Panasonic have announced a crazy new ultra-wide camera system (UWCS). Integrate 2013 is being held from August 27-29 in Sydney where Panasonic will demo the new technology. The preview will show how the system stitches together the images of four High Definition Cameras in real time to create a dramatic 64:9 panoramic image.
Panosonic say UWCS has primarily been designed for sports coaching analysis, such as football games. With a 160-degree (4 x 16:9) wide angle view, the entire field can be captured at once, so the moves and formations of all players are clearly visible.
The system can also track players, which means that coaches can easily analyse practice matches and games, giving them a better understanding of player and team performance.
Mathew Alexander added: “At the recent SMPTE broadcast exhibition in Sydney, there was a lot of interest in the ultra-wide camera system (UWCS) from major Australian sporting codes, cable and free-to-air television broadcasters and representatives from live entertainment. The level of interest from sports and outside of sports is really exciting. The applications are proving to be very broad-based.”
High-speed stitching produces seamless panoramic images in real-time. The HD 4x (5120 x 720) resolution is sharp enough so the numbers of all players are easily seen even when enlarged.
At this point you’re probably wondering how you’d watch back the video produced from UWCS, given no display is 64:9. The answer is that the signals from the AW-HE120 cameras are fed into a specialist workstation running Panasonics proprietary software and displays across multiple screens or projectors. Basically this isn’t your next home cinema.
The automatic PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom) adjustment function for the four camera angles means the system is ready to use within minutes of positioning and connection.
Specifications:
Cameras: AW-HEW120 x 4
Viewing angle: 160-degrees (horizontal)
ND filter: 1/4, 1/6, 1/64
Output: HD SDI x 4
Power Consumption 95 W
Operating Temperature 0-40 degrees C
Operating Humidity 5% to 80% (no condensation)
Dimensions (WxHxD) 70cm x 60cm x 36cm
Weight Around 40kg
