HDCAM SR format is Sony's highest quality production format, delivering RGB 4:4:4 full bandwidth High Definition for unprecedented picture quality.

As HD-based programme origination has escalated for feature films, HDTV and post production, HDCAM SR has become the natural choice for the interchange and delivery of HD content due to the virtually uncompressed picture quality, 12 audio channels, exceptional reliability, double speed transfer and many other advanced features.

The success of HDCAM SR has naturally led to a requirement for a playback-only ingest VTR - the SRW-5100 Studio Player.

The SRW-5100 is equipped with almost all the same key features as the SRW-5800 apart from recording and network file transfer capabilities. The SRW-5100 does fully support880 Mbps playback supporting all SQ and HQ modes, dual channel (3D), 444 mode and X2 transfer speed to certain NLE.

A new option introduced with the SRW-5100 allows HDV output for simultaneous offline ingest to a non-linear editor via i.Link

HDCAM-SR Format - For Exceptionally High Picture Quality Playback

The SRW-5100 player adopts the HDCAM SR format and plays back 1920 x 1080 resolution high-definition signals using the MPEG-4 Studio Profile compression scheme with a very mild compression ratio of 2.7:1 (4:2:2), 4:1 (4:4:4 SQ) or 2:1 (4:4:4 HQ) and 10-bit colour depth. It enables both full-bandwidth 4:4:4 RGB and high-quality 4:2:2 Y/Cb/Cr playback, delivering optimal picture performance to suit many different production requirements.

Double-speed Playback For 1080/60P and 50P Mode and HQ Mode

The SRW-5100 player supports a high data rate of 880 Mb/s, which complements the SRW-1 HDCAM-SR Portable VTR and SRW-5800 studio deck. With this high bit rate of 880 Mb/s, high-quality playback is available in several different modes: 4:2:2/1080/60P and 50P, 4:4:4 High Quality (HQ) mode, 3D mode (2 x 422 signals) and x2 transfer.

The 4:2:2/1080/60P and 50P mode is highly compatible with computer graphics, games and other progressive-based programmes such as demonstration reels for flat-panel displays. It also offers exceptional picture performance when converting material originated in 1080/60P or 50P format to 720P format, due to its original high resolution of 1920 x 1080. Another benefit of using the 4:2:2/1080/60P and 50P recording mode is that it enables extremely high-quality slow-motion effects.

The 4:4:4 High Quality (HQ) mode enables 880 Mb/s 4:4:4 RGB recording with a milder compression ratio of 2:1. This achieves virtually uncompressed picture quality and is ideal when highest possible image quality is the top priority, for example green / blue screen.

Double-speed Material Transfer

The SRW-5800 allows 4:2:2 material to be transferred to servers and non-linear editing systems at twice the normal speed using a standard Dual-link HD-SDI interface. This is achieved by playing back tapes at 880 Mb/s (double the normal 440 Mb/s speed) and transferring the data using two linked HD-SDI cables. This capability halves the time required for material transfer. This feature only works for tapes recorded in HDCAM SR format.

Multiple Frame Rates

With the SRW-5100, the entire range of both interlace and progressive frame rates are available, ranging from 24-frame progressive imaging, to 60-frame interlace for high-end HDTV production applications. This includes 60P, 59.94P, 50P, 60i, 59.94i, 50i, 30PsF, 29.94PsF, 25PsF, 24PsF, and 23.98PsF.

720P Capability

The SRW-5100 player can also playback in 720/59.94P or 720/50P formats, meeting different needs for DTV programming and transmission.

12-channel Audio Playback

The SRW-5100 recorder plays back up to 12 channels of 24-bit audio at 48 kHz in both 1080- and 720-line recordings, to meet the most demanding audio recording requirements in digital content mastering.

The SRW-5100 can also playback non-audio data streams such as Dolby E.

Legacy Playback Capability

The SRW-5100 can optionally play back HDCAM and Digital Betacam format tapes for more flexible operation, using the optional HKSR-5802 board.

Internal Format Conversion

The SRW-5100 is optionally equipped with a powerful internal format converter that enables many different types of conversion such as 3-2 pull-down, up-conversion, down-conversion, cross-conversion and colour-space conversion. This powerful optional HKSR-5001 format converter board makes the SRW-5800 very versatile in post-production.

Easy Management of Setup/System Menus

The SRW-5100 offers a highly effective way to manage its System Menu. Up to eight groups of parameters in the System Menu and Setup Menu can be individually saved as bank memory onto the internal memory of the VTR. They can also be saved onto Memory Stick media, enabling them to be copied onto other SRW-5100 VTRs for quick and consistent setup of multiple VTRs.

Furthermore, equipped with an Ethernet interface, the SRW-5100 allows operators to remotely view the setup parameters saved in the VTR's memory bank, and to select a bank they want to use through a PC.

HDV output option

Uniquely the SRW-5100 can use the optional HKSR-5105 board to output an offline HDV format signal. This is only available in 1080 50i and 59.94i modes, although 23.98PsF can use pull down mode to output in 59.94i. AV/C control and 4 channel audio are supported for both HDCAM and HDCAM SR tapes

Highly cost efficient

The SRW-5100 is designed, and priced, to be a very cost efficient player supporting HDCAM SR, HDCAM* and Digital Betacam * formats for programme ingest and transfer to offline and online editing systems. It is ideal for ingest to servers, tape interchange and delivery playback, on-set viewing and any application requiring playback of HDCAM SR tapes for viewing or quality evaluation.

* using the optional HKSR-5802 board

Full support for HDCAM SR

The SRW-5100 supports all major 1080 and 720 frame rates up to 30P, plus RGB SQ and HQ, 1080/50P, 1080/60P and double speed transfer (HDCAM SR recorded tapes only)

Compatible with most NLE systems

Allows offline editing output directly to almost any compatible offline NLE system using common i.LINK (FireWire) interface.

Easily expandible

Optional boards allow quick and easy expansion with additional features when and if you need them.

General

Analogue Audio-Output Performance