The new Bluetooth feature is ideal for ENG crews as well as for EFP environments.

Grass Valley also offers a Bluetooth application for camera control and onsite workflow designed for newsgathering. When the LCP 400 Wireless Local Control Panel (LCP) software is paired with the Infinity Series Digital Media Camcorder, the support crew can control camera menus and settings as well as individual clip metadata, separate from the camera operator. The software can reliably communicate with the camcorder from 65 feet away (and across the world via the Internet and a WiFi connection).

Users can enter and read metadata associated with content before, during, and after a shoot. They can even pre-load elements such as assignments, shot lists, and scripts. Updates can then be emailed easily to an editor working on location. Users can also prepare metadata on a PDA or smart phone (running the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5 or 6 operating system) with the camera switched off. When the camera is back online, the devices synchronize automatically. The LCP 400 also synchronizes with newsroom computer systems.

Panasonic will also soon offer its P2 Wireless Metadata Management software, which uses the 802.11g “WiFi” standard to allow wireless connectivity between its larger cameras (like the AJ-HPX3700 and 2700 P2 HD VariCam) and a laptop. Distances of 120 ft indoors and 300 ft outdoors are typical.

The software that resides on a full-size Panasonic P2 camera and gives it its own unique IP address via a USB WiFi connector. This gives the camera its own built-in web browser that can be recognized on any network or on a single laptop computer. Users see thumbnails of clips on the P2 cards, but the software also displays current battery and P2 card capacity. There’s also access to metadata, which can be attached to a clip before, during or after the clip has been recorded. The software features a one-touch memory button to make metadata tagging fast and easy.

Indeed, Panasonic is initially targeting its wireless connectivity software at the long-form production market, as opposed to daily newsgathering. The technology is not suited for news because camera operators are shooting shorter pieces that do not require exhaustive logging.

Like with any wireless connection, there is always the chance that that signal can be interfered with (or dropped), and problematic production situations, such as sports stadiums and indoor environments where reception is problematic could pose challenges to secure connections. However, both the Bluetooth and WiFi standards include signal-processing schemes that reduce the chance of signal interruption. Basically, however, Bluetooth Type 1 connections are a bit more secure than WiFi.