Sony Expands Broadcast Lineup to Meet Changes in Production Workflows

Sony Corporation has amplified its presence in film and broadcasting fields as it expanded its products and solutions to bring creative visions to life. Sony's range of rich professional products enables total creative, operational and economic flexibility.

The company took note of the rapid evolution taking place in the industry in recent years brought about by the growing need to develop contents for cross-platform distribution, which has transformed both the creative process and post-production workflows.

Sony has expanded the capabilities of its PXW-FX9 full-frame camera to offer even greater expression and usability for cinematographers and their collaborators in production and post. PXW-FX9, the flagship camcorder featuring 6K full-frame sensor and Fast Hybrid Auto Focus system was introduced in 2019 to bring full-frame imaging to documentary and independent productions. PXW-FX9 is inspired by the high mobility Run & Gun style approach from FS7 Series of camcorders, and brings color science from VENICE digital motion picture camera, and auto focus (AF) technology from Sony's interchangeable lens camera Alpha, to creatives desiring a small camera footprint.

PXW-FX9 full-frame camera

PXW-FX9 features
6K full-frame
Exmor R sensor

The easy-to-operate touch screen of FX9
camera for focus control and menu setting.

PXW-FX9 will receive a new version 2.0 software update to expand shooting capabilities and improved user operation in October. Version 2.0 will include key features such as full-frame 4K 60p/50p recording through oversampling from a 5K cropped area of 6K full-frame sensor, 4K 16bit RAW output with the optional XDCA-FX9 extension unit, powerful Eye AF and easy touch-screen operation for focus control as well as menu setting.

A new series of 4K high dynamic range (HDR) picture monitors will be available in September from Sony's TRIMASTER range. The PVM-X2400 (24 inches) and the PVM-X1800 (18.4 inches) professional 4K HDR monitors provide high picture quality and accurate color reproduction. With TRIMASTER technology, both models achieve 100 percent color gamut of the industry-leading BVM-HX310 master monitor and an all-white luminance of 1,000 cd/m² in a compact package.

PVM-X2400 and PVM-X1800 4K HDR monitors

PVM-X Series gamut

Offering accurate color reproduction and precise grayscale, the new monitors give filmmakers a reliable tool to help make critical imaging decisions and faithful color matching throughout the workflow. With its compact size and high portability, the monitors are aimed to expand footprints in 4K HDR production including versatile applications such as on-set monitoring, non-linear video editing, studio wall monitoring, rack-mount monitoring of OB trucks or machine rooms.

With version 2.0 firmware update and optional license set to come in March 2021, both models will enable conversion of HDR to SDR and 4K-HD within the unit. By the same token, the converted SDR signal can output to another traditional HD or 4K monitor.

Targeting cost-effective, flexible content creation, including broadcast applications in spaces where camera placement is traditionally challenging, Sony will introduce the latest 4K 60p cameras, SRG-XP1 (POV) and SRG-XB25 (BOX) cameras. Both models support NDI|HX compatibility with optional license and full IP-based operation, which expands production capabilities and flexibility from power supply to distribution via a single network cable. Integration with Sony's PTZ cameras and the AI-based Edge Analytics Appliance also increases the potential use cases.

SRG-XP1 comes with over 100-degree wide horizontal viewing angle and compact lightweight design. It is particularly useful for recording reality shows, and in settings such as e-sports and remote meeting. SRG-XB25 comes with a powerful optical zoom of 25× and ideal to capture the image in various areas from event production to lectures and seminars.

The PDW-U4, which will be introduced in December, is a portable, easy to use Disc Drive Unit with up to 128GB (write once) and 100GB rewritable high capacity on a single disc when used with four-layer media.

PDW-U4 disc drive unit

PDW-U4 adopts 4ch Dual Channel Head System (DCHS) drive technology and achieves file transfer speeds of approximately 2 times (read)/1.7 times (write) faster than the present PDW-U2 model. This can offer smooth workflow for ingesting the shooting files and archiving the final edit.

Optical head system DCHS
(Dual Channel Head System)

PDW-U4 also supports four/three/two/single-layer of XDCAM Professional Disc media currently available in the market. The drive adopts the latest USB Type-C interface for data read/write with PC. Power supply from the PC with USB Power Delivery function (20V) is also possible via USB 3.2 cable, not requiring AC adaptor.