AUGUST NEWS
HAMA'S HANDFUL
Hama have just announced a number of new additions to their range of AV
processors, plus a new low-cost genlock for the Amiga later in the year, but
more about that in a moment. In
strictly numerical order first off is the Audio Video Processor 126, a fairly
routine video processor/audio mixer. Video options include:
* 3 selectable inputs (S-Video and composite)
* variable colour saturation, contrast and definition
* video bypass
* screen splitter.
On the audio side there's a three-channel mixer, with selectable mic or
auxiliary inputs. The only unusual feature is bass and treble controls, which
could be of interest to those who take their soundtracks seriously. The 126 is
on sale now for around £349.
Now we come to one of Hama's more
unusual new arrivals, it's called the Audio Video Processor 132. At first
glance it looks fairly ordinary, housed -- as are all of their new products
-- in a distinctive sloping console.
The main facilities are:
* variable colour saturation,
contrast and definition
* combined audio and video fader
* bypass switch
* headphone monitor output.
So far so good, until you look at
the specs for the video connections. The output is configured for both S-Video
and composite, no problems there, but on the input side there is only provision
for S-Video signals, no composite inputs at all! Hama say it fills a gap
created by their highly successful 122 and 124 AV processors, which are
composite video only. Hama have taken note of our comments and we're hopeful that the powers that be will
think about fitting a composite video input on future models, it's a
potentially useful little device but as it stands it has rather limited appeal.
The price, by the way, is going to be around £220, when it reaches the shops
this month.
Next up is the Special Effects
Processor 152. This advanced wipe-pattern generator has a selection of no less
than 60 basic patterns, that gives an almost infinite number of shape and
colour permutations when used with the 152's variable colour output and
poster-effect controls. The wipes can be controlled manually or automatically
and there's the option of soft or hard edges, wipe angle and external control
from either of Hama's Video Cut edit controllers. The 152 has S-Video and composite
video inputs, and will be appearing at a video accessory dealer near you any
time now, for just under £500.
Hama's fourth new arrival is the Special Effects Processor 156, and this
one is different. The 156 generates a variable-size square, rectangle or circle
shape which can be moved around the screen using a small joystick. The picture
outside the shape can be faded or softened to make the mask stand out, or the
effect can be reversed, so the shape becomes opaque. This effect is similar to
the one used by broadcasters, to hide identity or obscure detail. The 156 can
also be used to generate simple horizontal or vertical wipes, to or from black.
Thus far this kind of effect has only been available on Panasonic's range of
digital AV processors, the cheapest of which costs around £1,000. Admittedly
the 156 has far fewer facilities but it only costs around £350. We'll be
looking at this very unusual product in more detail next month.
The last two AV products are vaguely related; they're the Videoscript
250, and the Genlock 292. The 250 is a neat-looking title generator with a
laptop-sized QWERTY-style keyboard, other features include:
* 24-characters per line
* 11-lines per page
* 10-page memory
* S-Video and composite video inputs and outputs
* 240 characters
* 8-colours for text and background
* 3 character resolutions
* 4 character sizes
* 26 user-definable graphics
* external control interface
* built-in demonstration program
It's due to go on sale any time now and it will cost just under £450
We come now to the Genlock 292, and in case you were wondering, the
connection between this and the 250 is that at least one major video accessory
dealer is planning to bundle a 292 in with an Amiga and titling software, for
not much more than the cost of the 250, we know which one we'd rather have. The
292's most outstanding feature is the price, it will sell for around £299,
which is significantly less than comparable Amiga genlocks. Feature worth
noting are:
* S-Video and composite video operation
* RGB colour control for Amiga output
* output fader
* Amiga 3000 compatible
* video, key and mix options
* RGB cable supplied
A formidable piece of kit and one which we'll be reporting on more fully
as we approach the launch date, which is expected to be late summer.
One last product from Hama which caught our eye, it's the 29240
palmcorder bag. From the outside it looks fairly ordinary -- it has all the
usual zippered pockets and pouches -- but tucked away in a secret compartment
in the base of the bag is one of the cutest little tripods you're likely to
see. It has 8-section legs, reminiscent of the telescopic aerials fitted to
transistor radios. To be honest it's not really suitable for anything larger
than a palmcorder but full marks to Hama for putting this excellent package
together, which for the record, will cost around £80. Look out for a more
detailed appraisal in next month's Minitests.
