Issue: Show Daily - Apr 7, 2003

The Buzz . . . for Sunday April 6, 2003

  • Panasonic announced at its NAB press event that it is working on blue laser technology that will provide 50GB of storage on a dual-layer disc. It also showed a prototype of a solid state memory-based camcorder that will record directly to SD memory cards. It plans on releasing its first 1GB SD card this year and expects to have a 2GB card in 2004 and a 4GB card in 2005. CBS, Fox and Raycom Media will all provide input to the development of the SD-based news acquisition and editing products.

  • Sony announced plans for its own blue laser-based product line, which will initially include two camcorders and three decks. The company says it can get 23GB of storage onto a single optical disc, which would have an archive life of 30 years and 1 million plays. The discs would cost under $30. The new cameras will support both 4-x-3 and 16-x-9 aspect rations and both the IMX and DVCAM formats. A working prototype was on display.