New 3D Board and Software Upgrade HS450N to Powerful 3D Stereoscopic Switcher

Panasonic Solutions Company continues to expand its cost-effective 3D production tools with the introduction of the AV-HS04M7D 3D SDI output board and new software, which transform the company’s popular AV-HS450N HD/SD multi-format switcher into a powerful live 3D stereoscopic switcher.
With the addition of an HD/SD switcher with 3D stereoscopic production capabilities to its growing line of professional 3D products, Panasonic now offers a multi-camera 3D acquisition/switching with effects/recording system for under $100,000. A typical system might consist of the HS450N switcher, two AG-3DA1 Full HD 3D camcorders, a BT-3DL2550 25″ 3D LCD monitor, and the AJ-HPM200 P2 Mobile recorder/player, which can record 3D on a single P2 card. This 3D production system is on display in the Panasonic booth here at CES.

Current HS450N users will be able to easily upgrade to 3D production by simply installing the new 3D board in their units and loading the included software via the switcher’s SD Card slot. An upgraded HS450N will operate in either 3D or 2D modes (supporting HD signals only in 3D) and will easily support up to eight pairs of inputs in 3D, making it ideal for multi-camera 3D shoots.

With the upgraded HS450N, simultaneous stereoscopic video transitions are enabled using crosspoint buttons. Cut, dissolve, wipe, and other effects become available as simultaneous transitions for use in sports recording, music videos, commercial production, event recording and other 3D projects. Vertical/horizontal reversing and position correction are possible for all 16 channels of HD-SDI standard inputs. Steroscopic Chroma Key compositing can be smoothly accomplished on location in real time with the embedded Primatte Chroma Key software. The upgraded switcher provides selectable 3D output modes, including Left, Right, Mix, Side-by-Side, and Line-by-Line. In addition the switcher can simulate 3D camera optical axis shift to facilitate fine adjustments.

A staple of entertainment, commercial and institutional production, the HS450N is an expandable, reliable, high-performance switcher offering 16 SD/HD-SDI standard inputs with a unique built-in, dual-screen MultiViewer, multiple keyers, four aux busses, two Picture-in-Pictures (PiP) and SDKs ‘ all for about half the price of comparable switcher systems. The switcher’s built-in, dual-output MultiViewer allows users to see up to 20 images on two high-resolution displays. With 16 built-in frame-synchronizers, four built-in up-converters, multi-axis color correction, four SD/HD-SDI outputs and two scalable DVI outputs all as standard, the HS450 offers a powerful modular platform with expandable capabilities for enhanced performance and ease of operation.

The AV-HS04M7D 3D board and software will be available in February 2010, at a suggested list price of $5,900. The AV-HS450N is currently available at a suggested list price of $26,265.00. End user orders for the HS450N/M7D package placed between Jan. 1, 2011 and Feb. 28, 2011 may receive the M7D board at no cost.

For more information: www.panasonic.com/broadcast.