My Noteworthy Show Picks are:

Canon XL1 DV Camcorder with 3D Zoom Lens
This is an absolute head turner. The lens debuted at DV Expo.Only two prototypes exist in North America and both were here! Mike Zorin, Canon's top DV representative said it would be available to the public early in 2001. Incredibly, work is progressing on 3D WITHOUT requiring views to don those pesky, clunky glasses. This technology may have web applications as well.

Panasonic TH-42PWD3U
This 42-inch wide, plasma display was visually stunning. It featured a real, "black drive" system, which provided an extraordinary 3000:1 contrast ratio making it more than five times higher than previous panel displays. Their advanced brightness intensifier technology also provided a 70% improvement in peak brightness levels. By also using an advanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) system, 01,024 shades could be produced. This is twice the number of Panasonic's previous systems. I can really see a noticeable difference with these Panasonic improvements.

Sony DVCAM DSR-11
A large crowd gathered at the Sony booth as they showed off some of their recent camcorders. Some professional models had fold out screens. The DVCAM DSR-11 is a new compact VTR designed specifically for computer based, non-linear editing applications. Being global market friendly, it plays back both NTSC and PAL format signals. A nice touch for this mini DV cam.

Play Pocket Producer
The world's first palm sized production tool set was displayed at Play Inc. The initial word from end users is good. There may be wireless versions in the offing.

I also looked at the Globalstar satellite cellular phone produced by Qualcomm. Both it and the Inmarasat M4 portable/foldable dish and DV laptop combo present interesting international applications. These systems promise to be fully mobile, wireless broadband, streaming audio and video from anywhere in the world receiver/transmitters. Hmmm, for my next Tibet expedition or extreme business trip this may be worth considering. These products may realize the dream of the ill-fated Iridium system.

Event

Copyright © 2000 Jim Bennett All rights reserved.