Grass Valley officially intros LDK 8000 HD camera

By Ken Kerschbaumer

Grass Valley today unveiled the LDK 8000 HD camera at its IBC press briefing, giving broadcasters a new way to serve the international market. The new camera has 14-bit A.D sampling and 24-bit resolution DSP and can support 1080p/50 and 1080p/60 productions.

It can output 1080p/50 and 1080p/60 via dual-link SDI connectors, says Jeff Rosica, Grass Valley SVP, worldwide marketing and technology. The feature meets broadcaster’s needs to deliver HD content around the globe without the need for cross conversion.

The new camera supports standard triax and fiber connectivity and also has an innovative high-bandwidth fiber system that allows for fast progressive scanning and advanced super slow-motion replay that are impossible on today s fiber and triax systems. It also has a new generation of the HD-DPM+ CCD imager to deliver cleaner and sharper pictures. Pricing for the new camera starts at $116,000 and it will be available in the fourth quarter of 2006.

It s all part of a move to capitalize on an exploding HD market. Marc Valentin, Grass Valley president, says that European broadcasters and content creators will spend 2.8 billion Euros spent in next three years for HD EFP acquisition and production. HD penetration is moving quickly at both ends of the chain, both consumers and content creators. Grass Valley experienced 76% growth in the production switcher market and 40% in cameras during 2006.