Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, has announced the release of v8.2 software for its ZEN and ZEN-W Series, bringing advanced cinematic camera setup and analysis tools into live broadcast workflows. The update adds ARRI LogC3/C4, RED, and Sony S-Log false color support across the ZEN Series (LV5600, LV7600, LV5350, LV7300) and ZEN-W Series (LV5600W, LV7600W) waveform monitors and rasterizers.
As broadcasters and media rights holders pursue more cinematic looks in live sport, music and entertainment programming, large-sensor cinematic-style cameras are being integrated alongside traditional 3-CCD broadcast cameras to give productions a shallower depth of field and a more dynamic image that is associated with drama and documentaries. That creative choice creates a technical challenge for vision engineers in matching exposure and color between fundamentally different imaging systems.
Leader’s new v8.2 update addresses that challenge by extending its cinematography monitoring heritage into the live production domain. The new false color presets and monitoring tools, widely used on film and television sets to evaluate exposure for Log-encoded images, provide vision engineers with an intuitive, real-time method to match exposure and maintain consistency across mixed camera sources.
Engineers can now switch seamlessly between cinematic and conventional broadcast sources while keeping a consistent monitoring workflow from studio to OB truck. The v8.2 update builds on functionality first introduced in the portable LV5350 and brings those same cinematic monitoring capabilities to the full ZEN and ZEN-W products, ensuring accurate and efficient monitoring across the range.
Koichi Fukagawa, manager of sales planning unit at Leader Electronics, comments, “Live production is evolving fast as producers look to bring cinematic production to live events. With v8.2 we’re enabling vision engineers to deliver that creative intent consistently and confidently, from capture through to live broadcast output, using familiar, reliable tools built on Leader’s proven heritage in digital cinematography monitoring.”