JVC will be trying to steal eyeballs from competitors such as Sony and Panasonic at NAB2003 with new offerings in camcorder and digital dailies technologies.

Topping the list is JVC’s JY-HD10U camcorder, a miniDV camera with high-definition capability. It offers three resolution modes: HD at 720/30p and standard definition at 480/60p or 480/60i. The camera sells for $6,000 and brings the miniDV format, traditionally used in event videography, up a significant step in terms of broadcast quality. JVC hopes it will attract low-budget doc and even film producers.

JVC will also present software that allows for post-production of the HD footage on a typical PC. By utilizing MPEG-2 compression, the system’s transport stream is compatible with D-VHS for archiving and distribution, and, in 480/60p mode, is compatible for DVD mastering.

JVC will also be on the Vegas show floor demonstrating a more economical way of processing and viewing dailies in 24p HD. This Pro-HD delivery system sees a production’s dailies transferred directly from the film negative to 24p HD digital masters, avoiding costly and time-consuming film printing. The footage can be sent electronically – with a password feature to hinder pirating – and it can also be viewed on a modified consumer D-VHS machine. Four hours of HD information can be a stored on a single digital tape.

Cam Morrison, JVC Canada’s senior marketing manager of professional products, sees the 24p dailies system as giving the Japanese-headquartered manufacturer a leg-up on its competitors in this era of production budget restraint.

‘You don’t have to use incredibly expensive hardware and tape stock to move it around,’ he says. ‘People can put a lot more money into production and [not] into the mundane tools of the trade.’

JVC counts Warner Bros. and blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor) among its clients for the digital dailies.

In summarizing JVC’s corporate strategy, Morrison says, ‘We’re developing new markets with an environment that is hungry for HD content and suddenly we’re going to be giving people the tools.’

-www.jvc.ca