Thomson to Market Products Based on Sony's IMX Platform
Sony and Thomson have been partnering on video standards for more than 20 years. The new agreement comes after successful partnerships covering the Betacam SP, Digital Betacam and Betacam SX formats.
The new MPEG IMX format, based on MPEG-2 4:2:2: at 50 mbps with I-frame only, is aimed at high-end production and post-production applications. This makes it possible to complete existing VTR ranges and enables Thomson to offer systems suited to any application, in relation to its own MPEG product range.
The MPEG IMX format is playback compatible with all existing ½" tapes (Betacam SP, SX, Digital Betacam) and has an SDTI-CP interface allowing transfer of content to other MPEG equipment without degradation of picture quality. "This makes IMX the perfect bridge between today's studios and libraries based on SP, SX and Digital Betacam formats and the future MPEG studio," says Arnaud de Panafieu, Thomson Broadcast Systems Executive VP of Products.
According to Kazuo Ike, Sr. VP of Sony Communication System Solutions Network Company, "We at Sony are very excited to see Thomson Broadcast Systems adopting Sony's MPEG IMX for their new VTR format. We hope their commitment will enhance market recognition of MPEG IMX and expand its market."
Edited by John McKnight