Due to the continuing crisis in Japan, stocks of HDCAM SR are severely limited. This has meant that what stock is available is on an allocation basis only. This effectively means that broadcasters and large facilities will be able to get some stock but smaller companies will find it very difficult to secure both HDCAM and HDCAM SR. As a result tape prices have gone up, in some case by over 100%. Stand definition stock is also experiencing some price rises and shortage, though not as severe as HD.
If it wasn’t for the fact that solid state video storage solutions are similarly affected, it would be another nail in tape’s coffin. It will be interesting to see how much tape sales recover by when supplies improve, as digital workflow and delivery is looking very attractive at the moment.