JVC takes on digital dailies - Editor's Note - Victor Company of Japan Ltd., LaserPacific Media Corp. developing digital dailies system - Brief Article

Post, March, 2002 by Randi Altman

This is an interesting time for JVC. In addition to its new Streamcorder, a hand-held broadcast camera that can stream whatever it is taping live to the Internet, they are in the process of developing a digital dailies system which combines the company's D-VHS recording and DLA projection technologies. It is presently being tested in the field on a film shooting in Chicago.

The yet-to-be-named system, which masters D-VHS dailies at full bandwidth 28 MB per second, is being developed with the help of strategic partner LaserPacific. JVC had approached this Hollywood-based post production studio because of its expertise in high definition digital video and its experience in the production of dailies.

This "complete systems solution" includes a VHS playback machine and a D-ILA display It is expected to be available within a year for "well under $20,000," says JVC's assistant VP, business development, broadcast & entertainment, Larry Librach.

The company feels that because both D-VHS and D-ILA technologies are native to JVC it helps assure a standard of quality.

"The development of our digital dailies system is just one area where we leverage our native technology to provide high quality HD images for the development of content for feature film production," explains Librach. "Reducing costs, yet maintaining virtual film quality for screening purposes, is our goal. We're not saying our digital dailies system is a replacement for film -- film is film.

"However, when compared to VHS or UMatic dailies, our HDTV technology represents an exponential quantum leap in quality for roughly the same costs as existing SDTV. This provides studio executives with the opportunity to experience near film quality in their offices for comparable costs to SDTV. And as this technology is experienced by more producers and directors, we think many will consider the digital dailies system as yet another tool for the development of creative content We must be sensitive to the needs of the creative artist as they tell their stories to the world and at the same time develop new HDTV technology that helps studios realize superior ROI during the production of feature films."

JVC reports that major studios are set to test the system over the next six months.