Sony High-Definition Cameras Capture Entertainment Industry's Big Night

The 80th Academy Awards® ceremony was broadcast worldwide last night using 21 Sony high-definition cameras. The HD telecast aired live from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

NEP Broadcasting, the mobile production company supporting the event, placed 20 of the HDC-1500 model cameras at different locations throughout the theater, including one on a specially designed tower in the orchestra pit. An additional camera was positioned outside to capture red-carpet arrivals, celebrity interviews and exterior shots.

According to Tad Scripter, engineer in charge for this year's Academy Awards, the Sony HD cameras fit the unique production requirements for the telecast.

"These cameras have proven themselves by providing top-quality images for several high-profile live events, and we were confident that they would help deliver an outstanding Oscar® telecast for us," Scripter said. "This is one of the most-watched broadcasts in the world, with once-in-a-lifetime moments that need to be preserved for history, so camera quality and dependability were critical for us."

Sony's HDCAM SR™ technology was used as the production and archival format for the telecast. Scripter said that studios providing clips from nominated films were asked to deliver them in the SRW format. The production also used six HDCAM SR decks for archival purposes, recording to Sony HDCAM SR professional videocassettes.

The HDC-1500 multi-format camera system is capable of capturing high-definition images in either 1080i or 720P, making it ideal for live event broadcasts and other high-end content creation applications, as well as for production companies that need to handle both types of high-definition signal formats.

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SOURCE: Sony Electronics Inc.

CONTACT: Tom Di Nome of Sony Electronics Inc., +1-201-930-6357,
tom.dinome@am.sony.com

Web site: http://www.sony.com/news