DVD Goes Deep Sea

Scientists At The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution Rely On Pioneer's PRV-9000 Pro DVD Recorder to Archive Deep-Sea Dive Video Footage

The PRV-9000 Pro DVD-Video recorder from Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. helps Florida's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution archive video footage of deep sea dives to DVD to ensure future use by scientists and researchers across the country.

The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution had hundreds of videos in multiple formats from many deep-sea excursions of scientists across the country. The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution wanted to preserve the footage, some of which was more than 20 years old and showing wear. They also wanted scientists to be able to distribute their deep-sea footage easily. The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution decided on DVD and Pioneer's PRV-9000 pro DVD recorder for video transfer and archiving.

"We wanted a high quality archival format that would allow scientists to view and reproduce easily all of our deep-sea videos whenever needed ," said Brian Cousin, video production specialist at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. "We knew that if we continued to keep tape archives we would compromise quality, so DVD was a natural choice. Pioneer's PRV-9000 gives us the flexibility to connect any video source and press record for real-time recording and high quality archiving."

The PRV-9000 offers users like the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution a quick and easy solution for archiving important video content onto DVD. Using one of two recording modes, DVD-Video or VR (Video Recording), the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution can record up to six hours of video onto one disc. Typically, the dive footage lasts less than one hour per tape, so the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution opts to use the highest quality recording mode.

"Pioneer's PRV-9000 is an ideal recording device to use for archiving video onto DVD," said Linda Toleno, vice president of industrial video sales and marketing for the Business Solutions Division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "For research and educational environments like the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, archiving old video footage is a primary concern to maintain video research databases for future use. Being able to record and archive this video quickly and easily to DVD using the PRV-9000 is the ideal solution."

In addition, the PRV-9000 offers DV (IEEE 1394), S-Video and Composite video inputs, allowing the Institution to choose a recording source. Often, the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution archives onto DVD from 3/4" tape. The DVD-R discs created using the PRV-9000 will play back in most standard DVD-Video players on the market, so compatibility for future research is not a concern.

The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution is also using the PRV-9000 to transfer video footage currently used by the public tour program around the campus, to DVD.

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution is dedicated to exploring the world's oceans, integrating the science and technology of the sea with the needs of humankind. The staff includes more than 250 scientists, engineers, mariners and support personnel. They are involved in research and education in the marine sciences; biological, chemical, and environmental sciences; marine biomedical sciences; marine mammal conservation; aquaculture; and ocean engineering. The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution has a wide variety of educational programs and products to raise public awareness of the marine environment, illustrating how the health of our planet is inextricably linked to the state of our oceans.

Pioneer's Professional Video Group is the leader and technical innovator in optical disc technology for the industrial market. It is a part of the Business Solutions Division, which provides professional business-to-business products across a wide range of markets including cable television, professional video/audio, educational, medical, legal and banking.