest British production companies, has used the XMPilot metadata workflow solution for the ingestion and recording of rushes for its famous property acquisition television series: Escape to the Country. After a week of preparation, the five days of filming turned into 40 hours of XDCAM rushes. With XMPilot it took two hours to ingest and record all the material.

XDCAM Station, professional multimedia station

At the product exhibition organized by Sony, the new professional multimedia station XDCAM Station XDS-PD1000 had a relevant space, a solution halfway between a classic VTR (tapeless) and a server.

The XDS-PD1000 supports all types of SxS cards, such as Memory Stick or SDHC cards, using MEAD adapters. It is also compatible with all XDCAM Professional Disc models in any format and recording mode. The 1TB internal hard disk drive (HDD) and 1Gigabit Ethernet connection provide approximately 32 hours total of continuous HD422 recording at 50Mbps and simultaneous multi-user access to audiovisual content.

The XDCAM Station is a professional multimedia station with integrated storage and interfaces for both Professional Disc media and SxS memory cards, facilitating hybrid operation in an XDCAM workflow. It offers better support for multitasking operations, networking and other IT functions. Adding the XDCAM Station to an XDCAM workflow makes file-based operations more convenient and efficient.

The drive's fourth-generation internal Professional Disc 4G drive allows you to perform a partial transfer of material or perform a full Professional Disc backup to the 1TB internal hard drive. Additionally, material from the internal HDD can be partially copied to the Professional Disc. It is also possible to record in baseband, playback and use slow motion simultaneously. Another possibility it offers is to edit during the recording itself (editing increasing files).