well now.. it seems that panasonic/rexel have their hands on a unit which is going on display this week.. When asked if it was a working version, my buddy was being coy and told me to wait until tomorrow :( LOL

anyways, this was just a heads up to all those sydney people interested in the unit who wanted to take a squiz. rexel will have one model on display and i cant say whether it will be operational or not coz i dont know.

SMPTE is an annual gathering much like the US NAB so feel free to dorp by if ur in the area :)

Thanks for the news, Peter! I hope you can give us a full report. Much appreciated,

Its mid July. Months have passed since NAB, and now our wonderful messenger, Jan, is nowhere to be seen... Where's she? Will she bring us new hope for the coming future? The world is getting thougher everyday, with HDV imposing itself with a strong iron grip...

Now, seriously, I would really like to hear some news on the camera, like a new retouched design (please no blue casing- it looks so plastic!), some screen grabs, the Firestore announcement, and... The release date for PAL!
I've heard from my dealer that it is estimated to cost 57000 Hong Kong Dolars when released.

I sincerely hope it is coming soon, and this year for PAL. I just want to film my short movie with this camera, since I believe the learning curve I'll have, being a DVX owner for 2 years, will be a lot shorter- a smooth transition. I've also invested on a Mac 2.7, 3ghz ram with fcphd, andreally want to put the machine on the ultimate hd test...

And I don't know if I can resist the JVC temptation...

(Delivery over here, for my professional content, will stay in sd for at least 4 more years, so I only need this camera professionally for sd, but for my own projects...)

If you're waiting on the latest new thing before you start shooting your film, you may never get started. Get what you can afford and what's available and go for it. There is always going to be a New Big Thing coming. And even if you wait for it and buy it, there will be another one on the market before you get the one you just bought paid for.

Hmm well i'm no where near Sydney (thats usually a good thing lol) soi cant go have a look. DANG! I wish i was close enough to pop in now. :D

Can anyone take footage and pics? mmyum

If you're waiting on the latest new thing before you start shooting your film, you may never get started. Get what you can afford and what's available and go for it. There is always going to be a New Big Thing coming. And even if you wait for it and buy it, there will be another one on the market before you get the one you just bought paid for.

Have you seen my signature? :)

Anyway, we are talking about 5000+ dollars, not 200 dollars or something on that price range. This is an investment for the future. Having a dvx100, I know the limits of the camera and where it can and can't go- and knowing what the HVX will do, I believe that's the best capture machine for my short, and for future comercial productions. However, the JVC...
Unfortunatelly, in Macau, the tv comercial business over here is flooded with dv productions, and the market is too missinformed to diferentiate powerpoint style comercials from a proper script based, tought out campaign add, which means its badly paid (compared to Hong Kong- very hard to get into there, but its not impossible). People don't know the importance of displaying a unique brand image of their products...

Bummer......

its the same mock up that was at NAB...
mind you Pana are REALLY pushing P2... so theres still hope for price drops by the time the card comes out.

Nothing new to report and all the spec remains the same
No ETA for Pal either... :( :(

It's disappointing news...But can't say it wasn't expected. Major companies only reveal new information on their main markets...I believe if we are to expect any news, they should come either from Japan, Us or Uk...

But its been a really long drought on information, compared to the exciting build up before NAB, with the lovely Jan C. coming daily adding spice to conversations... It felt like someone inside was really interested on the users from this side... And there was always hope we could squeeze some information from her...

But, alas, marketing build up over, and back to normal.

Jan is an incredibly busy person. When I see her later today (at DV Expo East), I'll remind her how much y'all miss her and want her back.

;-)

I was there today and asked one of the reps about the possibility of external off the shelf hard-drives being used instead of P2, and he said that as far as he knew, yes, we should be able to do that.

He also told me that it should be out by Christmas, and we should be seeing images shot with the camera around sep/oct. As for pricing (AUD), he said that bundled with P2 cards it should be around 20 grand, and without, around 10.

Just talked with a Panasonic rep and he said it's looking like the camera will be out in "Octoberish" (in the U.S.)

I was at the DV expo East, and went to the HVX presentation by Jan. I asked her about the external drive and she definitively said "yes" they are working with Focus Enhancements on a HD device for the HVX. Later when I was at the Focus booth and asked a rep there about it, he only knew that an HDV upgrade was on the way, nothing about HD for the HVX. Now it could be that the rep at focus just didn't know...I'd suspect that Jan would know better than a rep at the focus booth.

Focus was one of the first P2 partners who were signed up. They definitely are working on it. However, they refuse to comment on forthcoming products, and since they just launched a $299 software update for the FS-4 to make it HDV-compatible, I think it's understandable that the reps at their booth were there to sell the HDV upgrade, so they may not have been briefed on the forthcoming product (for a camera that is still like four months away).

