Camcorder News from Kodak and Red

I've got news about two camcorders, one low-end model that will act like it's more expensive, and one "expensive" model that will act like it's much more expensive. The first is the new Kodak Zi6, a pocket camcorder priced at $179.95 that will compete with Pure Digital's Flip Ultra and Mino. What makes things interesting is that, unlike the Pure and similar Creative Labs pocket camcorders, the Zi6 records in HD (720/30p), and according to Benny Goldman of Gizmodo, the video looks great on a 40" flat-panel TV. The Zi6 won't be quite as convenient as the Pure Digital models--it has no built-in software, and it comes with no memory (SD and SDHC memory cards with up to 32GB of flash memory will be supported)--but it can support both the low-end YouTube shooters and people who might have considered an entry-level HD camcorder from Sony, Panasonic or Canon. And, of course, it's got the Kodak name. According to Kodak, the Zi6 will ship in September.

The other camcorder is Red's Scarlet. Jim Jannard, the founder of Red, just posted a new rendering of the Scarlet on its Scarletuser.com website. As you may recall, the Scarlet will be a fixed-lens camcorder with 3K resolution (digital cinema-quality) that will sell for under $3,000. According to Jon Sagud of Red, writing in the same thread as Jim Jannard, the Product Requirements Document (PRD) is just being completed. In most cases, Engineering departments wait for a completed PRD before they start designing the final product, but the broad outline of the Scarlet's functionality has been known for some time. In any case, we're still at least nine months away from Red shipping the Scarlet.

The Scarlet can't help but have a big impact on camcorder sales in the $5,000 to $10,000 range. If you've got to have a camcorder in that price range right now, by all means go ahead and buy one. However, if you're looking at a fixed-lens Panasonic or Sony model in that price range and you've got some time, wait at least for IBC in Amsterdam this September to see what Red shows. If the Scarlet they've got there is still a non-functional milled aluminum model like the one they showed at NAB in April, you've got at least another six months, and perhaps as much as a year, to wait for the final product.

Avid & Apple Withdraw From NAB--What Does it Mean?

apple,avid,yamaha,roland,creative,sony,thomson,harris,m-audio,digidesign

Earlier this week, Apple confirmed the rumors that it’s not going to exhibit at NAB this year. This comes on the heels of Avid’s announcement that it would pull out of this year’s show. Both announcements spawned a variety of speculations about the reasons behind their departures; said speculations will now be added to by myself.

To me, Avid’s announcement that it’s withdrawing from NAB is far less important than the announcement of the company’s new Chairman and CEO, Gary Greenfield. Here’s Mr. Greenfield’s bio, from the press release announcing his appointment:

“Greenfield has been CEO of GXS since 2003, a leading worldwide provider of business-to-business integration, synchronization and collaboration solutions. Since December 2003, he has also been an operating partner with Francisco Partners, a leading technology-focused private equity firm.

Previously, he served as CEO of Peregrine Systems where he managed the restructuring of their business; president and CEO of MERANT; and while CEO of INTERSOLV, they merged with Micro Focus to form MERANT. He has experience growing businesses both organically and through acquisition, managing development, marketing and operations, and serving diverse customers from small businesses to the Fortune 500.”

I don’t see any experience with audio or video production or post-production in his background; in other words, he doesn’t know the company’s business. He does, however, know how to restructure businesses. My bet is that he’s going to split up the company and sell pieces to the highest bidders. Yamaha or Roland would be potential bidders for Digidesign and M-Audio, Creative Technologies might snap up M-Audio and/or Pinnacle, and Sony might take all three. As for Avid, I think that Sony, Thomson or Harris are the most likely bidders.

The speculation that Avid might buy Apple’s media products, or anything else, is silly under the circumstances. They’re trying to clean up the company as a result of previous acquisitions that made little sense (Pinnacle being the best example), as well as failures to deliver promised products; acquiring yet more products would be counterproductive.

Apple’s move to exit NAB is more interesting. A company spokesperson stated that the company’s decision was made, in part, because it has a very effective way of reaching users through its Apple stores. I think that’s one reason, but I also think that exiting NAB allows Apple to change its development schedule to better fit reality. There doesn’t necessarily need to be a major new version of Final Cut Studio every year; features can be added and bugs fixed incrementally. I believe that Apple is fully committed to being in the media creation tools business; the company’s success, especially in the video field, has been at the expense of both Avid and Adobe.

At one time, I thought that Apple might purchase a video or audio hardware company to better compete with Avid; both AJA and MOTU were potential candidates. However, I think that Avid’s failure indicates that Apple has the correct strategy right now: Stay out of the hardware business, and support the most popular products out there.

I’d bet that twelve months from now, Avid will either be a much smaller company or only a brand name within another company’s product portfolio, and Apple will still be in the media creation and post-production business with its suites of video and audio software.