Developed for the sport market, the Grass Valley LDK 6200 offers similar qualities to its standard definition predecessor, the LDK600, but also offers the ability to capture an image at a high frame rate in a native HD format. The camera can sufficiently slow pictures down to enable full hi-def super slo-mo replays.
Although the technology will be best received in the US, where broadcasters are shooting and transmitting in HD, Thomson says that it has already pinpointed a UK market for the product and, according to product manager Jan Eveleens, the company has received interest from UK-based producers. Thomson hopes that the system will be used by broadcasters at the Olympics in Athens later this year.
All broadcasters currently doing HD sport production are having to upconvert shots from SD in order to show high-def, super slo-mo replays, which diminishes picture quality and sharpness.
The LDK6200, which took 12 months
to develop, and is the first product in the
world to offer this facility, will be made available by the end of the year for around £150,000.
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