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FEBRUARY 01, 2004 Affordable High-Definition Video  High-definition video is finally on the verge of high-volume acceptance. The latest industry numbers indicate that 2.4 million HDTV sets were sold in 2003, increasing the total number of U.S. households with HD viewing capabilities to approximately 9 million. By the time broadcast stations adhere to the FCC digital broadcast guidelines, experts predict that more than 30 million HDTVs will be in operation.The consumer’s desire for these wide-screen, HD-compatible displays, combined with the gradual decrease in their cost, is moving these products off the showroom floor and into their homes and workplaces. For the past few years the entertainment industry has nurtured consumer interest in HD programming, thanks in part to the proliferation of DVDs that brought true film formats to home theaters. Until now, however, HD content creation was relegated to producers at the very high end, including the major networks, post-production houses, and Hollywood film studios. The high bandwidth, storage, and processing requirements forced equipment prices through the roof. For most schools, government, corporate and independent videographers, the incredibly expensive equipment and the associated production costs were simply too restrictive. If the cost issue could be solved, then a much wider number of these people could enjoy the benefits of HD and realize the potential provided by the growing installed base of HD-compatible displays. JVC stepped up and finally did something about this HDTV-content roadblock with its “HD for the Masses” approach. [an error occurred while processing this directive] This has made HD production and distribution affordable, enabling a much wider audience, including the consumer and other companies in the industry, to enjoy these benefits. Standards First The JVC approach uses industry-standard MPEG-2 compression to create and deliver HD video—the same method broadcast stations use to transmit HD programming (as well as compress and deliver standard-definition video on DVDs). The MPEG-2 format is an efficient method of compressing video and is used by JVC in its JY-HD10 camcorder to capture high-definition video and reduce the digital HD distribution or storage requirement to less than 20 mbps. MPEG-2 affordably delivers more data into a given pipeline or storage device, making it ideal for the high-bandwidth requirements of HD. Using the open standard MPEG-2 technology also lets other companies exploit this growing opportunity with compatible, adaptable products for the capture, processing and transmission of HD content. Proof positive is the number of nonlinear-editing products and converters that now facilitate editing MPEG-2 HD, such as Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, MediaWare and Ulead. Additionally, several other manufacturers, including Canon, Sharp and Sony, have also embraced the MPEG-2 approach as a method for HD acquisition. JVC’s affordable JY-HD10 handheld camcorder shoots video in HD and stores it as MPEG-2 for editing or broadcast. It also gives videographers the ability to record high-quality HD MPEG-2 video on low-cost DV tapes, at costs well below other formats. In addition, the JY-HD10 can also switch to a regular DV mode for standard-definition production. With only a minimal investment, high schools and universities can add HD video production and editing courses to their curriculum, training the next generation of videographers in the newest wave of video capture and broadcast. Wedding videographers can boost their product offerings with HD, considerably enhancing the appeal of that “memories of a lifetime” video. Affordable HD also gives in-store merchandising programs new appeal, conveying more information with more engaging images. From the camera that records in an MPEG-2 format to the encoders, decoders and players, JVC has brought bandwidth requirements down—thanks to MPEG-2—and has solved the challenge of very high bandwidth and the tremendous cost of associated equipment, recording and storage. This has also spawned the launch of the new HDV format—the first practical and affordable solution for HD production. Robert Harris is vice president of marketing at JVC Professional Products Company in Wayne, New Jersey.
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