Washington State University has installed Sony's XDCAM professional disc system. The optical disc technology has been in place since February, and is used both as a classroom tool and to produce a university-run community affairs show called "Face to Face."
A key feature of the XDCAM system is its in-camera editing capabilities, allowing crews to review footage as thumbnails on the camcorder's LCD screen. Once the discs from the set are handed over to the show's post-production team, random access allows the post team to locate scenes according to timecode breaks.
At the center of the XDCAM system is Sony's blue-laser based Professional Disc media, which offers random access to footage in the field or during the post process, and multi-format flexibility and flexible record times.
The Professional Disc media has a maximum transfer rate of 144Mb/s when using the PDW-1500 compact deck with two optical heads. The discs also offer portability and are packaged in specially designed durable cartridges resistant to dust, shock and scratches.
