FOCUS Enhancements and Panasonic Highlight HD Direct To Edit Video Disk Recorder

FOCUS Enhancements Inc., a worldwide leader in video production and
conversion technology, and Panasonic, developer of the DVCPRO family of
products, today announced the upcoming line of FireStore FS-100
portable Direct To Edit (DTE) HD disk recorders for Panasonic’s new
AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD P2 Handheld Camera-recorder at a press conference
held at the Universal Hilton.

As an official Panasonic P2 partner, FOCUS Enhancements specifically
optimized the FireStore FS-100 DTE recorder for the new Panasonic
AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD P2 Handheld Camera-recorder, extending its storage
capacity and as a backup and a digital disk recording solution. The
FireStore FS-100 enables professional videographers to record drop-out
free DV/DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50 or DVCPRO HD video streams via FireWire while
in the field. They can then connect directly to a Mac or PC notebook or
desktop to edit content directly from the FireStore ‘ eliminating the
need to digitize footage. In DVCPRO HD and DVCPRO 50 mode, clips are
recorded to disk in the MXF P2 format. In DV and DVCPRO mode, users can
choose from the most popular NLE formats including Avid OMF, Canopus
AVI, Matrox AVI and more. Broadcast professionals and film makers
working with HD will have a complete acquisition to editing solution
that will streamline the overall video production workflow ‘ saving
valuable time and money.

“FOCUS Enhancements has a history of completely streamlining the video
workflow, linking acquisition directly to editing,” said Phil
Livingston, Vice President for Technical Liaison at Panasonic
Broadcast. “Today we introduced a dedicated, direct-mount DTE solution
for users of the DVCPRO HD P2 format, and at DV Expo, we’ll demonstrate
a fully functional combination of the FireStore FS-100 combined with
our revolutionary AG-HVX200. This powerful duo enhances in-the-field
and in-studio applications providing direct-to-disk and Direct To Edit
capabilities that, like P2 itself, dramatically reduces the time from
acquisition to distribution.”

“Panasonic’s AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD P2 Handheld Camera-recorder is one of
the most versatile solutions for TV, NEWS, events, and motion
pictures,” said Michael Conway, senior vice president of business
development and strategy at FOCUS Enhancements. “The adoption rate for
HD content is sky rocketing and broadcast, motion picture professionals
and event videographers are seeking mission critical solutions that
will streamline every step of the production process. The FireStore
FS-100 extends the already impressive feature-set of the AG-HVX200 with
highly portable DTE benefits including 90 minutes of extended hard disk
recording time and the ability to record DVCPRO HD and DVPRO 50 in
Panasonic’s widely supported P2 MXF format and DV/DVCPRO with DTE in
native NLE file formats.”

FireStore FS-100 Key features:

The FireStore FS-100 is expected to be available in March 2006 at an estimated MSRP of $2,195.