Issue 5 Home President's Letter Editorial Contact Us www.sony.com/professional       Bits & Bytes   Digitizing With DVCAM Format   Bass Pro Shops  Reels in Awards   Government  Friendly Sony   STARZ Performance   Business Barometer   For Business Professionals Only: Why DVCAM Media is Their First Choice   High Storage Sony Unveils Its First 2U-Slim Rack-Mountable AIT Library   View Issue 6 View Issue 7   View Issue 8     Business Barometer for professionals only WHY DVCAM MEDIA IS THEIR FIRST CHOICE If DVCAM tape works in DV recorders and DV tape works in DVCAM® recorders, why is a different tape recommended for each format? The answer is the tape's application. DVCAM tape is designed for a professional videographer while DV tape is designed for less demanding uses. DVCAM media has an overall superior performance. Its enhanced performance gives the professional videographer the higher level of quality and reliability expected from a professional product. DVCAM media also offers an increased margin of safety and reliability. DVCAM media distinguishes itself from DV for five important reasons. They include: Enhanced picture quality due to lower dropout rate. DVCAM media has a 50 percent lower dropout rate. The result is a four-to-five times improvement in the error rate margin, with the end result being a better picture with less distortion due to errors. Lower dropout rate and consistency means a higher level of reliability and excellent A/V stability. Maximum durability because of the superior Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coating. DLC coating is a thin layer of carbon, which protects the evaporated magnetic layer bringing the durability of DVCAM tape into the range of metal particle. Although both DVCAM and DV use DLC technology, the DLC layer for DVCAM is optimized for maximum durability. It offers a higher level of strength required for the type of still frame, multi-pass editing used by professionals. Improved physical stability for consistent tracking. Magnetic tape is susceptible to expansion and contraction due to temperature and humidity variations over time. Excessive shrinkage of magnetic tape disrupts the position of the recorded tracks and often results in "Off-Tracking." This simply means that the recorded tracks have shifted and the play heads cannot accurately read the information. This type of shrinkage is usually associated with long-term storage. Compared to DV tape, DVCAM tape has 50 percent less shrinkage over time. Tighter width specifications for excellent recorder compatibility. All magnetic tape is slit or cut to the proper width for a format. DVCAM and DV have a width of 6.35mm (1/4"). The more uniform the tape width, the better the record/playback stability and compatibility between recorders. DVCAM width is held to a tighter tolerance to offer a higher level of reliability and compatibility. Maximum stability of picture and sound. Friction increases between tape and recorder heads after repeated passes on the tape. The slower the rise of friction coefficient during repeated plays means smoother operation and improved reliability. DVCAM media has a significantly lower friction coefficient than DV. For the professional, this means greater recorded signal longevity, higher reliability, increased durability, and overall improved performance. These features-which have a major impact on the performance of DVCAM tape-provide a professional product that's designed to withstand the rigors and demands of a professional videographer. DVCAM MASTER DITIGAL SERIES Sony's DVCAM Master Digital Series tape is superior to other DVCAM tapes. The DVCAM Master Digital Series has the lowest error rate of all DVCAM media due to its +2dB higher carrier-to-noise ratio, partly due to the new hyper Evaticle™ II ingot used in the refined evaporation process. And its 16Kb IC memory built into the cassette can hold index addresses and other shooting data to enhance editing efficiency when using the Cliplink™ feature. For professional videographers, there is a marked difference between DVCAM and DV media. When a client demands your best performance, use the best and most reliable tape media available, the one that is designed for professionals-DVCAM. HIGH STORAGE SONY UNVEILS ITS First 2U-Slim RACK-MOUNTABLE AIT LIBRARY Offering high storage density and capacity, Sony Electronics recently introduced its first Advanced Intelligent Tape(tm) (AIT) library with a compact and innovative two-rack-units-slim, rack-mountable design. The new Sony StorStation™ AIT library system, the LIB-162, houses one AIT-2 drive, which is expandable up to two, and 16 cartridge slots in a unique carousel design that provides a storage capacity of up to 2.08 TB and data transfer rates of up to 112 GB per hour, with both features possessing an average 2.6:1 compression. Leveraging the 3.5-inch AIT drive form-factor, the LIB-162 occupies just two-rack units in a rack-mountable configuration for easy installation achieving maximum rack space density for data centers and space-restricted environments. The new library is scalable from one to two AIT-2 drives to accommodate growing storage needs, allowing users to increase their capacities by simply hot-plugging next generation, higher capacity drive models into the LIB-162 library. "The slim-line design of the new AIT library has industry-leading storage density and future scalability," says Steve Baker, Vice President of tape storage solutions for Sony Electronics' Core Technology Solutions Company. "At just 2U high, we have designed the new AIT library to meet our IT customers' storage capacity and space constraints." "In today's storage-intensive business environment, companies are always looking for flexible, reliable solutions that pack large capacity and speed in a small configuration to accommodate their space limitations," says Fara Yale, Chief Analyst, Computer Storage Service, Gartner Dataquest. "A product that can provide the redundancy of a dual-drive solution at an affordable price point would be attractive and competitive when users are shopping for an automated storage solution." The LIB-162 AIT library incorporates a standard barcode reader for virtually instant media verification and inventory, a web-based remote monitoring system for simplified management, and comes with a complimentary version of NovaStor's TapeCopy(tm) v2.0 Library Edition tape conversion and duplication software. The LIB-162 retails for an estimated price of under $9,000. For additional information about the LIB-162 and other Sony storage products, call 800-352-7669.