While we legally can’t tell you some surprises yet, we can spill to you what we’re excited to hear about at the International CES 2012. 4K and 3D are two great examples. 3D for what innovations show up this year since the general public has had substantial time to test out the video medium.

Then there’s the big buzz about 4K, which company will be first to really capture the general consumer, seems like the real catch here. One of the two sides of this technology is the camera, and because Canon’s announcement about such technology came more than two months prior to the International CES 2012 – the competition is on. The other part of 4K is the display, and manufacturers are hard at work improving these super-high resolution screens, our question is how low will we see a price drop and ultimately – will consumers adopt it?

Notable innovations in technology that we already have on our radar include flexible displays and alternative computer controls. While the projected time frame on these is beyond consumers of 2012, the International CES 2012 is a prime place for advancements to show up.

Take a glance at the Consumer Electronics Association coverage of CES 2011 and you’ll notice, there’s a lot of people there. Our team is certain to make contact with some of the biggest names in video production, as well as learn something new about each other. For some of us it’ll be a brand new experience and hopefully we’ll carry some of you (our audience) and your excitement with us. We’ll be determining some awards for this specific event, so products that steal the spotlight may be recognized by us. Look to this blog for updates and our hints at the biggest news for video producers.

As much as the city would love to make such exclusive information stay in Las Vegas forever, but our trip won’t mean much to you unless we bring some stories back.

If you’ve ever directed or set up a live event, you know how hard it can be to find reliable and affordable camera operators. Though there is nothing that can beat a knowledgeable camera operator, Panasonic has come close with it’s new AW-HE120 pan and tilt camcorder. Their camcorder can mount to any surface and give a video feed and remote control ability to a director making multi-cam events easier and cheaper than ever to pull off.

Panasonic made this camera 60% lighter than their previous offering, making the camera mountable on almost any surface.  In order to get a video feed, the camera can be connected through HDMI and a standard Ethernet cable. The HDMI gives a high quality 1080/59.94p video feed while the Ethernet cable allows a director to control every aspect about the camera from a distance. The camera also comes with a 20x zoom range so that you can mount it in the back of a room and still achieve excellent close up shots, has a 2.2 megapixel U.L.T. 3-MOS sensor (in true Panasonic style), and has three different ND filters – 1/4, 1/16, and 1/64. Though the ND filters seem like a bit of an overkill given that the camera will almost always be mounted indoors, it did include some excellent engineering with a pan range of -175 degrees to 175 degrees and a tilt range of -30 degrees to 210 degrees meaning that this little beauty has more flexibility than an owl.

For those needing to mount the camera to a white ceiling, the unit comes in pearl white though a black metallic model can be bought for theatrical occasions. Panasonic will be shipping this item in what they call “winter” so expect it to come out shortly before CES in January.  The suggested retail price is $8,900, making it clear that Panasonic is targeting the house of worship and theater markets with this product. However, if you’re finding it hard to get quality camera operators for a fair price, this could be the product you’ve been waiting for.