I understand that DVCPro HD is 100Mbits/s. However the Panasonic web site told me that while it is 100MBits/s for 60p, for 24p it is only 40Mbits/s. Is this true?

So what are the bit rates for all the various shotting modes:-

720/24p
720/30p
720/60p
1080/24p
1080/30p
1080/60i

Also I understand that the CCDs are 1.1 megapixels, but what dimensions? 960x1080 like the Sony FX1/Z1? Or 1280x720?

Finally, is there a full brochure with all the specs anywhere on the web for download?

Thanks.

One other question: Will 3rd parties like SanDisk or Lexar be allowed to make P2 memory cards or will it be a Panasonic monolpoly?

The DVCPRO-HD codec is intra-frame, which means that every frame gets compressed on its own, independently and individually. As such, every frame gets exactly the same number of bits allocated to it.

So when recording at a lower frame rate, the overall storage needs are less as well. Logically, recording 720/60p will take up twice as much space as recording 720/30p, since there are twice as many frames per second.

This works because 720p was designed from the beginning to support variable frame rates. However, in the 1080 mode, no provision in the codec was made for variable frame rates, so all data is carried within a 100-megabit 1080i stream. 1080/24p and 1080/30p are implemented in DVCPRO-HD in the same way they're implemented in DV.

So: for all the 1080 modes, the data rate is constant, at 100 megabits.
720/60p is also 100 megabits.
720/30p requires 50 megabits of storage space per second.
720/24p requires 40 megabits of space.

Regarding the CCD, no data has been given. The 1.1 megapixel report is not confirmed by anyone at Panasonic, that was something that was reported in Tom's Hardware Guide but has never been corroborated. We have no idea what the pixel count, pixel grid layout, or any other specification will be, other than to know that they are 1/3" and are 16:9-shaped.

Regarding the P2 cards: Panasonic is open to licensing the technology to anyone who wants to participate. DVCPRO tape rights have been licensed to Fuji and Maxell. You can fully expect to see Lexar, SanDisk, PNY, Crucial, basically anyone who wants to make P2 cards will be able to do so.

Thanks for the info.

So we know that the CCD will not use non-square pixels like the Sony and also that the pixel count is not 1.1M.

So there is hope still that this baby might use 3 1920x1080 CCDs? :)

Thanks for the info.

So we know that the CCD will not use non-square pixels like the Sony and also that the pixel count is not 1.1M.

So there is hope still that this baby might use 3 1920x1080 CCDs? :)
No, sorry, we don't know anything of the sort -- it could very well be non-square pixels, or it may not be non-square pixels. It could be 1.1m, or it might not be.

What I'm saying is, no information has been released, so anything is possible.

The only things that we do know are that it's 1/3", 3-CCD, 16:9, and high-def. Beyond that, nothing has been confirmed (or disproven, either).