Panasonic uses virtual reality to present its new releases

The first 4K/60P PTZ supporting high bandwidth NDI and SRT (AW-UE100); the new HD HDR studio camera (upgradable to native 4K) AK-HC3900; and Kairos, a next-generation live production platform... among the new features.

This Wednesday, May 6, Panasonic has organized an impeccable and effective online event in which under the motto The future of Video Production has presented, thanks to virtual reality, the new products that were ready for launch on the occasion of NAB in Las Vegas, whose celebration had to be suspended due to the global coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

John Baisley, vicepresidente de Professional Imaging & Visual Systems en Panasonic, ha sido el encargado de dar la bienvenida a esta experiencia online que marca una nueva forma de acercarse a clientes, partners, analistas y prensa.

AK-HC3900

Mike Bergeron, Senior Product Manager, Live Production, has been in charge of announcing one of the star launches of the multinational: the new studio camera AK-HC3900.

It is a camera 1080p HDR which comes to expand the popular AK series, with upgradable to native 60p/50p 4K. Following in the footsteps of the AK-HC3800, which has been setting the standard for high-quality professional systems and economical production for almost a decade, the new AK-HC3900 is ideal for the broadcast, education and corporate markets.

Among the features that distinguish the AK-HC3900 system from its predecessors are a full set of simultaneous HDR/SDR functions, expanded multi-format capability (1080: 59.94p, 50p, 59.94i, 50i, 29.97PsF, 25PsF, 23.98PsF; 720: 59.94p/50p) and a future upgrade option for 60p/50p 4K production with native 4K video and 2000TV horizontal resolution.

“AK-HC3900 is a cost-effective and highly professional camera system for the broadcast, education and corporate markets, equipped with new tools for future upgrades that will ensure long-term use,” he explained. Stefan Hofmann, director de operaciones de ingeniería de ventas de Panasonic Broadcast & ProAV.

"The AK-HC3900GJ/GSJ system captures the image from an internal 4K imaging system to generate stunning HD HDR images with color space according to the ITU-R BT.2020 recommendation. Thanks to internal 4K capture and with a possible optional 4K upgrade, a horizontal resolution of 2000 television lines can be obtained," he added.

The new camera achieves a high sensitivity of F10 with 59.94 Hz (2,000 lx) and a ratio 62 dB signal/noise and also includes a motorized and integrated ND filter.
Bergeron has drawn attention to the new affordable AK-HCU250 camera control unit (CCU), which combined with the new control panel remote control (ROP) AK-HRP250, connects the uncompressed high-quality video and control with the camera head via optical fiber or hybrid SMPTE cable to supply power at the same time.

This new CCU includes all the system functions already included in the HC3800, to which it adds a simultaneous HDR/SDR output, as well as the expanded multi-format capacity of the HC3900 and the possibility of 4K upgrade. Among other new features, it incorporates 3G trunk and 3G prompter functions. The new ROP has PoE power (no power supply required), which makes installation easier.

Both the CCU and ROP are equipped with SD card slots, which can be used to store various configurations or to update firmware. Camera operators can choose between two electronic viewfinders, either the AK-HVF100GJ type 9 or the AK-HVF75G type 7, both with color LCDs.

The AK-HC3900, AK-HCU250 and AK-HRP250 will be available in Q4 2020.

On the other hand, Mike Bergeron has also highlighted the new AV-UHS500 4K mixer 4K, introduced a few months ago, and which is compatible with 12G-SDI and 4K/3G/HD multi-format support with up/down conversion, HDR/SDR and ITU-R BT.2020/BT.709 functions. The mixer comes equipped with 5 keyers, including 2 chroma-key channels and 2 PinP channels.

Kairos

Panasonic has also announced an interesting proposal that is constituted as a live production platform latest generation with unmatched productivity. This new platform IT/IP video processing offers an open architecture system for live video switching with input and output flexibility, independent resolution and format, full CPU/GPU utilization, and unlimited ME scalability.

Kairos, con su sistema IP nativo ST 2110, admite transiciones a flujos de trabajo de IP en directo y puede eliminar las limitaciones de hardware específico. Este sistema basado en COTS permite crear nuevas oportunidades de producción que incluyen un mosaico de ecosistemas informáticos con proveedores procedentes de distintas industrias.

Ante la proliferación de hardware y nuevas herramientas, los productores necesitan una solución integral para sus múltiples aplicaciones que les permita liberarse de las limitaciones del hardware tradicional. Como plataforma TI/IP basada en una arquitectura de software abierto, Kairos toma los distintos componentes de un programa broadcast y los virtualiza para que las producciones sean flexibles, dinámicas y potentes.

In television studios, this platform is integrated directly into the ST 2110 infrastructure without the need to integrate any additional IP gateway. For live events, Kairos not only meets current display management and linear broadcast needs, but also offers the ability to accommodate new devices and less common displays. Whether it's sports and entertainment centers or event productions, staff, regardless of their experience, can use the intuitive graphical user interface to deliver engaging content or configure complex systems without extensive training.

The platform offers a standardized IP connectivity Instead of individual video inputs and outputs, Kairos guarantees compatibility with baseband and IP signals in any combination. It also offers uncompressed processing of SDI, ST 2110 and NDI streams of any resolution, such as HD, UHD and in any format, whether 16:9 or other less common formats, such as 32:9 for an LED backdrop display.

The GPU-based processing platform also allows the user to allocate processing capacity with 100% efficiency and thus achieve performance that corresponds to the widely scalable hardware system. Kairos processing latency can be as low as one frame, and it also supports PTP (precision timing protocol) synchronization.