That makes sense...especially for after market products like Focus makes. Sell after market products for products that exist. HDV cameras exist. The HVX doesn't...YET.

I was there today and asked one of the reps about the possibility of external off the shelf hard-drives being used instead of P2, and he said that as far as he knew, yes, we should be able to do that.

He also told me that it should be out by Christmas, and we should be seeing images shot with the camera around sep/oct. As for pricing (AUD), he said that bundled with P2 cards it should be around 20 grand, and without, around 10.

yikes. 10k! Should be closer to 8... ggrr Aussies getting jibbed yet again! :(

Hi Folks,

I am here,, but sort of not, it has been a very busy time and I am sorry I haven't been here totally but the job is the job. This relationship stuff is my giving back, the "pass it forward" stuff and it is outside of the job. Sorry I have not been here but I will say that this is exciting times.

Anyhow, to address some of thissues in the thread: the color will be the same color as the Varicam and the SDX900, it is not Blue but DVCPRO HD Grey

Delivery will be in November, December timeframe.

It is amazing how different my presentations were, 4 over two days. The audience is everything.! ;-) The slides were the same but the audience drove me to specific places.

As far as using off the shelf Hard drives, that is a transfer situation not a streaming one so be carful of questions and answers that are not fully qualified.

Sorry I will be visiting my father this weekend and may not still be fully on board but will try.

All the best,

Jan

Yay! :)

Thanks for the info, Jan. I knew you would be back!

So, November/December? I assume this is for America only, or is it a worldwide release date? If it indeed comes out in HK in time for Christmas, I'm sold. Sold, I tell ya! (sorry about the language- Much editing to do, no time to sleep...)

As for the grey color... Is it close to my dvx 100a grey? I like the dvx grey color (tough I liked my original silver dvx color a a bit more... And can't say I've seen a Varicam or even a DVCPRO HD camera, since local production houses iand TV stations in Macau work in Betacam format...)

Its outlook will indeed be the one we are seing today like in the NAB photos and in the online brochure?

Ok, here's me being a bore with this flood of questions... Anyway, thanks for the info again Jan- you should teach the guys in Panasonic HK about marketing and costumer service- I've sent them inquiry e-mails concerning production monitors, cameras and so on, and absolutely no response. The sony guys, however... (But i really do love my dvx color, handling and lens, so I believe I can survive poor local costumer service...)

This is a picture of the Varicam: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ViewPhotos?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=68646&index=2

Hopefully that should give you an idea of what color it'll be.

some more news..
at the moment, from what i have been advised, the Pal model will shoot natively in 720 25p ad 50i, as well as your usual SD DVCPro formats...
However it will only do 1080i, NOT 1080p 25 or 50... I was advised (vehemetly) that no progressive scan recording formats be available in 1080i..

I could be wrong but this is from Pana not me... and they know me well so they were quite open about it with none of that marketting crap that usually comes with new gear. We got down to the nitty gritty of it and we were all pretty dissapointed with the information..

Also there already is a working HDD.. however it does not connect directly to the camera, it does however have a P2 slot and carries a 60gb drive.
Tests of the unit bought a transfer speed of 2 mins for each 4gb card. The Unit was the size of a firestore fs4 but i didnt get a chance to geta a good look at it or who made it.. it was about 2 and half metres away from me, but i saw it in action and it was a pretty nifty looking unit...

basically the way you work it is you wear it (like a firestore) but you swap your p2cards from cam to backup device on the fly.. you still need the p2 cards, but you continuously clear them and start again..
Personally i dont like the idea of switching cards every 16minutes...

me, im now waiting until this unit is now released and feely available.
I had a go at the HD100 from JVC, and im steering toward that unit simply for the fact that the pal model shoots in 720p 24/25/30/50i not native/60i not native, upscales to 1080i (much like what was expressed when discussing the HVX) and another doozy we all discovered today was that the HD100 shoots in 576p 25p or 50p (as it doesnt do interlaced natively)

So from here where are we?? For SD the HVX option to shoot in DVCpro50 will always win hands down, but i honestly dont think $20k, is worth the investment for a camera of this form factor.. thats just me.. when i look at it, and consider the specs as advised today (obviously they may change) and then i look at the JVC unit, which is half the price, i really have to think about whether or not sticking with Pana is worthwhile for what i do..

At the moment, i cant justify THAT kind of investment, when i can use those funds to invest in 2 HDV cameras, and retain my DVX100's for SD/backup work...

I was advised (vehemetly) that no progressive scan recording formats be available in 1080i..
That directly contradicts everything we've been told about it so far. I'll ask Gabriel Costache of Panasonic NZ if he can clear this up.

