RedCam Central :: View topic - Pre-NAB Project Status Update! (02-26-07)

Site Admin

Today, Red Digital Cinema founder Jim Jannard made a public statement released online regarding the status of the entire Red project. Here is what he had to say:

"OK. So here we are, right in the middle of putting together the impossible. We started from scratch 14 months ago on the quest to produce a mind-blowing revolution in digital cinema in an incredibly short period of time. We also committed to an "open development" format. Here is where we are today:

This is a tremendously difficult project with a ton of problems to solve everyday. We are not finished, but we are getting there. There is good news and bad news. Let's start with some good news.

We are on track to begin delivering the 1st RED ONE (Spike) cameras somewhere around NAB as promised. We will show working cameras at NAB. The Mysterium® sensor is all world. Images are incredible. The complete system has come a LONG way since NAB last year, thanks to many of you. The specs should hold or improve from expectations.

Some bad news. The 1st cameras that ship will not be full feature enabled. I expect about 85% of all features to come with Serial #1-100.
Some more good news. All the important features (including 4k REDCODE RAW) will be enabled from the beginning. The camera will be useable from day one.
Some bad news. Users will have to upgrade software and firmware to enable remaining feature sets for the 1st couple of months. 100% of features enabled by June or July.
Good news. It will be easy to upgrade feature sets.
Bad news. Production will be a bit slower ramping up than originally thought.
Good news. We still believe that we can fill all reservations safely by September or October.
More good news. REDCINE will be available from day one. It is a Pro application that will do more than you would expect. And all of the hardware, including EVF, LCD, drives and rail system will be ready when the cameras are shipping.

Remember, specs and delivery dates can change at any moment. But we feel pretty good about what our customers will get. Experts (under NDA) are pretty fired up at where we are and what we are doing.
Bad news. We can't tell you their names.
Good news. We will be able to tell you at NAB.

Overall, I am confident that all reservation holders will be extremely happy. If not, we will offer a 110% refund to any reservation holder that does not agree after we present at NAB.

More info. 4K images will be projected on a Sony 4k projector in our booth. We will show working cameras, live capture and a complete working REDCINE workflow in the booth. There will be significant announcements and industry partnerships made at NAB along with new pieces added to the system, including lenses, on display at NAB.

We will always tell you the truth about our development. As soon as we know for sure. That's where we are today."