Sony HVR-1500A Professional Editing Digital HDV 1080i, DVCAM and DV Video Tape Recorder / Player.

Bringing a New Level of Functionality and Robustness to HDV Productions - the HVR-1500A HDV Recorder...

The HVR-1500A is an HDV source feeder/ recorder positioned at the top of the Sony HDV Series. Inheriting the design concept of the market-acclaimed DSR-1500A, the HVR-1500A offers the same convenient features that professional users demand, such as quick mechanical response,multi-format DV playback, and a rich set of professional video/audio interfaces ranging from analog to digital SDI and AES/EBU.

The HVR-1500A also offers HD-SDI input/output and RS-422A control capabilities, bridging HDV source footage and assets with high-end HD formats and HD editing equipment.

In addition, with the optional HVBK-1520 board installed, the HVR-1500A has a range of conversion capabilities that allow DV recordings to be up-converted to 1080i or 720P signals, and 1080i HDV recordings to be cross-converted to 720P signals.

This allows operators to integrate DV and HDV source footage and assets into the same HD editing system, and gives them the flexibility to choose between either a 1080i or a 720P system.

The HVR-1500A can also be used as a standard definition DVCAM recorder, in which case the same editing features as the DSR-1500A are offered. The HVR-1500A is certainly the HDV recorder of choice for environments where robustness and functionality are prime concerns.

The HDV 1080i specification for the HDV format features 1,080 effective scanning lines (interlace scanning system) & 1,440 horizontal pixels. It adopts the MPEG-2 compression format (MP@ H-14 for video),which uses 8-bit digital component recording with a sampling rate of 4:2:0.

MPEG-1 Audio Layer II is used as the audio compression format, allowing for 2-channel recording with a sampling frequency of 48 kHz/16-bit. The HDV 1080i specification provides the high picture quality required for HDTV program production.

As a member of the proven DV family of formats, the HDV format was developed from the outset to be compatible with all grades of DV videocassette tape. This allows operators to use high-grade DV videocassette tapes for applications where high robustness is critical, or consumer-grade videocassette tapes for more economical operations. For heavy-duty applications, the DigitalMaster high-grade cassette tape has been developed. This tape is compatible with the HDV, DVCAM, & DV formats.

The HVR-1500A can be switched between HDV 1080i*2, DVCAM, and DV (SP)*3 recording modes, providing full flexibility to record in either standard definition or high definition depending on your production needs. In addition, it can be switched between 60i and 50i systems, eliminating the need for 2 separate VTRs, 1 for each standard.

For operational versatility, the HVR-1500A is designed to play back DV (25 Mb/s) family format recorded tapes without a mechanical adaptor & without having to switch playback modes on the menu.