From its earliest products to the V-600UHD, a 4K HDR Multi-format Video Switcher, Roland is always evolving

Roland, Japan is a world-class electronic musical instrument manufacturer. While many instrument makers have origins in acoustic instruments, Roland is a long-established brand of synthesizers that’s been making instruments with electronics from the start.

It is less generally known that Roland also makes video products for business use. When it comes to commercial use, there is a certain image of broadcasting equipment. While this isn’t Roland's main battleground, the company has built a unique position for music events and internet broadcasting.

I visited Roland's Hamamatsu Research Institute in Kita-ku, Hamamatsu City to cover how Roland’s current video equipment projects and the world's first initiative to convert HDR to SDR on a switcher.

Mr. Takamitsu Shimizu, Executive Officer of Roland RPG 1st Development Department, Yoshihide Kasai, and Yoshinobu Tatsui, serve as the division chiefs of the department. They spoke with us.

Origins of Roland Video Equipment

Roland started as an electronic musical instrument manufacturer. Why did you begin creating video equipment?

Shimizu: At first, I used to make audio products like mixers for DJ. However, VJing began to get more and more exciting around 2000. As our first video-related product, in 1994, we put out a video editing system called “Video-kun Editing Studio.” Still, I thought that I could pull something out of the product for VJs. This was the first trigger for video equipment.

It makes sense. The music comes first, and from there it flows to the image. I think the first hit product from Roland's video equipment was the V-4 in 2002. What kind of target did you aim for specifically?

Shimizu: We knew VJing was popular, but we didn't know how things worked in that world. So, we started by trying to put out a product. At that time, we only released musical instruments, so even if we suddenly made a video product, there was no sales destination. Therefore, we needed a place that was easy to sell a product intended for VJs.

From there, by studying post-purchase data, I gradually learned who was actually buying them. About 40% of the people who bought it were video directors like VJs. However, at that time I noticed the other 60% of people who bought it were using it as a professional tool.

Kasai: At the time, I thought, “I'm using it like this.” When I was interviewing, I used a moving recording rack with V-4 on it. I remember using the chroma key in the background to make a temporary screen and show it to the director. At that time, there wasn’t a switcher for 1,000 USD, so there was no competition. I made it for VJs. However, it was cheap and compact so it got used more and more for business.

From there, the direction of Roland's video products was decided, which brings us to the present.

Shimizu: In response to that, we converted to a switcher for businesses called the LVS-400. The core was V-4, but I put on the connector of BNC. It was a simple switcher that just switches with AB, but it was the beginning of our current business route. We changed the target and put it out.

Video is a field where it’s very difficult to see who is using what products and where. This is especially true as a new entrant. Was it difficult to conduct market research?

Shimizu: Yes. Therefore, we approached the areas where we were most familiar, such as music events. I looked for opportunities to ask how they could use our products. Later, this led to a PR series with video presenters.

Kasai: At that time, there was a trend where PA shops in town wanted to increase their video work. Roland knew this, and there was a place for us in that space. That’s continued since we came out with the V-4.

I’ve heard that Roland video products are in many churches in North America.

Shimizu: It's not so much that we found the worship market, but some US sales staff happened to be involved in their local church. They knew each other or volunteered to deliver the mass. Originally, a dealer also provided audio equipment for the video distribution network, so there was a sales channel in the church.

Tatsui: As you can see from that example, any kind of live event is a potential use case. The operator is a volunteer, so he's not a professional. That's why we don't assume only professional use.

Background of the birth of VR-5

The VR-5 product, released in January 2011, was the catalyst for the world to learn about Roland switchers. How did it come about?

Shimizu: This also came from North America. The worship market is quite large, and there is demand. The beginning of the project is that when video and audio are together, the most compressed version is the one most likely to get used. At first, I wasn't aware of streaming at all, so we didn't even have USB streaming out. As a result, I was very lucky that the streaming market was excited. We did various things in the testing to see what it would be like if such a function was attached.

When the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in March 2011, I wanted more information that the mass media didn’t report. I gained a tremendous sense of citizenship from this. The VR-5 came out in January just before that. I think this is an example of a time I was ahead of something without trying too hard. At that time, it was actively introduced in university laboratories. There was a trend born of students learning journalism through live video.

The integrated video switcher and audio mixer are features of the VR series. When did you come up with that idea?

