Sony HVR-V1U HDV Camcorder, Part 2: An Interview with Sony's Bob Ott

Interview: Page (1) of 1 - 10/04/06

Sony HVR-V1U HDV Camcorder, Part 2: An Interview with Sony's Bob Ott Talking about the camcorder's release date, development, target market By Charlie White

In the second part of our two-part interview, Sony's Bob Ott, VP of Optical and Network Systems, talks more about the just-released Sony HVR-V1U HDV camcorder, its pricing and release date. He also talks about technologies that are in development at Sony, and takes a few shots at Sony?s competition in this lively conclusion of our interview conducted at Sony?s US headquarters on Madison Avenue in New York.

DMN: Is this new Sony camcorder going to replace the Sony Z1 HDV camcorder?

Ott: No, not at all. There is a large family of Z1 users out there, and A1 users, too. The Z1 is a standard in the industry, so to speak. A lot of people are using it, so we still see the Z1 in use for the people who are doing principally 60i-type photography and need the flexibility of 50i, 25p and 30p. Because 24p isn't even a consideration with the Z1 on, I?ll say, 70% of the Z1 users? minds -- maybe even 80%. They want the flexibility, if for example, if they're shooting for the BBC they can flip a switch and go to 50i and 25p. And people who are shooting movies in 25p in Europe versus 24p, or that movie look, the FilmLook, whatever you want to call it. So, the V1 doesn?t allow you to do that. It doesn't allow you to switch between 60i and 50i. So I would call the Z1 more the international model, versus the V1. The V1 is made for either US or European operation, but not for both.

DMN: But the V1 can do just regular old 30 frame-per-second video can?t it?

Ott: Absolutely. It can do 60i, 30 frame progressive, 24 frame.

DMN: The price is going to be $4800?

Ott: Yes, that?s right.

DMN: And it ships when?

Ott: I'd say early December. It should be the first week in December.

DMN: Sum it up for us, Bob.

Ott: The big story here is that Sony has now developed the latest technology of its ?technology bank? of products that addresses professional needs across the board for people who are shooting documentary, people who are looking for film work, or people who are doing news. It addresses a wide-ranging market. It addresses those people who are looking for something versatile at a price point that five years ago, people said you can't make it with any kind of money. I never like to use the words ?cheap,? or ?market price,? or anything else, but this product is market-priced exactly at the right point. We are targeting it right at an affordable price. It literally becomes the camera that, in my opinion, the kid who?s going to film school says, ?Hey Dad, we just spent $2400 on my laptop, but double it and I can get a camera and I can really make some money by the time I get out of school.?

DMN: Put that footage on a laptop and edit it.

Ott: You got it. And hopefully he's buying a Sony VAIO, keeps it in the family and keeps us happy, uses Vegas or some other editing program. We're also working with our friends at Apple and our friends at Avid. The cooperative level between those companies with us has been phenomenal. That's why the alliance that we formed with XDCAM has absolutely also existed with HDV. It's one thing to say, we?re working with all these companies, and one of our competitors shows that they're working with 200 companies. Well, yes, because they all adopted the H.264 standard. If we put up every user of MPEG2 long-gop, there would a thousand logos. The people who are up on that screen have adopted HDV as well as the long-gop aspect of editing, which is a big group compared to what's being talked about with H.264.

DMN: What about using H.264 [AVC HD] as a video codec as opposed to MPEG2 long GOP? Will that be happening anytime soon?

Ott: Our guy Hugo did an excellent presentation today on MPEG2 long-gop and AVC HD. He says, you gotta draw a line in the sand somewhere and say, "Hey, we're open to new technologies, but guys, when do you want to shoot? Do you want to shoot today, or do you want to wait?

DMN: That was interesting, and then he said that Sony?s working on H.264, and ?as soon as we can figure out a way to make it work, we will do it.?

Ott: Absolutely. Our competition tries to draw a picture as if were behind the times. But we're not. It takes a long time. Color television was developed in 1956, and they were still shooting prime time television shows in black and white by 1966. I don't know if the analogy works, but the analogy there is, it takes a while to catch up with another technology, and in the case of color it took 10 years. What will it take? We have MPEG2 long-GOP, and it's here now. How long will it take for AVC HD to really come into play? What editing systems will edit it natively if it goes past interframe? So, it'll be interesting.

DMN: Bob, thank you so much for talking with Digital Media Net this morning.

Ott: You're welcome, Charlie. Thanks for coming.

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