April 7, 2013

NAB 2013: Sony highlights 4K successes

LAS VEGAS — At Sony’s annual NAB press conference, the theme was 4K, from acquisition through final delivery to theatergoers, as well as to consumers at home. Sony’s F65 was used to shoot the new Tom Cruise movie, Oblivion, and it’s also being used on the upcoming feature, After Earth, by director M. Night Shyamalan. Sony has more than 15,000 4K projectors installed worldwide for true 4K theatrical experiences, but the F65 has applications in music videos and television shows too.

The company’s Sony’s F55 and F5 cameras also offer 4K options for those creating television content. To date, 2,000 units have been shipped worldwide.

Sony Pictures Television’s Phil Squyers detailed the studio’s 4K work, much of which is being done for upcoming pilots. The studio used the F65 on 13 episodes of a new NBC comedy that was shot on its lot. 

“4K is not four times more difficult to deal with than HD,” he notes, adding that crews are familiar with file-based production. Sony Pictures Television is also producing a dozen episodes of a one-hour drama for Showtime using the F65, as well as the new Michael J. Fox half-hour comedy for NBC. 

The F55 is seeing work on pilots for one-hour dramas for both NBC and Fox. And to date, 500 professional have been trained on 4K workflows at the Sony’s Digital Motion Picture Center in Hollywood. 

After noting the accomplishments in its 4K efforts, Sony’s Alec Shapiro introduced Sony Electronics president and CEO, Phil Molyneaux, who updated attendees on the company’s consumer efforts. This includes pricing for the two 4K TVs that were initially introduced back at CES. The company will begin taking orders this month for their 55-inch ($4,999) and 65-inch ($6,999) models.

Sony’s Theresa Alesso added that the company is showing two prototypes of 4K OLED monitors at the show this year too. Sony has shipped more than 20,000 Trimaster EL sets worldwide. The latest updates improve off-angle viewing and reduce color shift.