EASIER EDITING
The fact is that majority of camcorder are hopeless as edit source decks.
The few exceptions are those machines fitted with Control L and RMC edit
terminals, and the handful of new models with their own in-built edit
controllers. Vivanco have taken a long hard look at this problem and come up
with the VCR 5022. It's a neat, one-shot edit controller that works with any
machine (camcorder and VCR) that has infra-red remote control. For good measure
Vivanco have also included a 3-channel audio mixer plus an audio/video fader
with variable-delay.
The 5022 is housed in one of Vivanco's new angular consoles, so it will
fit in with other post-production units from their current range. The IR remote
control system 'learns' the commands from the host machine's own handset,
giving it full control over both machine's transport systems. The 5022 connects
between the source and destination deck
and TV using SCART AV cables, it comes with SCART to phono adaptors. The edit
memory has been limited to one scene because the 5022 is unable to read time or
counter data on the master recording. Even so, this is quite sufficient for
short productions, or simply tidying up home video-movies which may only
require a few scenes to be rearranged, or deleted.
The 5022 should be of particular interest to owners of 8mm camcorders,
especially those made by Canon, Hitachi and Sanyo, most of which are sadly
lacking in the editing department. It should be in the shops now, retailing for
just under £250.
EDIT UPDATE
Following our review of the VCR 5055 edit controller last month Vivanco
have now told us that they now have a lead and plug-in control module that will
allow it to work with some JVC camcorders, in particular the ever-popular
GR-707. The lead plugs into the machine's remote socket and enables the 5055 to
operate its transport system; unfortunately it only works with VITC encoded
recordings as it needs the data to identify cut-in and out points. The lead set
is available now from Vivanco dealers, either as an optional accessory, costing
around £10, or as a supplied item, when purchasing the 5055.
QUARTER MASTER
The move towards ever smaller imaging chips, and hence lighter and more
compact camcorder lenses continues with Panasonic announcing the world's first
camcorder to have a quarter-inch CCD. Hard on their heels are Canon, who are
also understood to have a machine in the pipeline with a similar-sized chip.
Sanyo are threatening to go one better with an image sensor measuring only one
fifth of an inch. Even smaller chips have been developed for security and
surveillance applications but for the moment Panasonic are ahead of the pack
with the NV-R50, launched in the UK this month for a little under £900.
The NV-R50 is a slimline VHS-C machine with colour viewfinder, 10x
optical zoom and digital effects. The R50's lens and CCD has a similar specification
to machines with larger 1/3 and 1/2-inch chips, the pixel count is 320,000 and
low-light sensitivity is around 1 lux, so in theory at least, picture quality
should not be compromised. Needless to say we'll be putting one of these
machine though its paces in a forthcoming issue. The rest of the R50's feature
list looks something like this:
* 5-mode program AE system (sports, portrait, low-light, auto &
manual)
* 5-pin RMC edit terminal
* digital zoom up to 45x
* 0.7-inch LCD colour viewfinder (104k pixels)
* simple one-touch controls
* large on-screen display
* digital wipe/mix
* strobe and snapshot effects
* gain-up facility
* digital image stabiliser
HIGH HOPES
Following the successful launch of the EX30, (see review this month)
Sanyo are rumoured to be considering bringing in a Hi 8 version of this
machine. It's certainly a logical step forward and it would provide a useful
boost for the high-band format which has been treading water of late. The new,
and as yet unnamed model would be unlikely to appear in the shops much before
the end of the year, and it's still far too early to speculate about prices but
if the EX30 is anything to go by, it should be very competitive
There's increasing speculation that another manufacturer is planning to
introduce a PAL Hi8 camcorder. This time it concerns the Korean company Samsung
who are already making a name for themselves with their latest 8mm compact and
sub-compact machines which are now exceptional value for money, in the face of
on-going price increases from the major Japanese manufacturers.
---end---
R. Maybury 1993 1606
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