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Iconix Video Announces Production Launch of its HD-RH1 HD Remote Head Camera System at NAB 2006 (17/5/2006)

Iconix Video, Inc., a leading developer of advanced high-definition remote head camera systems, today announced the production release of its HD-RH1 Remote Camera System at this year's NAB 2006, in Las Vegas, NV. With a remote head that weighs only 2.5 ounces and a total system weight of less than 4 pounds, the HD-RH1 is the first true High Definition (HD) POV (Point-of-View) 3-CCD camera system to be commercially available as a standard product for broadcast and other HD based acquisition venues.

"The HD-RH1 is a no compromise HD POV remote camera system, specifically targeted at broadcast television and digital cinema applications that place a high premium on size, weight, performance, versatility and affordability," notes Dan McGuire, CEO of Iconix Video. "The HD-RH1 augments and enhances the HD acquisition capabilities of both broadcasters and cinematographers, empowering them to devise new shooting techniques that would either be too difficult to setup and shoot or too costly to configure."

The Iconix HD-RH1 incorporates an expansive array of features found only on top-of-the-line HD ENG and EFP camera systems while utilizing an innovative signal processing architecture. This POV camera system, which includes a very robust separate camera head and processing controller unit, is the smallest high performance HD camera in the industry. Unique from most digital cameras whose imager runs at the same rate as the output signal, the HD-RH1 3-CCD prism leverages an asynchronous signal processing architecture which runs the CCD imagers at a completely different clock rate from the output signal, allowing for cooler-running CCDs and more efficient processing. The system can capture and output video in all HD resolutions, including 720p, 1080i and 1080p while supporting frame rates of 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 frames-per-second (fps). "No other camera this size is capable of acquiring HD imagery at full frame rates," adds Wayne Upton, founder and CTO of Iconix Video. "Nor one retailing for $16,000 that can output in every HDTV format."

The lightweight HD-RH1 remote camera system is comprised of a 1.32" x 1.50" x 1.92" POV camera head weighing 2.5 oz.; a 3.5 lb. universal HDTV controller unit measuring 8.4" x 1.8" x 12"; power supply, and 3, 6 and 10 meter cables.

The camera head assembly features a 1/3" progressive 16:9 image sensor, backed by a 1/3" 3-CCD prism system for optics, using 14-bit quantization at the A/D conversion and processing steps. Standard C-mount lenses are used with the head, which can be tripod-mounted or used with mobile stabilization units previously reserved for still cameras.

The camera controller provides the signal I/O and control for the head, and houses the transcoding electronics which enable the unit to capture and provide real-time switching capability between every SMPTE and ATSC standard HDTV format (resolution, frame-rate), and even NTSC and PAL. Retractable push knobs on the front panel allow for gain, color, black and white balance adjustments, as well as having three user assignable presets. Lens and iris control are also available via remote control, and the front panel can be controlled by menu along with programmable gamma functions and electronic shutter enhancements.

The HD-RH1 offers 720p, 1080i, 1080p at 24, 25, 50 and 60 fps for both NTSC and PAL formats. Outputs include HD-SDI (SMPTE 292M) as two single-link 4:2:2, or dual-link 4:4:4 RGB/YCbCr; DVI-I; and analog outputs, with genlocking capability to tri-level sync. Remote control protocols are available over RS-232 or 9-pin DSUB connectors. Power requirements are 30W at 12VDC.

"The HD-RH1, with its combination of size, versatility and price-performance ratio, will help to change the market paradigm for HD acquisition, enabling applications in broadcast news, sports and cinematography that were never before possible," concludes Upton. "Because of its ability to capture HD quality images in such a compact package, significant interest has also been shown by the military, homeland security, industrial monitoring, space exploration and medical imaging markets."

www.iconixvideo.com

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