EventDV.net: The Event Videographer's Resource

Sony Electronics is introducing new transfer software for use with the Macintosh OS X version 10.4 "Tiger" that provides native interoperability between Sony's XDCAM HD Professional Disc system and Apple's Final Cut Pro nonlinear editing software. The software will be available free of charge online from http://www.sony.com/xdcamhd and will be demonstrated by both companies during a 12-city tour that begins June 28.

The tour, which is run by Apple, will feature product demonstrations and technology tutorials, and kicks off in Dallas and Miami. It continues through August, making stops in Boston; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C. area; New York; Atlanta; Chicago; Detroit; San Diego; and Minnetonka, Minn. At each stop, Sony and Apple executives and product specialists will be on hand to demonstrate system interoperability.

Sony's XDCAM HD equipment and media offer the flexibility of recording 1080i video in three data recording rates: 25 Mbps, 35 Mbps, and 18 Mbps. The XDCAM HD system records high-definition content to Sony's existing Professional Disc single-layer media using an HD MPEG-2 Long GOP video compression codec. The same Professional Disc media used in the standard-definition version of the XDCAM system is also compatible with the new HD version. Industry professionals can now record up to two hours of high-definition content on the versatile optical media, maintaining their workflow continuity by combining HD resolution with the same IT-based benefits made possible by the blue laser-based XDCAM technology since its initial launch.