Panasonic Connect Expands PTZ & Switcher Line

Newark, NJ – To provide production teams with the flexibility and reliability they need to capture and produce content in any type of environment, Panasonic Connect North America today launched its AW-UR100 Outdoor PTZ camera and AV-HSW10 compact switcher. The company also announced updates to its Premium Series PTZ camera lineup, to bring a built-in auto-tracking feature to corporate and education settings.

Sports production teams and broadcast crews operate in challenging outdoor environments. To create dynamic productions that capture a game from different angles and make fans feel as if they are present in person, or give broadcast news viewers a comprehensive glimpse into current traffic or on location weather conditions, they need high-quality camera solutions that can stand up to the elements.

The AW-UR100 builds off the success of the AW-HR140, a camera known for its durability in outdoor environments, and will eventually replace the AW-HR140 in the PTZ lineup later this year. Key features of the AW-UR100 include:

The IP65 rating distinguishes the AW-UR100 with its salt resistant coating. The camera uses advanced technology for superior vibration and stabilization, as well as wind pressure resistance. These features are a direct response to customer demand for a camera that can stand up to the rigors of extreme weather without compromising on the quality of captured content.

An integrated 4K/60P camera, the AW-UR100 offers enhanced picture quality with a newly developed 4K sensor and strong optical zoom of 24x, ensuring high resolution even when iZoom is utilized to zoom closer into a scene. To capture the full length of a playing field, the camera's increased 74.1 degree field of view will be particularly helpful in sports settings. The new camera supports workflow flexibility with IP protocols, including SRT, NDI®, and NDI|HX2® for secure 4K streaming even over a public network. It also supports Fiber connectivity and new workflows such as AR/VR/XR productions with FreeD built in.

Smaller university production departments and houses of worship don't have the space for large scale production equipment. They need a switcher that's compact and easy to learn and operate for their volunteer production teams. Similarly, rental and staging professionals and production crews in smaller corporate venues need portable solutions when producing livestreams for events and webinars. There's also increased demand for IP workflows and to stream directly from the switcher. The AV-HSW10 bridges the gap between a baseband and IP workflow for great flexibility and performance with 10bit processing.

The AV-HSW10 is a compact, notebook-sized and reasonably priced high reliability switcher with SDI/HDMI/NDI/SRT/UVC/RTMP input/output. Its wide variety of inputs and outputs offers a simplified connection with an IP-compatible PTZ camera. It supports RTMP for direct upload to streaming services, and USB Video Class for compatibility with web conferencing services. Further, its user-friendly buttons, T-shaped fader, and intuitive on-screen display ensure error-free operation. Despite its compact size, the switcher supports broadcast image quality and high performance. With direct streaming output and audio support, it can power a one-person operation from production to distribution. And when there is a full production team, it offers compatibility with the Panasonic Software Control Panel for viewing video and images, as well as for easy, direct switching from a PC.1 Future support scheduled View All Footnotes This way, multiple people can work simultaneously for an efficient operation.

Compatible with all of Panasonic Connect's current PTZ cameras, the AV-HSW10 was designed to support live events such as worship services, high-flex university courses, smaller corporate events, and webinars that don't require many inputs, but need to switch live between different cameras and stream directly from the switcher.

Ultimately, the AW-UR100 PTZ Camera and AV-HSW10 Compact Switcher will allow production crews to invest in forward-looking solutions while still retaining the ability to maintain current workflows and gradually adapt new ones.

The Premium Series of PTZ cameras, which includes the AW-UE40, AW-UE50, and AW-UE80, now features built-in auto-tracking. This built-in auto-tracking uses body detection technology that results in excellent tracking response. Lectures and meetings are easier to run, allowing content to be more engaging without the distraction of technological complications or additional staff.

All solutions will be on display at NAB 2023 (booth C3308) and will become available throughout the second half of 2023. To learn more about our PTZ and Switcher lines, visit our website.

About Panasonic Connect North America

Established on April 1, 2022 as part of the Panasonic Group's switch to an operating company system, Panasonic Connect North America, Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, is a B2B company offering device hardware, software and professional services to provide value to customers across the public sector, federal government, education, immersive entertainment, food services and manufacturing industries. With the mission to "Change Work, Advance Society, Connect to Tomorrow," Panasonic Connect North America works closely with its community of partners, innovators and integrators to provide the right technologies to address customers’ ever-evolving needs in today's connected enterprise.