Rutgers University is using the Sony XDCAM Professional Disc System at its on-campus production studio.
The studio--part of the Continuous Education and Outreach department--provides audio and video services for everyone from sports teams to faculty who make TV appearances.
Peter Troost, manager of technical operations and production at Rutgers iTV Studio, likes the in-camera editing features and the thumbnail views on the LCD screen.
"Having instant random access, we can jump to whatever clip we need, edit it quickly and distribute it," Troost said.
The XDCAM has also found a home in the world of reality TV. The home renovation show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on ABC is using the XDCAM.
DP Daryl Studebaker likes the XDCAM's versatility.
"We shoot the main portion of the show in a traditional 'documentary' style, but then for the designer and family interviews, we want to have a different 'film' look, which would be possible with the camcorder's 24fps board installed," Studebaker said.
The Sony Professional Disc media has a 1,000 read/write cycles and up to 10,000 read/write cycles, according to Sony. Also, the system offers 16:9 aspect ratio that is switchable to 4:3.
