SuperVideo/ Cyber Television Studio in a Suitcase

CYBER TELEVISION STUDIO IN A SUITCASE^TM D10k~CLUB
EZ30U NAB Brochure #1 #2 #3 #4

MAY NEWS LETTER is at bottom of this page

There is out there in Video Land three extraordinary pieces of hardware that many of you have managed to acquire through travels, friends or even through my good contacts here in the states. The Sony dual recording decks of the old state-of-the art S-VHS analog tapes alongside the newest prosumer DV digital tapes, both in the mini consumer 60 minute size and the professional 180 minute standard DV size. Also, we have the just announced Panasonic mini DV size miracle 1 pound 3CCD AG-EZ30U which the rest of the world knows & uses for the past six months as the DX100 Digicam. This news page will be an English text and primer for those of you scattered out there around the globe helpless and alone in foreign lands and dealing with these foreign built machines of such high caliber quality. Your e-mail is here-by being solicited to share with the rest of us of Hidden and New Found Features, Best PRICES and Locations to purchase both.

DHR-1000 Sony DV VCR DV10,000 Panasonic DVCR WV-D10,000 Sony DV/S-VHS DV-10,000 Welcome Owners of the Sony WV-D10,000 DV / S-VHS Double Deck VCR & Panasonic DV Master VCR and DHR-1000 and GVD-900 Walkman DVCR!!! This page is your newsletter devoted to those few who have been able to purchase these most unique of VCR's that are not found so easily either here in USA or Europe. We will post in English here Tips, hidden features, diagrams, e-mails, up-dates, ideas, news items, hands on articles, problem areas, pictures and discussions among us owner/users. For location, contacts and super low supervideo prices: E:Mail Me

Tip of the Day To record on both decks at the same time, say with the DJ100 (aka EZ30U/DX100E) Connect the Camcorder to the above front input connections with the DV Firewire for the DV left side deck to record in digital. Connect the S-Video cable and stereo audio cables to the front inputs for the VHS/SVHS analog right side deck to begin recording. Question of the Day How do you control an external VCR or Camcorder through the Fire wire? Quote of the Day THE 'CM' key on the remote will allow Commercials to be skipped! From The E-Mail File: Sony said last weekend at NAB that they have no current plans to introduced the double deck unit anywhere outside Japan and it is still on limited production! PANASONIC EZ30U For those of you lucky enough to have found the most over looked Camcorder... English Details of this Unit are found at top of this PAGE!!

Under Water / All Weather Housing to Come to USA {Pana announced May 1st UWEZ30 will be available as an optional accessory item third or fourth quarter '98 for MSRP $1400.00}

