Sony J-30/SDI Player with i-Link (firewire) output (replaces J-3/SDI) - Plays Betacam - SP - SX - Digital Betacam (DigiBeta) & MPEG-2 IMX formats

Sony has updated its J-Series compact videotape players with a variety of new features, including the addition of an i.LINK IEEE-1394 interface as standard. The new J-30 and J-30/SDI models are planned to be available from April 13th, 2004 and will replace the current J-1, J-2 and J-3 models.

Since its introduction in 2001, the J Series has proved to be phenomenally popular as a desktop player used by broadcast producers and journalists for material viewing, logging, and source feeding to servers or nonlinear editing systems.

The addition of IEEE-1394 connectivity enables professional users to more easily operate in a DV environment. All standard definition, half-inch Betacam format tapes, dating back some twenty years, can now easily be converted to a 25 Mbps DV signal and transferred to a compatible DV device via a single digital interface cable.

Playback formats supported by the J-30 models include Betacam, Betacam SP, Betacam SX, Digital Betacam and MPEG IMX. During cassette loading, each format is automatically identified for playback, so no menu settings or switching is necessary. And despite their compact size, the J Series Compact Players can play large-size as well as small-size cassettes. The players can also be easily switched between 525/60 and 625/50 playback modes, enabling operation in international environments.

As with previous models, J-Series players can scan tapes with Shot Marks and automatically detect their position. After scanning, a list of all marks can be displayed on a video monitor, allowing easy cueing to any mark.

Two selectable channels of analogue audio output are available either through the XLR connectors or phono connectors located on the rear panel of the players. A headphone jack is also provided on the front panel. The audio channels to be output to the analogue outputs and headphone jack can be selected from channels 1/2, 3/4, and cue track.

The J-30 and J-30/SDI provide customers with a choice of either analogue component outp

ut or SDI output depending on application requirements. The J-30 offers analogue component outputs (BNC x 3) as standard, while the J-30/SDI offers two SDI outputs (BNC x 2) - including one with character superimpose capability. The J-30/SDI also provides one time code output and has the ability to read Unique Material Identifier (UMID), a type of metadata approved as a SMPTE standard (SMPTE-330M) on MPEG IMX and Digital Betacam tapes, and output this data through the SDI interface. The UMID consists of a globally unique number and a material number, used for the identification of recorded material.