Every once in a while a new product comes out with the combination of features, usability, and price point, that the industry has been craving.  There is a great chance that Panasonic’s new AW-HS50N is one of those products.

For years, churches have been asking for a small video mixer with digital inputs, an auxiliary bus, a keyer, and an affordable price. The HS50N has got all of this covered plus some extras that make it an especially desirable little piece of tech.

To start, there are 5 fully digital inputs. 4 are HDSDI and one is DVI so the unit can handle a computer graphics input without any external processing. For those not familiar with it, SDI/HDSDI is a professional video signal that has been utilized in broadcast and high end production facilities for years. It is a reliable way to distribute a pristine digital video signal over long distances.

Another powerful feature of the HS50N is the MultiViewer. This feature allows one output to an HD monitor to display up to 10 images simultaneously. You can have Preview, Program, and all input sources viewable at the same time on one centrally located display. This eliminates the need for a bank of high definition production monitors and significantly reduces the costs associated with deploying an HD video system.

The Auxiliary, or Aux, bus, allows one particular input to be sent to a separate output regardless of what is being shown on the program out. For instance, let’s say you have one camera that always shows a wide shot of the whole front of the sanctuary and you want to send that shot only to the nursery. Just call up that camera on the Aux bus and its done. It’s truly a set it and forget it option.

Panasonic has really packed the features into this little switcher and when you throw in a lower list price than their last generation standard definition small format production mixer, you have the makings of a product that could be a game changer in the market.

Fowler went to Infocomm last week, and the show floor was pretty exciting this year. I saw quite a few very innovative products. Here’s a quick recap of what we did and saw, and a few of the more exciting new products:

After a few less than exciting stops, we made our way to the Volante booth. They feature the DiVAS Controller, which streams several channels of HD video through a gigabit network to any number of displays. They also have a DVR unit which allows you to time-shift your broadcast. Very cool stuff. Several booths later we found ourselves in the Elite Screens booth. They make a very wide variety of video screens. The one we found most interesting was the EZ Cinema, which is a “portable” manual ascender type screen. I say “portable” because they come in sizes up to 12’ wide.

At Panasonic’s dealer meeting room, we saw some really nice professional LCD displays, the new 20 series plasmas, and some great new projectors. After that, we somehow found an integration company that was dressed up like the Pirates of the Caribbean. Weird…

We wrapped up the day with Elmo, who introduced a new cool writing tablet with software, that will also control their document cameras.

We started our second day with an appointment with Mitsubishi. They are rolling out a brand new series of dual lamp DLP projectors. The WD8200U has 6500 lumens and the XD8100U has 7000 lumens, and they have a new extra long-throw lens as well. Their booth also featured a new 65” LCD (MDT651S) at a great price point. I am also very excited by a product from Magenta Research called the Voyager VG-RX. They are doing amazing things with signal extenders. The Voyager VG-RX is a high performance receiver for short or long haul transmission of uncompressed hi-definition video and audio signals. It also carries USB, IR and RS-232 control signals, and it does it all over fiber optic cabling. Additionally, they have found a way to capture and store HDCP protocol. This will make it possible to display sources that have HDCP imbedded without a limitation on the number of displays. (For more on HDCP, check out our podcast.)

At the Panasonic booth, I finally got to put my hands on the new AG-H100 and AW-H550 video mixers; both little brothers to the AV-HS450N. The AG-H100 is a fantastic small format HD video mixer with the highly sought-after multiview. It is housed in the same chassis as the old AG-MX70, which means that it carries and switches audio in addition to the video signals. This unit will be a perfect fit for the budget-conscious church that  wants to get into more advanced video mixing and IMAG. There was no way we could get out of the booth without seeing the new 152” plasma monitor (TH-152UX1). I’m already drawing up blueprints to remove a wall in my living room and replace it with this plasma.

There was quite a bit more live sound and stage equipment this year than in the past. Soundcraft had a truck there as well as Yamaha. Martin Lighting has a brand new truck featuring all of their new luminaires.

I stopped by Shure to check out their new SE-115M earbuds (yeah, I missed them last year), and the rep actually put them in my ears. Although the experience was a little creepy, the fantastic sound was worth the very uncomfortable 30 seconds of close proximity to a complete stranger. I checked out both the SE115M and the SE425, and both were superb.

In summary, this was the best Infocomm in 3 years. We saw a lot of things that made our trip worthwhile. Manufacturers in the industry continue to put out products that put the most advanced media ideas within reach of most churches. Make sure you ask your Fowler Church Consultant about how these products will help you accomplish your mission. And when we come to visit, we promise we won’t be in pirate costumes.