Also there already is a working HDD.. i didnt get a chance to geta a good look at it or who made it..
That's Panasonic's own product, the "P2 Store".

I had a go at the HD100 from JVC, and im steering toward that unit simply for the fact that the pal model shoots in 720p 24/25/30/50i not native/60i not native
It can't record 50i or 60i or 50p or 60p. You only get 24p, 25p, or 30p on tape.

upscales to 1080i (much like what was expressed when discussing the HVX)
Not sure what you mean there. The HD100 can cross-convert its 720/25p signal into 1080/50i. The HVX shoots native 1080/50i (as well as native 1080/25p, pending Mr. Costache's clarification). The HVX can also cross-convert 720/60p into 1080/60i, perhaps that's what you meant?

and another doozy we all discovered today was that the HD100 shoots in 576p 25p or 50p (as it doesnt do interlaced natively)
It'll do 576/50p as part of HDV -- standard-def recorded in MPEG-2 HDV format, 19 megabits, 50 full progressive frames per second. It does 576/25p as part of its DV recording.

it would be good if you could confirm its recording formats, as we (myself and the Pana reps) were a little dissapointed with the info which was available for PAL models.
i dont particularly want to fork out another 1500 for batteries, when i can reuse my old DVX batteries when i upgrade.. ;)

i think it actually was the P2 Store.. it was a rather handy unit, as we were playing with it and shooting with the sdx900. Once u get into that constant swap workflow, it works well.

with regard to to the HD100, the varying models offer different shooting methods, if u like, i'll scan in the official brochures JVC were handing out and email it to you. It goes through each models differences.

that crss conversion youre refering to was what we were discussing. Basically i was told that it would only shoot progressive in 720, and 1080i would be the only recording format at that resolution. The new flyers reiterate this information, lets just hope they're wrong.

"It'll do 576/50p as part of HDV -- standard-def recorded in MPEG-2 HDV format, 19 megabits, 50 full progressive frames per second. It does 576/25p as part of its DV recording."
I asked about that, but they didnt make it clear and the documentation available also didnt stipulate this. Although if thats the recording method, at least its there.. whether it be as an m2t or what have u..

heres hoping that the HVX spec is straightened out and the unit is not overpriced, as is usually the case with us poor buggers down here in aus..

that crss conversion youre refering to was what we were discussing. Basically i was told that it would only shoot progressive in 720, and 1080i would be the only recording format at that resolution. The new flyers reiterate this information, lets just hope they're wrong.
There is no - repeat, NO - recording of 1080i possible with any JVC HDV product. Not at acquisition, not through firewire, not on a camera, not on a deck... it's simply not possible. The new JVC products don't even play back the 1080i format.

Cross-conversion is only possible via the analog output ports -- presumably to allow integration with a 1080i-only monitor, or for integration into a live switching situation that is working in 1080i. But there is nothing about 1080i that applies to the camera or to the deck. It only exists as a cross-conversion from the 720p signal.

"It'll do 576/50p as part of HDV -- standard-def recorded in MPEG-2 HDV format, 19 megabits, 50 full progressive frames per second. It does 576/25p as part of its DV recording."
I asked about that, but they didnt make it clear and the documentation available also didnt stipulate this. Although if thats the recording method, at least its there.. whether it be as an m2t or what have u..
The 576/50p mode and the 480/60p mode are not new to the HD100. 480/60p was available on the JVC HD1, and 576/50p was available on its European counterpart, the GR-PD1 (at least I think that's what it was called). They are MPEG-2 transport streams, and JVC supports them under the HDV banner.

480/24p and 576/25p are supported via DV.

heres hoping that the HVX spec is straightened out and the unit is not overpriced, as is usually the case with us poor buggers down here in aus..
Can't comment to the "overpriced" issue, but I am 99.9999999% certain that it will have 1080/25p. It's been talked about since day one. The US version implements 24p and 30p the same way that the DVX does; it seems logical that the 50i version will implement 25p the same way the DVX100AE does.

If I get confirmation from an official Panasonic Europe or NZ representative, I'll post it here.

Hey Barry,
I think there was a mixup with the cameras youre quoting me in your first paragraph, i was refering the HVX only having the ability to record in 1080i <which was referd to me as a pseudo upscale>, not the HD100.

Ive just being going over Panas new press kit releases and their whole P2 push and new cameras coming out utilising those formats, and the only reference i can see here is 576i, 720p and 1080i (as well as the SD DVCPro/50 which everyone was expecting). There is no other reference to frame rates, or recording modes. There is no reference to 1080p in any frame NTSC or PAL, and there is no reference to 576 progressive either, which is a surprise..

