Holophone, a division of Rising Sun Productions Ltd., will launch the Holophone-MINI Surround Sound Microphone and Pocket PME at NAB 2005 (Booth #N2026). Based upon the patented H2-PRO, the Holophone-MINI includes a 5.1 Surround recording head that connects to a portable, battery-operated Pocket PME that contains multi-channel microphone preamps, virtual surround headphone monitoring, a 5.1 Circle Surround encoder from SRS Labs, and an audio “zoom” feature.
The Pocket PME is specifically designed for the Professional Broadcast Camera market to enable instantaneous, professional quality, 5.1 surround sound capture on any camera for broadcast ENG and field applications.
Essentially two products that work together as one, the Holophone-MINI 5.1 surround sound recording head and the Pocket PME are portable, easy to use, and provide an intelligent array of features for broadcast professionals. The MINI can be mounted onto any camera, while the Pocket PME can accompany the MINI or be placed in a belt pack or even upon a table-top for other applications. Together, they record 5.1 channels of discrete surround sound from a single point source on the camera via internal microphone pre-amps with unity gain control. The PME encodes the discrete, 5.1 Surround sound audio streams real-time into Circle Surround from SRS Labs and outputs a matrix-encoded, two-channel, stereo signal that can be recorded onto tape via standard, L/R stereo input jacks on all cameras. The Circle Surround 5.1 encoded signal is entirely compatible with all surround playback systems, including Circle Surround (CS and CSII), Dolby Pro-Logic and Pro-Logic II. A discrete digital version of the PME is also in the works.
Other features of the PME include an instantaneous Virtual Surround Headphone output for direct surround field monitoring with volume control and an Audio “Zoom” feature that increases the forward bias of the recording. A provision for an external “center channel” or dialogue microphone line-in for ENG applications is also included as are a discrete 5.1 channel USB output and a visual LED indicator of surround sound sources.
The Holophone-MINI and Pocket PME are based upon patented Holophone technologies. The Pocket PME, as well as being a prototype for the professional broadcast camera market, has also been designed as a test-bed for the unit’s
internal scaleable technologies. Holophone plans to manufacture both products in-house and sell them directly and through their worldwide dealer network. The target for product availability is late 2005. Holophone’s technologies are also available for license to consumer OEM’s and others who wish to develop portable, miniature, 5.1 surround sound recording products.
Visit www.holophone.com for more information.