Left: the American EZ30U with remote and RIGHT: the Japan DJ100 with hood removed for underwater use Note: in above picture the under water housing is NOT Pana UWEZ30 but a Gates model. Pana is clear Acrylic and has microphone, Zoom control, Video/Photo, Off/On and Rec/StandBy.
Differences Between US Model AG-EZ30U and Domestic DJ100 Model with Explanations Headphone jack can be found next to the S-Video port on the base plate for audio monitoring the DJ100
The US EZ30U does NOT have the Computer Jack to RS232 port on the back of the docking station.
The US EZ30U comes in gun metal black (like a VCR) and not the Platinum Patina finish seen above
The revolutionary feature #12 on your menu setting "Skin Feature" control is NOT on EZ30U..............
This remarkable control is only recently been found on digital camcorders costing well above $10,000
and in professional Wedding photography. One of the features is that it will smooth out rough skin,
blemishes and even a 5 o'clock shadow on the groom. Another astonishing capability is that it will
restore the natural blush to the brides face and therefore leave all other colors in balance to true color! At under 1.5 pounds, the smallest and lightest 3-CCD camcorder in the market Ideal for multimedia production, My CyberStudio, business and educational uses Digital Component Recording IEEE 1394 DV Interface (digital input/output) 2.5-inch Color LCD Monitor 12X Optical/30X Digital/120X Super Zoom 0.5-inch Color Viewfinder Underwater/All weather dedicated housing Unique 4 & 6 hour waist belt batteries the size, weight & shape of a sardine can! Manual Professional Functions including focus, shutter, gain, iris, white balance Zebra Pattern Function allows users to determine the optimum image exposure S/N ratio= 50dB, minimum illumination= 2 lux (w/gain-up) & draws only 9 watts 60 min (90@LP) of Digital component video & Digital audio on DV cassettes Mini DV cassettes play back in all Pana's DVPro & Sony DVCam studio VTRs Four channels of 12-bit digital PCM sound (2 stereo original + 2 stereo dub) Six built-in digital effects include wipe, mix, strobe, gain-up, black/white, still Digital Still Shot function records still image and seven seconds of sound Built-in stereo mic, external mic input & IR remote control for key functions and lastly has.... Optional dual XLR adapter with headphone jack, available Press Release PANASONIC'S NEW ULTRA-COMPACT 3-CCD AG-EZ30U DEFINES STATE-OF-THE-ART IN DV CAMCORDERS 1.5 Pound Camcorder Includes Firewire Interface, Color LCD Monitor SECAUCUS, NJ & NAB Las Vegas (March 1998) Panasonic has just announced the introduction of the ultra-compact AG-EZ30U 3-CCD digital video (DV) camcorder. Offering such advanced functions as an IEEE 1394 DV interface while weighing under 1.5 pounds, the AG-EZ30U is the smallest and lightest 3-CCD camcorder in the market. The exceptional picture quality delivered by the camcorder's 3-CCDs make it ideal for multimedia production, single-handed news gathering, and an array of professional, business and education uses. The hand-held camcorder features three 1/4-inch, 270,000-pixel IT CCDs to produce 460 lines of horizontal resolution, a signal-to-noise ratio of 50dB, minimum illumination of 2 lux (with digital gain-up) and draws only 9 watts of power. Each pixel has a large light-collecting area, giving the camcorder its high S/N ratio, high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. The AG-EZ30U will record up to 60 min SP of digital component video and digital audio on a 1/4-inch cassette. The miniature DV cassettes can be played back in all Panasonic's DVCPRO studio VTRs (using an optional adapter), enhancing the use of DV cassettes in professional applications. This camcorder 's IEEE 1394 "Firewire" interface allows digital-to-digital signal transmission or reception when connected with another DV camcorder or an IEEE 1394-equipped personal computer. The AG-EZ30U is equipped with a 12X optical, 30X digital and 120X super digital zoom lens. For professional applications, the camcorder offers a built-in SMPTE time code generator and users can manually control the camcorder's focus, shutter speeds, gain and iris. Another professional function, a zebra-level indicator, is a feature normally found in high-end broadcast cameras. The zebra-level indicator, located in the viewfinder, allows users to determine the optimum image exposure. Equipped with both a 270^oangle-adjustable 2.5-inch, 180,000-pixel Ultra High Resolution LCD monitor and a 180,00-pixel 0.5-inch Ultra High Resolution color viewfinder; this unique camcorder offers excellent viewing flexibility regardless of the shooting conditions. The AG-EZ30U comes preset with a multi page menu and an ideal combination of iris size and shutter speed which allows for a variety of subjects and shooting conditions. Shooters can select from the five program AE modes: Sports, Portrait, Spotlight, Surf , Snow and Low Light. The unit's six built-in digital effects include Wipe, Mix, Strobe, Gain-up, Black/white and Still. And this Digital Still Shot function records a high-quality still image & about seven seconds of sound like an intervelometer. The AG-EZ30U features four channels of 12-bit digital PCM sound, it is also equipped with built-in stereo mic, and offers the user an external mic input & IR remote control for key functions. The AG-EZ30U will have additional accessories introduced in the future, one of these Panasonic will offer (in the second quarter, 1998) will be an optional dual XLR adapter with an additional headphone jack. The sardine size 4 hour waist battery is now available at MSRP of $300. The EZ30U will be available later this summer at a suggested list price of $3,995. (Unless you need it Sooner! and for less)
X to center this page adjust your Bill Gates Window until the Two Blue 'X's' are in each corner X

D10k Club
News Update May 1998

Aloha All :
and I do hope El Nino and La Ninya are not affecting your outside video shooting enjoyment
especially on the weekends. We have a new member joining us this month, the Sony TRV9
DV and Analog complete Input and Output enabled from the OEM and not somebody's back
yard garage conversion or tinkering. I expect Panasonic to be one of the first major company's
to adopt this as standard equipment. Actually, it is when that happens we have truly arrived.
Unless two or more different corporations are adopting any changes it won't come about.
You saw what happened when Sony went at it alone with Beta and later 8mm and JVC tried to
push VHS-C. Nobody won and we were ALL losers. The DV format is universally accepted &
now being promoted. Next is the integration of this format with another vertical field like com-
puters and digital imaging and even the internet. This needs to be followed by software for
longevity. We shall see. It would be so easy for Pana to either add to the EZ30U an optional
base station to the package that the Analog jacks are all enabled in both directions or what is
more than likely, a EZ40U to come along and have that as a 1999 feature. Either way we all
stand to benefit as this works thru the multi port connector on the bottom of our EZ30U & there
fore we could have a backward compatible feature we can all enjoy. On the XLR front let me
point out we have already available and orderable the Studio One connection plate. This unit
if you read the specs is to a higher standard & at a lower price than the beachtech model. The
most important difference is the reduced line hum due to Studio 1 having each transformer
individually wrapped for shielding and it has phono plugs in addition to the XLR. Monitoring
is through the Panasonic amplified earphone jack that can be used for critical sound check on
playback as all earphone jacks are off the camera mic and not from the tape. Interesting? OK

Panasonic announced this past week two new developments. They have been able to reduce
the size of the tape to be able to offer 120 minutes on miniDV tape at SP and 180 min in LP.
They are to start production immediately with first deliveries heading for the states at 500k
per week or per day (not sure, copy was blurred). The second is a new Lithium Battery that
is the same size as the 1250mha type for their DV series including the Digicam but over double
the power at 3000mha! An incredible feat. Price may even be reasonable and we have a location
that those interested can get them early. We will announce that as soon as they arrive in country.

