Kinko’s, Inc. has announced it
will install Sony’s PictureStation
systems in 800 Kinko’s locations
across America.

The adoption of PictureStation systems across the Kinko’s network will address pent-up demand for retailbased digital photofinishing services, according to Sue Parks, executive vice president of operations for Kinko’s.

“Sony’s PictureStation systems present a compelling opportunity to expand Kinko’s range of photo services with what we feel is clearly the best retailbased digital photofinishing solution,” Parks says. “The systems provide a convenient, cost-effective service for the fast-growing digital camera market. We’re excited to add Sony’s PictureStation systems to our network of locations and provide our customers access to the widest range of print capabilities and stunning picture quality.”

“Kinko’s is known for introducing new technologies its customers need, and we’re thrilled to see them embrace the PictureStation system as part of their nationwide commitment to digital photofinishing,” says Steven Blum, vice president of digital photography for Sony Electronics’ Business Solutions and Systems Company. “Our easy-to-use, affordable systems will enable Kinko’s conveniently located stores to quickly tap into the growing digital photography market, and provide customers with a practical means to create beautiful prints instantly.”

Kinko’s is the world’s leading provider of document solutions and business services. Its global network of more than 20,000 team members and 1,100 digitally connected locations offers access to technology for color printing,finishing and presentation services, Internet access, videoconferencing, outsourcing, facilities management, Web- based printing, and document management solutions. Dallasbased Kinko’s is a privately held corporation with locations in nine countries.

Each of the PictureStation systems in Kinko’s locations will accept all widely used media, including Memory Stick®and Memory Stick Pro® media, CompactFlash™ cards, SmartMedia™ cards, CDs, SD/MMC cards and floppy disks; offer image scanning capabilities for print-to-print copies; offer the option to burn images to CD; feature two high-speed digital printers capable of quickly producing 3 1/2” x 5”; 4” x 6”, 5” x 7” and wallet sized photos; and incorporate an additional 8” x 10” printer for portraits.

The agreement follows a successful test in which systems were placed in four Kinko’s locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. According to Parks, customers appreciated the units’ ease-of-use and ability to make instant prints from their digital cameras.

Kinko’s and Sony expect that all systems will be installed by year’s end.

PictureStation systems are part of Sony’s global “Print By Sony” initiative. The program includes a campaign logo that appears on the units, print media and signage, signaling a commitment to quality and consistency with which both retailers and consumers can identify.

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The National Football League recently announced the league’s 32 teams will standardize their video operations on Sony’s Betacam SX format, family of digital acquisition and production tools based on the same MPEG core technologies driving the move to digital television.

“The adoption of this digital format is at the centerpiece of the league’s transition from analog to digital video acquisition and game exchange programs,” says Pat Whittingham, president of Sony Electronics’ Business Solutions and Systems Company, whose sports marketing group provides professional A/V content creation and

distribution solutions to collegiate and professional sports teams, leagues and associations. “By standardizing on the Betacam SX format, the league will have high-picture quality, digital workflow and format compatibility—as well as playback of legacy analog tapes—among all its teams.”

The NFL teams will use Betacam SX camcorders and videotape recorders to record practices and games for training and competitive analysis, scouting, and exchanging game tapes with other teams. NFL teams are beginning their transition to the Betacam SX format immediately; all are expected to complete their migration by the start of the 2004 season.

The NFL teams’ adoption of the Betacam SX format underscores the growing trend among sports organizations that are increasingly turning to digital video technology to take advantage of its high-image quality and streamlined workflow capabilities.

“We chose the Betacam SX format as the cornerstone of our transition to MPEG-based
digital tools because its high-quality imaging provides the best possible picture quality for coaches’ review, while at the same time protecting our analog assets,” says Bob McCartney of the Pittsburgh Steelers. “We also knew from past experience with the analog Betacam SP® format that the Betacam® line of products offers rugged reliability both on and off the field.” Betacam SX camcorders capture broadcast-quality component digital pictures on Betacam SX videocassettes, which offer longer recording times than on the same tape-length analog cassette. The Betacam SX camcorder uses MPEG2 4:2:2 digital compression to produce high-quality broadcast images.

“Because Betacam SX is part of the MPEG family of products, the teams have the flexibility to seamlessly integrate Betacam SX products and MPEG IMX™products,”says Theresa Alesso, Sony’s director of news and network operations marketing. Alesso says that Betacam SX players can play back “literally millions” of recorded Betacam and Betacam SP half-inch cassettes, which protects a team’s legacy of analog tape recordings, permits compatibility among other NFL teams, and allows continued access to analog Betacam tapes from colleges and scouts.

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Sony Electronics’ new web-enabled network video cameras are designed specifically for remote monitoring through live video over IP-based networks.

Managers can view their manufacturing operations from anywhere in the world with Sony’s two color network video cameras, which feature built-in web servers for remote viewing of high-quality video over IP networks. Both work with any standard web browser.

“Our new network cameras illustrate how we are building products that integrate A/ V tools with IT standards, enabling manufacturers to take advantage of their broadband networks by adding remote monitoring and surveillance

applications,” says Jim Sandy, vice president of visual imaging and security products at Sony Electronics’ Business Solutions and Systems Company. “The networking capability expands the functionality of these cameras from just a pure image acquisition device to a multifaceted remote monitoring system.”

The first of the two cameras is the SNC-RZ30N, which delivers very fast remote-controlled pan, tilt and zoom capabilities to end-users. It also has a built-in motion detector with relay output that enables the camera to send an alert if unauthorized motion is detected. The camera produces high-quality motion JPEG images with 736 x 480 maximum resolution and up to 30 frames-per-second and it can be mounted either on the desktop or the ceiling. It comes equipped with a Sony CCD, day/night view mode, SteadyShot®functionality to help prevent image quality loss in the event of camera shake and an integrated 25x optical auto-focus zoom lens, as well as a PCMCIA slot for on-camera storage.

