News

Thomson Introduces New LDK 8000 Elite HD Camera Series For Studios, News, and Sports (22/9/2008)

Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS), the worldwide leader in video solutions, continues to expand the features and advance the performance of its popular Thomson Grass Valley(tm) LDK 8000, LDK 8000 SportCam multi-format and LDK 4000 mk II single-format high-definition (HD) cameras with the introduction of the Elite HD Camera Series.

Three new models include the Thomson Grass Valley LDK 4000 Elite, LDK 8000 Elite (in Standard and WorldCam versions), and the LDK 8000 SportElite, which all bring new levels of camera performance while opening the product up to a wider production community. This includes live sports broadcasters that need to acquire the highest quality HD signals as well as independent feature producers and directors of photography.

Among the new enhancements, the LDK Elite and SportElite HD series significantly improve on the existing cameras' internal digital signal processing (DSP) circuitry by incorporating all new DSP circuits. It's a completely updated software platform that performs all camera image management functions - such as knee, gamma, contours, and variable matrix - with three channel 22-bit digital precision. The SportElite adds 2x Super Slow-Motion sampling functionality in both 720p and 1080i HD formats.

A newly designed chipset used across the entire Elite series contains additional features, such as digital cosmetics - sometimes known as negative skin contours - with independent, Emmy(r) award-winning dual skin tone selection. Extensive colorimetry and color-matching tools are also available. Users can choose whether to perform matrix processing before or after gamma.

"As soon as new advances and features become available, we're eager to pass them along to our growing customer base," said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Thomson's Broadcast & Professional Solutions within the Systems division. "The new Elite series of LDK 8000, 4000 and SportElite cameras provides the latest improvements in signal processing and image enhancement, and makes the camera even more perfectly suited to the full spectrum of HD productions."

Across the Elite camera line sensitivity has also been improved to f10@2000 lux. The camera's 60 dB signal-to-noise performance is better than most cameras on the market today. There are also new multi-vector secondary color correction features for manipulating images inside the camera, as well as user-selectable digital noise reduction (DNR) adjustments.

The multiformat LDK 8000 Elite camera, capable of acquiring images in the 720p, 1080i, and 1080p formats, provides great value for production companies and studios working with a variety of clients that have different HD needs.

The SportElite features high performance (F10 at 2000 lux) in single- and F8 in double-speed mode, a signal-to-noise ratio of 60dB in single- and 58 dB in double-speed mode, a high-quality secondary color corrector, and a user-selectable digital noise reducer. It's a two-piece dockable camera system, fully compatible with all current LDK HD sub-systems. By adding the capability for double speed acquisition, it means that mobile production companies can outfit an entire truck with them, using some for slo-mo and others for standard HD acquisition alongside regular LDK 8000 cameras.

The LDK 4000 Elite is a single format HD camera, available as either a 720p or 1080i camera head. In each case, its operating frequency is switchable between 50 Hz and 59.94 Hz, enabling it to support a variety of production environments. In addition, an optional service pack is available to transform the camera from 720p to 1080i or the other way around.

An Elite Upgrade Kit, LDK 5825/10, is available for the current installed base of LDK 8000 and LDK 4000 mk II cameras. All three cameras include three 9.2-million pixel HD-DPM+ CCD imagers, 14-bit A/D sampling, and 3 channel 22-bit digital signal processing resolution, for the best image quality available anywhere.

Thomson is unique in supporting the entire media chain from high-definition content creation to multi-play services for home consumption. As broadcasters become broadercasters, Thomson is the right technology partner, as it will demonstrate at IBC 2008 in two booth locations - Hall 1, Stand D.11 and Hall 7, Stand F.31.

Pricing and Availability

The LDK 8000 Elite, LDK 4000 Elite and SportElite HD cameras will be available beginning in September 2008 and cost the same as their corresponding current LDK models. The Elite Upgrade Kit for the cameras will be priced at €6,130.

www.thomsongrassvalley.com

[more camera news]