The intuitive graphical interface Kairos is fully customizable and allows users easy management of the unlimited number of layers and effects. The platform also offers a new dimension of ease of use and customization thanks to the intuitive “Photoshop-style” live compositing interface.

Unlike a traditional mixer, the platform does not limit the number of MEs or embeds, since video mix processing is based on the graphical user interface. Keying, effects and scaling are guaranteed in each scene without any restrictions, and the total number of video layers only depends on GPU capacity.

The Kairos system uses Kairos Core, a main unit that handles all video processing. The first version of the main unit will handle video I/O via a Deltacast gateway card and/or connection via Mellanox 100 GbE NIC (network interface card) to COST-based IP devices and SDI and HDMI gateways.

All control can be managed on devices that operate over a Gbit Ethernet network, including Kairos Creator, GUI software for configuration and software-based control panel, Kairos Control and Panasonic's premium quality 2ME style hardware control panel.

More Kairos Creator or Kairos Control sites can be added to the network if required by any operator, engineer or technical manager. A greater number of fonts and displays can be achieved with additional network hardware and a license upgrade. Expanded compatibility and features will be available with an additional license key. Additionally, with an add-on head unit you will have the opportunity to make the system compatible with most any organization's requirements. Kairos will begin shipping during the third quarter of 2020.

Panasonic has also announced a alliance partner program with Kairos, which includes COTS IP hardware manufacturers and leading graphics, automation and media server providers. It is important for the Kairos platform to link with other providers, as Kairos uses a variety of computing ecosystems based on COST technology, allowing it to easily extend functions and links with external devices by adding application software.

For the moment, leading companies in the sector such as the Spanish one have already announced their participation in this alliance. Brainstorm, Riedel, nVidia, ChryronHego o Cisco.

Remote production

Hamid James, Product Manager, Remote Production, has revealed another of the manufacturer's bets: the new 4K 60p PTZ AW-UE100. Disponible a finales del próximo mes de junio, esta cámara se perfila como perfecta para producciones AR y VR con salida simultánea tanto en banda base como IP y un aspecto importante en este tipo de entornos, apenas un frame de latencia.

Esta cámara integrada con giro/inclinación/zoom ofrece una amplia gama de protocolos de transmisión IP, entre los que se incluyen NDI de gran ancho de banda, NDI|HX de alta eficiencia y Secure Reliable Transport (SRT).

Cuenta con un motor Direct Drive newly designed that ensures smooth pan and tilt movement, and offers flexibility in installation, low noise and high-resolution image capture. It is ideal for high-quality remote live and studio production in broadcast, staging, corporate and sporting events.

The UE100 incorporates a 1/2.5 type 4K MOS sensor, which generates high-quality video images in UHD 4K/60p, and offers a variety of interfaces, such as 12G-SDI, 3G-SDI, HDMI and IP. The UE100 is suitable for capturing images in both small spaces and large venues. A lens with a 74.1-degree horizontal angle of view enables wide-area shooting from limited installation space, and its 24x optical zoom maintains excellent image quality at high zoom ratios, enabling filming in large indoor spaces.

For low-latency live video streaming, the UE100 offers high-bandwidth NDI for transferring 4K/60p video at speeds of approximately 250 Mbps, and for transmitting full HD video at approximately 100 Mbps, all over a single LAN cable. Additionally, it offers high-efficiency, low-bandwidth NDI|HX for video transmission at low bit rates.

The Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) protocol maintains stability in high-quality video transmissions, even in unstable network environments; RTMP/RTMPS feature enables direct streaming over a single cable to live streaming services such as YouTube Live and Facebook Live.

They are salida FreeD allows the connection to AR/VR systems and provides camera tracking information (pan/tilt/zoom/focus/iris) to easily configure systems without an encoder. The integrated Direct Drive mechanism with roll compensation improves immobility and stability during pan/tilt operations.

The camera has a pan range of ±175° and a tilt range of -30° to 210°. Other notable features include a four-position ND filter (Clear, ¼, 1/16, 1/64), night mode for shooting in infrared light, as well as support for PoE++ power supply.

The AW-UE100 will be offered in black and white, and will be available in the third quarter of 2020.

AG-CX10

Steve Cooperman, Senior Product Manager, News & Content Creation, ha comentado algunos relevantes de la nueva cámara AG-CX10, designed for the production of broadcast, web and social channel news.

The CX Series enables high-quality image capture with multiple 4K and HD recording formats and codecs, including 4K / 10-bit 60p HEVC. Additionally, it offers high bitrate All-Intra, MOV, and even P2 AVC Ultra formats for HD-based news workflows.

With its compact housing and perfect mobility and portability for on-site use, it enables high-quality 4K 60p recording. Achieving high-performance optical performance with a 25mm wide-angle lens and 32x i.Zoom (4K recording), Panasonic's exclusive high-precision autofocus delivers precise, high-speed focusing for both 4K and Full-HD.

Los nuevos modelos también incorporan un gran número de funciones profesionales, tales como two manual rings, and ND filter, a luz LED de vídeo integrada y grabación de audio PCM lineal de alta resolución de 24 bits. Para la grabación de vídeo, el nuevo modelo es compatible con la grabación interna 4:2:2 de 10 bits y el nuevo códec HEVC de alta eficiencia.

También permite elegir entre distintos formatos de grabación. El WiFi integrado supports HD live streaming using only the camera. Additionally, the AG-CX10 supports the P2 MXF file format. Features HD live streaming via Ethernet and an NDI|HX compatible IP tethering feature; In addition, it has connectivity to use it as a camera for live broadcasts.

Achieving high-performance optical performance with a 25mm1 wide-angle lens and 32x i.Zoom (4K recording), unique high-precision autofocus delivers precise, high-speed focusing for both 4K and Full-HD.