Quick Focus
U.S. videographers have probably never heard of Datavideo Technologies, but many of them have used the company's equipment. Ambico markets Datavideo's VP-274 Auto Video Editor, a stand-alone edit controller, as the V-6331 in the U.S. Sima Products also markets Datavideo products to American consumers. A British publication recently honored the VP-274, the frame- accurate version that's available in the European market, with a "best buy" award.
Why doesn't Ambico market the upgraded version to its U.S. customers? "According to our understanding of the U.S. market, from Sima and Ambico, the Auto Video Editor doesn't sell in the U.S.," says Jack Lin, Datavideo's president. Datavideo's PE-100, a frame-accurate PC-based edit controller, will be available soon in Europe for about $100 U.S.
With only one month remaining in 1996, it's not likely that manufacturers will fulfill their promises of delivering DVD products this year. Sony announced that it will not launch any DVD products this year and other manufacturers, such as Panasonic and JVC, are now forecasting 1997 introductions.
The reason for the delay? Many fingers are pointing to the computer industry. Video equipment manufacturers and software producers have agreed on a copy-protection system for the new digital format, but computer manufacturers, accustomed to a history of open standards, are balking at the proposed system.
Until all three groups come to terms, we also won't see any DV editing equipment. Both the DVD and DV formats will use the same copy-protection scheme.
Sony Music is contributing the videos and Intel is providing the technology in a "streaming video" trial. Unlike traditional video files, which viewers must download and save before playing them back, streaming video plays while it is being downloaded. The data is discarded immediately after playback, eliminating the need for space on the user's hard drive. Visitors to the Intel and Sony web sites can try out the new technology.
ImageMind Software has made it easier to play Internet video on any Windows PC with the introduction of Video Express Viewer 1.0. The video file playback software allows users to play files from the Internet, CD-ROMs, hard drives and intranets without downloading special players for each file type. The 32-bit version will also play the newest "streaming media" formats.
Visions of U.S. announced the winners of its 12th annual home-video competition. Sponsored by Sony Electronics and administered by the American Film Institute, the competition pays homage to videos that explore social issues and are created with consumer video equipment.
The judges awarded the grand prize to a 15-year-old for Saturday, the teenager's portrayal of a "perfect day." Other winning tapes included a documentary about women's bullriding contests, a music video that featured a couch in a freeway lane, a study of tagging and graffiti art, and a fictional exploration of a young man's identity.
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has announced plans to release a new kind of desktop VCR for use with a PC. The HV-PC1 will incorporate a scan converter which switches between the PC display mode and the NTSC mode. The VCR will display video on a computer monitor, computer images on a TV monitor, and record on VHS.
On the heels of similar introductions by Sony and Panasonic, Victor Company of Japan (JVC's parent) announced it will begin selling a low-priced DV camcorder in Japan. The GR-DVM1 is similar to the company's GR-DV1, which it markets in the U.S., but has a 2.5-inch LCD. JVC claims that the viewfinder's polysilicon liquid crystal produces clear images, even outdoors. The new model will retail in Japan for about $2,100 and JVC is considering marketing the it in the U.S. next year. The company expects 80% of its Japanese camcorder sales to be digital by the end of the year.
When Steven Rosenbaum saw his first Sharp ViewCam in 1993, he announced to his wife that it would revolutionize television news. He then proceeded to make it so.
The president of Broadcast News Network (BNN) is the creator of the MTV news series, Unfiltered. Since 1995, the show's producers have been sending Hi8 ViewCams to anyone who has an innovative idea for a news story. "We're looking for stories that haven't been done anywhere else," Rosenbaum says.
The process is simple: Prospective newshounds call MTV (800-296-2445) with a story idea. If the producers agree that the idea is compelling, they send the applicant a training video and a camcorder. "Even people who've never shot video at least have a sense of how to do it," says Rosenbaum. Besides, production help is only a phone call away, although Rosenbaum admits that some of the footage can look rough. When shooting is finished, the videographer ships the camcorder and tapes back to the producers, who edit them for broadcast.
Just in case you're thinking of sending your local news footage to MTV--don't. Unsolicited tapes are rejected and only video shot with the BNN ViewCams is used on the show.
Other networks are paying attention to BNN's success with Unfiltered; CBS recently signed the company to produce a news series. The Class of 2000 will document the four-year-long journey of high school students leading to gradution at the millenium. The producers will give some of the teens Sharp VL-D5000U DV ViewCams and set them loose to record their personal stories. Low-profile consumer camcorders are perfect for easy-to-learn, unobtrusive recording of real-life situations, and the DV format meets broadcast quality standards.
Writer/producer/educator Gregory Gavin is improving his community with his wits, creative skills, and a Hi8 camcorder. The local artist-in-residence at San Francisco's Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center spends most days teaching children how to build "art cars" at his WillPower Motors production facility. Throughout the design and construction process, Gavin is teaching the kids how to analyze problems, develop solutions and carry them out.
Gavin used the grassroots publicity generated from the soapbox cars to recruit kids and adults to help produce a video centered on the cars. With his own TR700, a new microphone and borrowed lights, he launched the production of "Bernaltown" last summer. Gavin held fundraisers and sold T-shirts ("A neighborhood. An ideal. Now a motion picture.") to help defray some of the cost. A local video group donated the use of its editing equipment for the final cut to 3/4-inch SP.
The plot follows a community's efforts to keep the dastardly villain, Dealer Dan, from turning a local park into a casino. Gavin explains that, while "Bernaltown" isn't produced by children, "I involved them in the script development, they made costumes and props and several kids acted in scenes." They've even gone on field trips to the edit facility.
When he completes the edit, he plans to hold a free outdoor screening for the neighborhood. He hasn't thought much about what's going to happen after that; perhaps enter "Bernaltown" in a few festivals and submit it to the local PBS station. Since it's designed like a TV show (Batman was the model), Gavin could produce future episodes. "I'd like to turn TV around from something that comes at you from out of nowhere into something that is culturally specific."