The Lens in the Digicam despite what you may have read on the internet is NOT plastic and
all Pana camcorders have used glass. The Low Light on the old EZ1U 3CCD was rated at 5
Lux and the Sony VX1000 was rated at 2 LUX. The Pana had the better picture in low light
because in consumer equipment (VX1000) they use best case scenario's and in professional
equipment (EZ30U) they use worst case scenario's. The EZ30U has better low light specs than
both of these first generation DV units. Stabilizers are a consumer feature or toy (depending
on whether you are a salesman or the buyer!) and in the professional arena they do not use
these. It is a tripod that supposedly sets a professional off from a rank amateur. When hand
held pictures MUST be shot or the only way a scene can be shot then the Glide Stick or the
SteadiCam and others are employed for professional results. The rule is it is always best not
to turn on anything that can detract from the overall image. Progressive Scan and 1/3 versus
1/4 and 1" versus 2/3 inch CCD chips is in the current New Media & Videography magazines.
Pana USA has announced the importing the SPDS5 housing at $1400 MSRP in about 6 months.

The new Panasonic DV Edit Master Deck has been given the green light to come to the states
and will be announced later this year for a holiday arrival with a price tag less than DHR-1000.

This weeks discussion of the Dual Deck WV-D10,000 DV/S-VHS from my Calif. Angel

Hello, any friend of the chuckmeister is a friend of mine.
Let's see if I can help.

On Sat, 09 May 1998 00:16:53 -0700, you wrote:
>I understand you have the duel deck from sony...also Japanese.

Yes.
> How do you like it and how are you editing with it?

        I am growing to like it more and more as I learn its
        functions. Since everything is in Japanese this is
        taking some time.

        My story is that I purchased it with the understanding
        that it had the Sony deck control protocol LANC. After
        purchasing a TAO L-PORT to allow my Speed Razor
        software to control the dual deck for batch capturing,
        I learned that the dual deck does not have LANC
        capabilities. (it does have some hidden or tech LANC
        socket but nobody I know has been able to use it.) So,
        my main reason for purchasing it went out the window
        from the first moment that I had it. However, since I've
        been doing mainly shooting (a documentary) over these
        past few months editing has not been a big issue until
        very recently.

        So as far as the dual deck is concerned here is how I've
        used it: To make DV masters of VHS footage for archive
        purposes. Since the connections are "hard wired" (I'm
        not sure that is the right terminology) NOT VIA CABLE,
        the DV copy is very very good. If I want to make copies
        from the DV master they are also very good. I've also made
        SVHS copies from my DV shot on the VX-1000 and the PC10.
        These copies are excellent and plain VHS is also very very
        good.

        Since I really need to batch capture I just purchased a Sony
        DSR-20. I tested the two decks together and I've made
        simultaneous copies from DV to DV and VHS. This too
        is neat.

        The dual deck allows for assemble editing from DV>SVHS/VHS
        and the other way as well SVHS/VHS>DV, though I haven't
        figured out how to do it. Since I do Non-Linear editing with
        Speed Razor I'm not sure how much I'll need that.

        I imagine one great use of the deck will be to record
        my final edited version on DV and SVHS at the same time and
        not having to record to DV then to SVHS. Also with the DRS-20
        I can see using either the 20 and DUAL as source and record
        decks via firewire to make a rough edit onto 180 min DV tape.
        This of course can be done with a camera and a deck as well.

        There is so much to the dual deck that I've yet to explore
        because of the language barrier that I just don't have a clear
        idea as to what all it can do. What I do know it that
        everyone who know anything about video thinks that it's one
        of the best decks that they've ever seen.

        Personally, one reason that I hung onto it, despite the LANC
        problem, was that I think it's a great benefit to be able make
        very high quality SVHS and VHS copies of my work with this
        deck, on the fly. Just pop in a high quality into the SVHS
        side, and either from the DV side or out of my computer,
        a fresh high grade VHS or SVHS is ready to go.

        For example: Last week TELAMUNDO the Spanish language
        television station wanted a few minutes of video showing one
        of the kids that I work with in action. The said, "SVHS would
        be best." I said, "No problem."   I stuck my miniDV shot on
        the VX1000 in the DV side, loaded the other side with an
        SVHS blank and a few edits later. I had the goods for
        TELAMUNDO, with very little loss if any.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely, the chuckmeister at...
               http://www.supervideo.com/dvnews.htm
          "Stay Up-To-Date in DV with Free IBM Service Below"
                 http://www.micromat.com/pagewatch/

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