Apple’s new iPhone 4 boasts HD video recording and a suite of multimedia editing features that could transform how video footage is obtained by news operations. The key new feature on the iPhone 4 is a five-megapixel autofocus camera that can capture video at 720p HD resolution. As for editing, the iPhone includes a much faster processor that allows for more advanced editing software. Apple said it would release a new iMovie video editing application for the iPhone, priced at $4.99. The app will allow users to edit video clips, polish videos with dynamic themes and transitions, add voice, music beds and still photos and then share the video to the outside world. All of this is done from the phone itself. Finished video can be transmitted via MMS, or published on Apple’s MobileMe gallery or YouTube. A new feature called Facetime allows users to establish instant two-way conversations over WiFi networks. The phone has a second camera facing the user for this purpose.
Alfred Hermida, a professor of journalism at the University of British Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, said the new iPhone has the potential to put multimedia production in the hands of all journalists. He said his students had been experimenting with several software applications for the iPhone, and he was impressed with the flexibility.
Third-party applications like UStream can capture the iPhone video for broadcast and Web use. The company’s Watershed technology will enable audience members to capture and send breaking news, thoughts and opinions in real time to news organizations. It can also provide in-the-field reporters with the ability to broadcast live with a laptop and an Internet connection.
Read more at Broadcast Engineering.
