Panasonic Bundles Grass Valley's New EDIUS Into AVCCAM

Panasonic Broadcast and IT Systems (PBITS) Europe will begin bundling Grass Valley EDIUS Neo 2 Booster nonlinear editing software (an updated version of EDIUS Neo 2), for free with purchases of selected camcorders beginning this month. In a promotion that will run until 30 April, Grass Valley EDIUS Neo 2 Booster software will now be included with purchases of Panasonic’s AG-HMC71EU, AG-HMC151EU, and AG-HMC41EU AVCCAM tapeless camcorders and the AG-HMR10EU recorder.

New customers will receive the EDIUS Neo 2 Booster software license automatically following successful warranty registration.

The move builds on Panasonic’s existing support for EDIUS Neo 2 editing software and helps to provide more flexibility for industry professionals looking to benefit from native editing in the AVCHD format.

Traditionally, the use of codecs has been necessary to transcode content for editing purposes.

The possibility to edit natively in the AVCHD format with EDIUS Neo 2 Booster software removes this time-intensive requirement resulting in a simplified editing process.

Using the software, users can work with three streams of AVCHD video in real-time, increasing native editing speed and image quality as part of an improved workflow process.

"Grass Valley is very pleased to be part of an exceptional production and post production package with Panasonic," commented Mark Narveson, Director of Product Marketing, Desk&op & Enterprise Solutions for Grass Valley.

"The combination of Panasonic AVCCAM camcorders and EDIUS Neo 2 Booster gives AVCCAM users the best combination of hardware and software available for a streamlined shooting and editing workflow.

"This offering is another way that Panasonic and Grass Valley, both worldwide leaders in video technologies, have cooperated to satisfy the demands of our customers," he said.

Markus Naegele, IT Integration Product Manager for Panasonic said: "Transcoding to another format used to mean loss of quality in the editing process, as did choosing to work natively.

"Our support for EDIUS Neo 2 Booster means that these old rules no longer apply. Now, professionals can enjoy a conveniently streamlined editing process contained within a single format without any compromise on quality or end results. The combination of our AVCCAM camcorders and EDIUS software is in many ways a best of both worlds scenario."

As an illustration of Panasonic’s commitment to the AVCHD professional camcorder format, the company now offers a line-up of three tapeless camcorders and one POV Cam.

By bundling its camcorder products with EDIUS Neo 2 Booster software, Panasonic continues to open up new markets and support a growing number of professional end-users as they look at cost-effective, high-quality ways to record and manage HD content.

Nela Pertl, Market Intelligence Manager at Panasonic PBITS concluded: "Our AVCCAM line-up is strategically important to us.

"By bundling camcorders with this progressive software we are maximising the full potential of our tapeless equipment, providing our customers with functionality and flexibility that will make a real difference to time spent editing.

"We're also making sure that we create the right conditions to open up the benefits of native editing to as many users as possible."