Come check out our new application shots from Crosspoint Church. They can be found in the Contemporary Churchs in the gallery, or you can click here and it will send you on the path you need. If you would like to send us some pictures of your church so we can put it on our website then send them our way. You can email you representative or email areid@fowlerinc.com.

As far as the quality of the footage itself, you’ll have to spend significantly more money to get any kind of noticeable improvement. And by significantly more money I mean a camera like the Panasonic HPX2000. That package will set you back well over $20,000 and will gain you a 2/3” chip for a higher quality front end but you still have to add the optional AVC-Intra card to get the same CODEC as the HPX300. And believe me, the improvements from the CODEC are tangible. Compared to Panasonic’s earlier HD CODEC, DVCPro HD, AVC-Intra uses the same 100Mb data rate but uses the much newer H.264 compression scheme. H.264 provides roughly twice the efficiency of legacy CODECs like DVCPro HD which means you’ll get a better quality recording at even smaller file sizes. In the real world that means you can roughly double your record times at the same quality that you’ve been getting or double your quality at the same record times! Now, it’s important to understand that part of that increased quality comes by the way of an improved color depth. AVC-Intra produces a 10bit color depth. compared to an 8bit color depth from almost everything else out there. That combined with a 4:2:2 color space means smoother gradients between colors and even easier chroma-keying when shooting against a green screen. Do you do any color adjustments or stylizing to your videos? Have you ever opened the application Color that comes with Final Cut Studio? If so, this is the camera for you.

With so much interest in high definition video and using it for Image MAGnification (IMAG), you need an appropriate projection system. All projection systems should be based on an appropriate projector for you room. Notice, I said “for YOUR room.” It’s an important distinction to note that a simple list of specifications doesn’t necessarily make for the correct projector for any given installation. With that being said, the Panasonic PT-DZ6700 is about as close as we get to a universal solution. Featuring a high ANSI brightness rating of 6000 lumens and one of the highest native resolutions in the market (1900×1200) makes this projector one of the best solutions available for your upgrade to HD IMAG. The PT-DZ6700 borrows many features from it’s much higher priced brothers like it’s auto-cleaning filter (giving you up to 10,000 hours between cleanings), a liquid cooling system to provide consistent operating temperatures, a sealed optical block to ensure a clean light path through the lens, optional lenses to ensure it fits into a variety of installation scenarios, and a unique feature Panasonic calls RGB Booster to deliver bright, saturated colors in even the most demanding installations.

Click here to download the official Panasonic brochure for the 6000 series of projectors.

Bringing high-quality HD production to the masses, the Panasonic AG-HPX300 features arguably the highest quality, edit-friendly codec around. AVC-Intra is a full-raster, 4:2:2, I-Frame CODEC that avoids the pitfalls of Long GOP CODECs like MPEG-2 and AVCHD. What does that mean to you? High quality, full size HD  video that’s easy to work with in post-production and allows for maintaining the highest quality picture throughout the entire edit process. On top of that, it’s based on one of the most reliable tapeless workflows in the industry: Panasonic’s legendary P2 workflow.

Not recording to a tape means that you’ll spend less time sitting and waiting and more time actually getting the project done. You no longer have to wait in real-time for your video to capture. Now you just copy the file from the cards in the camera straight to the hard drive in your edit computer. With the HPX300, the files get “rewrapped” into a format that Final Cut Pro understands then they are available for the edit. The rewrapping process is quick and seamless and allows you use the files in any Quicktime compatible application.

I’ve shot with the HPX300 on a few occasions and have been consistently impressed with the experience. First off, just handling the camera is a joy. I’ve always preferred a shoulder-mount camera because of the improved ergonomics and stability it provides when shooting handheld. You have to support typical camcorders with your hands out in front of your body. As you begin to tire, your arms get shaky and your footage suffers. With a pro shoulder-mount camera, all the weight is on your shoulder and you only steady and point the camera with your hands. You essentially become the tripod. This allows you to shoot for longer periods of time with steadier footage.

Along with all the workflow and quality improvements mentioned above, additional features such as interchangeable lenses, professional batteries and power systems, and a five year warranty further solidify the camera as a new benchmark in the industry for high quality and low price.

Need to get beautiful HD video edited and output quickly? The AG-HPX300 is the answer. Call today to see how it can take your video productions to the next level.

Click here to download the .pdf brochure.

