NAB2006: Omneon Adds HD Support to Avid Format

Omneon (Booth SU-2959) will demo an extension of its multiformat HD capabilities at NAB2006 by adding support for Avid's DNxHD format. The system upgrade will permit any Omneon Spectrum system to record and playback DNxHD files using Avid's DNxchange codec device.

The firm said recorded DNxHD clips are immediately available for editing via Avid editing systems, and finished clips that are exported to the Spectrum server can be immediately played out.

The addition of DNxHD support to the range of HD formats supported by Omneon follows the announcement last winter of the systems' abilities to ingest and playback HDV material. Support for HDV enables users to ingest HDV material into a Spectrum server from Apple Final Cut Pro and play back HDV material, stored in the system, directly to air.

For playback, HDV content is automatically scaled to a full 1920-line HD signal. Omneon said in a statement this approach allows both native HD and HDV material to be mixed on a single timeline for back-to-back playout.