Cost-effectiveness takes priority at NAB2009
Apr 24, 2009 11:52 AM, By Michael Grotticelli
Panasonic's new E-Series solid-state P2 cards offer an average of five years of normal operation, or half of what the current A-Series cards provide.
Broadcast lens makers Canon (with its KJ17ex7.7B) and Fujinon (displaying its new ZA series) each showed new models of 2/3in HD ENG lenses that were less costly due to new manufacturing techniques that use inferior glass components (compared to their more expensive counterparts) but still provide adequate HD acquisition specifications for applications like acquiring the news.
“These lenses are still very good optically and will last as long as our other lenses,” said David Waddell, marketing manager for Fujinon, adding that the ZA series lenses are 30 percent cheaper than the company's higher-end HA series. “So really it's a good deal for small-market stations looking to expand their ENG crews in the field.”
To attract professionals sold on the idea of recording to its propriety solid-state media, Panasonic introduced a new version of its P2 cards, called the E-Series, that use new multilevel cell recording techniques instead of the P2's original single-cell technology. Multilevel cell technology is cheaper to manufacture and offers faster file transfer speeds (up to 1.2Gb/s), but does not last as long as single-cell cards.
It was said that a new E-Series card would provide less overwrites — or about a third less life — than the standard (and more expensive) A-Series P2 card. Therefore, if a P2 card lasts someone 10 years of repeated shooting, the new E-Series cards will be useful for about five, according to Panasonic.
Limited spending for right now
Manufacturers of other types of broadcast equipment were also seeking the budget-conscious broadcasters. Small-format routers (Utah Scientific), switchers (Panasonic) and audio monitoring gear (Linear Acoustic and Wohler Technologies) were among them.
At Harris, Brian Cabeceiras, VP of strategic marketing and technology, said customers have money to spend and are interested in the wide variety of new technology his company showed at NAB, but they now want a clear return on investment before making a commitment.
“What they're looking for are advanced media workflows that solve immediate problems they are facing,” he said. “There's not a lot of forward-looking strategizing going on at the moment.”
Finding new business has been equally challenging. Like virtually every company on the show floor this year, Harris is pursuing and wining customers outside of traditional broadcasting, such as those in enterprise who appear to be investing in new types of digital signage networks. Harris is building such an IP-based (remotely updateable) file system for McDonald's restaurants across the country. Likewise, Grass Valley is installing its MediaEdge system at WalMart stores nationwide.
Michel Proulx, CTO at Miranda Technologies, summed up the overall strategy among most equipment vendors at the convention best when he said, “For broadcasters, it's all about reducing customers operating expenses. If we can help them do that, we'll continue to be successful as a company. Unfortunately, the name of the game among broadcasters right now is seeking ways to do more with less people.”
On the show floor, Miranda demonstrated eight different ways to do just that.
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