Click here to watch sample footage shot at Catalyst 2009 with the Panasonic AG-HPX300.

Geek Speak… Click here to learn more than you ever thought you wanted to know on the HPX300

Catalyst Video from Amber Reid on Vimeo.

Panasonic has again revolutionized the market when it comes to projection in a House of Worship with the introduction of the new PT-D6000 series.  They are building on the acclaimed success of the PT-D5000 series by remaining true to some of the brilliant design innovations of previous models.  By incorporating some new technologies, Panasonic has created a state-of-the-art lineup which can benefit almost any church or ministry.  The PT-DZ6710U breaks into the market with a1920×1200 native resolution, 6,000 ANSI lumens, and a built in SD/HDSDI input, making it a perfect solution for those looking toward the HD (High-Definition) revolution.  The PT-DX6700 sports the same brightness and resolution without the SD/HDSDI input.  The PT-DW6300US also boasts 6,000 ANSI lumens while providing a 1280×800 resolution.  The PT-D6000US is 6,500 ANSI lumens with a 1024×768 (4:3) resolution that will make it perfect for retrofitting existing systems with a higher brightness projector.

All these units feature the dual lamp technology, sealed optical block and liquid cooling system pioneered by Panasonic, making them some of the most reliable units on the market.  Added to those features is the new Auto-Cleaning Filter that will help reduce the overall cost of ownership on these units.  On the installation side, the inclusion of powered vertical and horizontal lens shift as well as a wide range of optional lenses to meet different projection distance requirements makes these new Panasonic projectors a breeze to install in almost any room.

For more information on these groundbreaking now projectors, contact your Fowler representative today!

The debate rages on. Which display technology is better, LCD or plasma? The answer, as is true so often, is not really a clear cut one, but depends on several factors. How is the display going to be used, what content is going to be on the display the most, will there be a lot of ambient light in the room? The answers to these questions and more will have an impact on the selection of a display.

Let’s start with a very basic primer on how these two competing technologies produce an image. LCD panels use a light source that is behind the display, usually fluorescent, that for each pixel or picture element passes through a series of glass plates, a liquid crystal layer and a color filter layer to achieve an image. It’s in the liquid crystal and the color filter layers that the magic really happens. The liquid crystals (which is the LC in LCD) when an electric current is applied to them, can chemically “twist” either block light or allow light to come through. The speed at which this twisting occurs is what generates different intensities of light. In the color filter layer the intensity of light goes through red, green or blue filters depending on the color that needs to come from that particular pixel. By changing intensity and color, many different shades can be created. This gives us the image that we look at on the panel.

Plasma technology is a little different. Rather than a light source behind all those layers, a plasma has individual gas-filled cells or sub-pixels, one each for red, green and blue. When an electric current is applied the gas in the cells goes to work. It emits UV rays which make the cells phosphors glow the required color.

So what difference does all that make? A lot! Because of how the images are produced and the limitations of the technologies, each different type of display lends itself to certain applications.

Plasmas are not generally manufactured at smaller sizes. So for a display that is less than 32” diagonal LCD is the way to go. For example, let’s say that we want a set of monitors mounted in a rack for a camera application. LCD is the only option for this type of application because they are manufactured down to sizes of 1 and 2 inches. For most applications larger than 32” we tend to lean towards plasma displays for several reasons. The plasma displays that we use are professional grade units that are far more durable than most LCD displays. Also, color reproduction on plasmas tends to be more realistic, with a greater saturation and “black level.” Higher black levels really make an image jump off the screen. And very importantly, plasma displays have much better off-axis viewing than LCD panels. This means that for viewers standing to one side or the other of the panel, the viewing experience is going to be greatly improved over that of an LCD.

So to summarize, for smaller applications where plasma displays simply aren’t manufactured, LCDs are a great option. For large displays, the greater durability, color correctness and off axis viewing- plasmas make a better choice.

Bringing broadcast quality high definition to the masses, Panasonic’s new AG-HMC150 blends user friendly features and professional capabilities together in an affordable, moderately sized new camera. Because the AG-HMC150 records in the new AVCHD format, several hours of high definition video can fit onto a small and inexpensive Secure Digital card. Recording formats range from standard definition to 720p to 1080i to give you a wide range of creative options for the final look of your video production. Because the camera has two XLR audio inputs you can use professional microphones for capturing your interview audio or even a direct feed from your front of house audio mixer if using the camera in an auditorium. What this means for you is that you can now capture great sounding audio to go along with your high definition video and give your finished projects the look and sound they deserve.