Want an illustration of how cheap 4K production is becoming? How about this…

The Holdan Blackmagic-powered PPU

One of the highlights of the Broadcast Video Expo in London was the news that leading UK reseller Holdan has launched an off-the-shelf three camera 4K studio set-up based around Blackmagic kit for an astonishingly meagre £20,000 ($30,800).

This is, of course, what you would have expected to pay for a single 4K camera not so long ago, so as an indication of the rapid progress of the price/performance curve when it comes to 4K production it is somewhat jaw-dropping.

We’ve listed the full contents below so you can see exactly what you can get nowadays for your hard-earned money:

3x Blackmagic Design Studio Camera 4K

(Built into 19" Rack case)

• Blackmagic Design SmartScope Duo 4K
• Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck Studio Pro
• Blackmagic Design SmartVideohub 12 x 12
• Blackmagic Design ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K
• Blackmagic Design ATEM Studio Converter
• Blackmagic Design SmartView 4K
• 3 x FieldCast 2Core SM UL 100
• thebrikmill FiberBrik Panel
• thebrikmill FiberBrik Adaptor for Studio Camera
• 3 x Panasonic H-HPS14042E
• Noise Cancelling Headset

It’s almost a case of just add crew. Holdan has basically loaded a 19” rack with enough kit to turn it into a complete UHD portable production unit, centralising camera control, signal switching and routing, monitoring, recording and crew communications into the single unit. This also makes it extremely portable. The studio suite, meanwhile, is connected to the Blackmagic cameras with three 100m fibre cables which allows for full two-way video and makes for an impressive degree of flexibility on location. What’s more the company reckons that the studio can be set up “in a matter of minutes”.

It will be rather fascinating to note what £20,000 will buy you this time next year