The SNC-VL10N network video camera features up to 30 frames-persecond frame rate and 720 x 486 picture resolution. It utilizes the Wavelet Compression format, which offers benefits like high quality compression at high compression ratios due to no block noise. It can be used with either an Ethernet or a USB modem direct connection.

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fastpaced,” says PYRAMID executive producer Stephen Brown, a self-professed game show addict who has 22 game shows and a number of award-winning productions to his credit. “Equally impressive is the contemporary set featuring the latest technology, such as Sony plasma monitors. The marriage of talent and showpiece technology makes PYRAMID an electrifying entertainment experience for the studio audience and television viewers at home.”

The set design features a pair of pyramid-shaped structures. The smaller of the two pyramid displays features six 32-inch (viewable area, measured diagonally) Sony PlasmaPro™ PFM-32C1 monitors. The plasma panels are configured in a 3-2-1 formation from bottom to middle to top. Each monitor is used to display a category and then the dollar value for answering correctly. In addition, one of the plasma monitors features a Super Six category. Alternatively, the contestant or celebrity can read the clue off a Sony VAIO® notebook PC, which resides on the players’ desks.

After the first round, the contestants with the fastest time proceed to the Winner’s Circle. Seated in the carouselshaped players’ area, the celebrity faces the larger of the two pyramids. This display consists of six 50-inch (viewable area, measured diagonally) Sony PFM-50C1 plasma monitors. A graphics computer with on-board Matrox video card generates the category, which the game show operator cues to send. The graphic is sent via a video router, which transmits the signal to the plasma display. When answered correctly, the plasma monitor displays the corresponding dollar value won.

Sony PlasmaPro monitors are featured on the sets of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, which are also produced by Sony Pictures Television. “We have been impressed with the clarity of the picture quality of the Sony plasma monitors,”says Brown.“They add a visual brilliance to the set and translate well with their anti-reflection screens on television sets in America’s living rooms.”

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The launch of the Delta IV rocket follows nearly two dozen other launches featuring RocketCam systems, each of which used a Sony XC-999 miniature color video camera to generate live, fullcolor video from onboard the rocket. The RocketCam images are transmitted to receiving equipment on the ground for subsequent distribution to launch control centers, technical and management audiences, media outlets, and the public.

Ecliptic is currently engineering an enhanced RocketCam product line based on Sony’s recently introduced XC-555 miniature video camera, which includes a more sensitive CCD chip, improved iris functions, more highly integrated internal electronics and expanded external interfacing features—all in a smaller and lighter package.

“Beyond our core customer base of the larger launch systems, RocketCam systems are attached to spacecraft, sub-orbital and test rockets, conventional and rocket-powered aircraft, helicopters, high-altitude balloons, and specialized testing facilities,” says Rex Ridenoure, Ecliptic’s CEO. “Our RocketCam family of imaging systems addresses many needs in our marketplace, and its 100 percent success record in the field brings credibility—always important in the aerospace business.” To date, RocketCams have been used with success on Boeing Delta II and Delta III rockets, as well as Atlas 2, Atlas 3, Atlas 5 and Titan IV rockets built by Lockheed Martin. Last October, RocketCam successfully debuted on NASA’s Space Shuttle, delivering dramatic real-time images to a worldwide audience as the orbiter Atlantis lifted off for a rendezvous with the International Space Station.

“The camera serves a dual purpose for NASA. Its primary objective is to provide video of certain launch events from a perspective that our engineers are otherwise not able to see,” says NASA spokesman George Diller at the Kennedy Space Center. “The great bonus is that the high quality of the video means it has numerous public affairs applications as well as historical documentation value.”

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Sony’s new professional optical disc recording system, which includes camcorders, optical media and decks, will be utilized in NBC’s coverage of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Sony’s optical disc technology will be used to create profiles of athletes from around the world, one of many featured attractions in NBC’s coverage of the Games.

NBC’s use of the optical disc system for the 2004 Olympic

Games is part of Sony’s broader relationship with the network. Sony serves as the primary hardware, media and services provider for the network’s coverage of both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

“Sony’s new optical disc system offers significant new workflow advantages that will help us cover more ground quickly to assemble compelling human interest stories that resonate with our viewers,” says David Mazza, senior vice president of engineering for NBC Olympics. “As a result, we’ll be able to review and edit material more quickly and efficiently than ever before.”

The professional optical disc system achieves workflow innovation by recording both the high-resolution original as well as a lower-resolution but frame-accurate proxy audio and video. From the camcorder, or a battery- or AC-operated mobile deck, ENG and EFP teams will be able to transfer the proxy information to laptop editors or back to the studio at up to 30 times faster-than-real-time, so producers can immediately start writing scripts or editing programs.

Based on the data, field engineers will be able to transfer the highresolution footage either as video or as a data file over IP networks, savings precious time. In the case of compact decks or studio decks, this proxy material will transfer at up to 50 times faster- than-real-time. Sony’s optical disc recording technology integrates seamlessly with existing tape-based products by using industry standard DVCAM® and MPEG IMX™ codecs. Full interoperability of tape and disc-based systems allows ongoing return on investment relative to an existing infrastructure while opening the optical disc system’s world of new possibilities. Optical decks offer the full range of analog A/V, digital A/V and information technology standards.

Under an agreement that lasts through 2009, Sony is also providing studio cameras, production switchers, monitors, data recorders and integration services for the network and its owned-and-operated stations and cable operations.

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