Its strange... reading here, on one side it mentions the 50p recording modes, but it doesnt mention at which resolution, however in big grey text, i see 720/1080i just above the text im reading...
NOW the next page i read then goes into the recording modes.. reiterating the 720p and 1080i modes.. with zero reference to 1080p, however.. and this is the doozy.. thers a final sentence here that states..
"All 1080, 720, and 576 signals support 25p and 50p frame rates"
so this info release is all over the joint...

So whats the deal Pana?? Is this just a marketing blurb to compete with HDV and penetrate the mentality of the HDV market?? It seems that the way this has been written that it is in fact a direct response with references to HDV recording modes.. but why are your staff also reiterating the "1080i only" recording mode?
Who knows.. and frankly im not too fussed until i get my hands on a production model to test.. theres no need to exert this much energy ona unit which still doesnt exist..
Once i can get to play around with a unit, i'll decide whtehr or not i stick with Pana, which is what id prefer as my DVX100's have been good to me so far...

i was refering the HVX only having the ability to record in 1080i <which was referd to me as a pseudo upscale>, not the HD100.
Well, there's confusion then. The HVX's 1080 mode is native, not upscaled. Although, the camera does have the ability to convert 720p over to 1080i, same as the HD100, so perhaps that's what they meant.

Its strange... reading here, on one side it mentions the 50p recording modes, but it doesnt mention at which resolution, however in big grey text, i see 720/1080i just above the text im reading...
NOW the next page i read then goes into the recording modes.. reiterating the 720p and 1080i modes.. with zero reference to 1080p, however.. and this is the doozy.. thers a final sentence here that states..
"All 1080, 720, and 576 signals support 25p and 50p frame rates"
so this info release is all over the joint...
Agreed -- I looked on the Panasonic UK site and saw similarly confusing reading. As near as I know, the only 50p frame rate supported is 720/50p. 1080 and 576 support 25p or 50i. And 720 supports variable frame rates between 4 and 50.

Who knows.. and frankly im not too fussed until i get my hands on a production model to test.. theres no need to exert this much energy ona unit which still doesnt exist..

Agreed. There are months to go before release, I'm sure it'll all get sorted out. I don't know if Jan would even know the answers, as she's over the US product and not the UK/Oceania version. Hopefully someone from the other offices will respond and clarify the situation.

Sergio,

What you're waiting for is quality. HDX-200 will be the first REAL difference since HDV. For the money spent, I'd seriously suggest waiting for the Panasonic. I agree it is generally the case that one might as well buy the best of the current available technology, becasue there is ALWAYS something bigger and better about to come out. However, this will be so much bigger and so much better that it's worth the 3-4 month wait. It will make the difference between being able to blow your project up to 35mm film sadly or blowing it up proudly, considering you might want the option.

IMHO,

Laurence

Okay, heard back from Gabriel at Panasonic NZ. He said he is SURE that the Australian/NZ version of the camera WILL shoot native 1080/25p.

There's also a silly rumor floating around on just about every forum claiming that the US version will not shoot 1080/24p. That's just silly, because the new brochure from Panasonic clearly spells out that it unquestionably WILL shoot 1080/24p and 1080/30p. It's also spelled out on Panasonic's webpage for the HVX (http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=93120&catGroupId=14571&modelNo=AG-HVX200&surfModel=AG-HVX200).

Hopefully this will forever put to rest the false notion that the HVX wouldn't have 1080/24p or 1080/30p, or that the Australian version wouldn't have 1080/25p. They will.

Barry,

thank god for that. /me rests easy.

Hmm.. can we also have 720p60 in our PAL version? :)

You'll have 720/50p. I don't know whether it'll support faster-than-50 or not...

Yeah well i'm hoping it will. 60fps will be good for slo-mo stuff. ANd 10fps is a lot more to have up your sleeve. But looks like pana wont do a multi region version like Sony did. SHame shame shame... i think nowadays, we are "over" the whole 'region' thing... especially in pro/pro-sumer gear.

There's also a silly rumor floating around on just about every forum claiming that the US version will not shoot 1080/24p.


Why is it that this rumor still floats. Barry, I have seen you put out this false rumor everywhere. You need to write a generic response. Then just paste it every time time someone says the HVX does not do 1080/24p.

Barry, did I read somewhere correctly you ordered a HD100?


Pappas

Yes indeed, I'm first on the list at EVS for the HD100. I figure both cameras are so different, and serve such different purposes, that I'll just get both...

Yes indeed, I'm first on the list at EVS for the HD100. I figure both cameras are so different, and serve such different purposes, that I'll just get both...


Cool,

I very much look foward to your review on it. Are you thinking of a book as well on the HD100?

Pappas

Most definitely! :)