Television New Zealand chooses new PMW-500 XDCAM HD422 solid-state camcorder for HD ENG

IBC, Amsterdam, 10th September 2010 – Television New Zealand (TVNZ) News Operations, the news production arm of Television New Zealand, has placed significant orders for Sony’s newly announced PMW-500 XDCAM HD422 SxS memory card-based camcorder. The PMW-500 will serve as a key element of TVNZ’s move to high definition electronic news gathering. Each camcorder will be equipped with Sony’s XMPilotTM Planning Metadata system to provide enhanced assignment management and in-field Wi-Fi connectivity.

Peter Ennis, Head of Technology at TVNZ is very positive about the development. “This significant investment keeps TVNZ newsgathering at the forefront and enables us to leverage off the superb workflow delivered by this camera.  It will make it easier to distribute TVNZ news across multiple devices, and support us in delivering our objective of "inspiring New Zealanders on every screen."

Andrew Fernie, TVNZ News Operations Manager, is impressed by the comprehensive feature set and high level of specification of the PMW-500. “The selling point for us is the access to the lo-res proxy files via Wi-Fi. The workflow this delivers, combined with the XMPilot metadata management system helps us achieve our operational goal of delivering quality pictures to our editorial team as quickly as possible.”

The PMW-500 combines the exceptional picture quality of the PDW-700 with the operational flexibility of recording onto solid state SxS memory card.  The PMW-500 is equipped with three 2/3” Power HAD FX CCD image sensors and can record both 1080 and 720 HD pictures at 50 Mb/s. It is ideal for broadcasters, rental companies and freelancers looking for a versatile memory based camcorder. 

 “Naturally we are delighted by TVNZ’s decision” said David Colthorpe of Sony ANZ. “The order from TVNZ is a terrific endorsement of Sony’s technical philosophy and it’s capability in camcorder design.”