Grass Valley Introduces Four New High-Speed Cameras to its Powerful LDX Range

LDX HiSpeed and LDX XtremeSpeed 3X/6X cameras deliver super and ultra slow-motion imagery with unrivaled picture quality

Building upon the success of its LDX Series of advanced imaging cameras, Grass Valley, a Belden brand, today announced four new additions to the LDX range — the LDX HiSpeed (LDX HS) and LDX Compact HiSpeed (LDX Compact HS) 3X super slow-motion cameras and the LDX XtremeSpeed (LDX XS) and LDX Compact XtremeSpeed (LDX Compact XS) 6X ultra slow-motion cameras. These powerful new LDX cameras are built around Grass Valley’s proprietary Xensium-FT CMOS imagers to deliver superb picture quality, high sensitivity, and high dynamic range for a wide variety of production applications.

“Today’s live productions require a high-speed camera solution that provides versatility, flexibility, and easy integration into the live production workflow. These new additions to our LDX line deliver pioneering technology that’s going to break new ground for broadcasters and content creators across the spectrum,” said Mike Cronk, Senior Vice President Strategic Marketing, Grass Valley. “The cameras draw upon Grass Valley’s decades-long history in broadcast and live production solutions, with functionality, operational excellence, and outstanding image performance at their core.”

The LDX HS and LDX Compact HS 3X cameras are the successors to the LDK 8300 3X super slow-motion camera and support 1080i and 720p with 150 and 179.82 triple-speed frame rates, with an additional 1X standard speed “live” output for seamless integration with standard cameras planned for future release. The LDX HS and LDX Compact HS are software upgradable via GV-eLicenses to the LDX XS and LDX Compact XS, respectively.

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The LDX XS and LDX Compact XS deliver instant time-to-air capabilities and integrate seamlessly into live workflows with 3X and 6X speeds. The cameras deliver images in 1080i and 720p with 150 and 179.82 triple-speed frame rates and 300 and 359.64 sextuple-speed frame rates, as well as 150 and 179.82 triple-speed frame rates in 1080p, with an additional 1X standard speed “live” output for seamless integration with standard cameras planned for future release. This makes the LDX XS and LDX Compact XS the perfect choice for both super slow-motion and ultra slow-motion applications.

Of primary concern to producers and directors, the ultra slow-motion footage from the LDX XS and LDX Compact XS is available immediately, without having to wait for the camera to transfer clips from an internal storage device. Both the LDX XS and LDX Compact XS transfer acquired footage in real-time to an external server so it can be used on-air immediately without missing any action on the field of play.

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"Another great advantage of these cameras is that they work in tandem with our K2 Dyno Replay System and K2 Summit 3G Production Client, which, with K2 Dyno's unique AnySpeed technology, allows for smooth playback at any speed from 0% to 200%. The combination of the LDX XS and K2 Dyno therefore dramatically expands the ability to tell a compelling story during replays,” said Cronk.

To eliminate the problem of light flicker in ultra and super slow-motion image capture, the LDX XS and LDX HS system cameras are equipped with AnyLightXtreme, to correct artificial light flicker which can be visually disturbing to viewers.

To fully support triple-speed 1080p and sextuple-speed ultra slow-motion operations, Grass Valley developed a new fiber transmission, the XCU XtremeSpeed XF Fiber, which utilizes the same XCU cradles as its single-speed range of XCU base stations. Because the XCU's unique cradle can be pre-mounted and pre-wired in the rack, it can quickly and easily be transferred between OB vans, studios, or any place, which extends its usability.

Grass Valley is exhibiting at NAB 2014 in Las Vegas from April 7-10, 2014 on booth SL206 and N2513.

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About Grass Valley  
The new Grass Valley keeps broadcasters, content owners and service providers future-ready as they navigate the changing landscape of television. With the most comprehensive collection of workflow solutions in the industry, Grass Valley delivers end-to-end television production and content distribution workflows that enable the efficiency and flexibility broadcasters need to stay competitive today – while offering technological foresight they need to keep pace with consumers’ desires for more content on more devices. Grass Valley, headquartered in Montreal, leverages the collective expertise and depth of the Grass Valley Group and Miranda Technologies, each having been acquired by St. Louis-based Belden Inc. Belden delivers a comprehensive product portfolio designed to meet the mission-critical network infrastructure needs of industrial, enterprise and broadcast markets. With innovative solutions targeted at reliable and secure transmission of rapidly growing amounts of data, audio and video needed for today's applications, Belden is at the center of the global transformation to a connected world.