IBC2007: Omneon Incorporates Panasonic HD Format

Amsterdam, Netherlands -- Video-server vendor Omneon announced at IBC2007 here that its popular Spectrum server will now support Panasonic's DVCPRO HD acquisition format through a new line of modular input/output components.

Omneon -- which has already been supporting Sony's MPEG-2-based XDCAM HD format in the Spectrum as it expands its business from playout to production applications -- introduced the MediaPort 6000 series that use DVCPRO HD's DV-based compression scheme. The first available component is the MediaPort 6101, which provides real-time recording and playback of DVCPRO HD material.

That new device will allow raw video to be encoded in real time, creating editable DVCPRO HD files within the Spectrum. Files can also be transferred to a Spectrum from DVCPRO HD-compatible editors, such as Apple's Final Cut Pro. The MediaPort 6101, which can be connected to any existing Spectrum server, will also decode the DVCPRO HD files for on-air playback.

Omneon vice president of worldwide marketing Geoff Stedman said the company is also working to eventually support AVC-Intra (Advanced Video Coding intra-frame), a new compression format Panasonic developed for its P2 HD solid-state camcorders.