Tatsui: Our founder's father, Mr. Ikutaro Kakehashi, loves organs. The organ is all played by one person, right? In that kind of flow, the idea is a video will come out like when you play the keyboard. From there it leads to another idea—like a video synthesizer.

In addition to switchers, there was a time when we started to consider these things more, such as the PR series as a video presenter and the CG-8 visual synthesizer. There was a sound and there was an image to produce it.

Kasai: There was a culture where you wanted to pack everything in one. I also tried mixing synths with two sound sources.

Shimizu: At that time, our founder had a diode theory. Diodes only go in one direction, correct? Video people can also do audio. Audio people said that they wanted to try video and the learning threshold was quite high. It’s like diodes. Most video products are not made with audio in consideration. He often said that if you put audio elements in it, it would lead to other users and the market would expand.

VC-300HD accepted by “professionals”

Among them, there was a video converter “VC-300HD” released in 2007 as a different product. That formed the basis of the “multi-format” products that have been around so much. Why did you start making converters?

Shimizu: At first, the purpose of the project was that interface box. The PR series was a product that was very easy for us to imagine customers enjoying, and we placed high importance on it. I thought we could do an IO breakout box that somehow converted a PR-1000HD that could only output DVI into a component or SDI.

Get on top of the PR-1000HD to fit the design and clean it with 1U. Then the converter sold better than the presenter, and I found a completely different, killer solution.

Kasai: There were models with and without SDI, but in the end, only models with SDI were sold. I realized that SDI was so important. Until then, I’d never set foot in a broadcasting station. Once I was able to do this with a broadcaster, I started going there to introduce our new products in a personal way.

Before Roland, it was very expensive to find a multi-converter. 10,000 USD was cheap. At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, there was tremendous demand because I wanted a 50Hz/60Hz converter to support high definition. Having to bring it to Beijing and do various things, the converter with the processing amplifier was very useful. The product fit the times.

Cover up to the best video formats

From there, the VR series and V series are stacked with products that support multi-format. I don't always go to the most advanced seasonal formats. Rather, I adopt a format that is about half a step behind. More and more, that is happening.

Ahead of trends, the V-600UHD in 2019 was at the forefront of 4KHDR support. What happened to this?

Shimizu: This has not changed my way of thinking at all. I think it's the fate of a major manufacturer to be on the cutting edge, but we've been expanding with multi-formatting since the analog era. It was time to expand it to 4K. It’s still an image with 4K or HDR in the multi-format, so it’s not that we changed our policy and entered the cutting edge.

Kasai: With most of the TVs for home use in 4K, we are finally releasing 4K-compatible products as video production equipment. I think it's still slower than ever. However, I think that this product includes functions that are cutting-edge or leading.

There are not many 4K products of this size which is one of its highlights. How did you differentiate yourself?

Kasai: Since the VC-300HD, Roland has been recognized as multi-format. Then, when it becomes 4K, we are required to respond to the idea that it is not the only resolution. Of course, pc output, camera output, and SDI-based video output were multi-formats, but only if they could be handled together. The pc is processed at 4K/4:4:4 and cannot be removed. And SDI has 12G SDI, and it can't be removed.

Shimizu: The reason we thought so was that we sold the V-800HD for a long time, and many people came to use it in various places. Even if you go to 4K, the size is probably about this size, and the input channel is this much, and the cost for middle-class events is this much, and I'm sure it's here that there is scalability, so I feel like I've arrived.

4K is used in the staging field, and of course, it is a multi-format, so PCs can enter at any resolution and upconvert HD materials. There is even analog RGB. What kinds of situations can you see needing this use?

Tatsui: It depends on the time of day. The idea that analog can still be managed is quite persistent. There are many cases where clients have to connect their personal computers so there is a need for support of things like analog RGB only or broken HDMI terminals.

In that sense, the switcher acts as a cushioning device that accepts everything, not a site where the format is unified as a system. That's how it looks. There is HLG as HDR, there is PQ, and I think that some of them have their format of Log, but what is the support situation?

Tatsui: Both HLG and PQ are supported. Inputs can be mixed, and the output can be selected as one system format. However, the PQ is only HDR 10. Log output is tough at the moment. However, since the input has a gamma curve correction function, it is somewhat widely accepted. I think it's tough to convert your own Log properly.

Kasai: There is a dedicated converter there, so I would like people to use it.

The V-600UHD is focused on HDR to SDR conversion. Why would one convert HDR input to SDR in the first place?

Tatsui: LED displays and projectors usually have resolutions of 4K and 8K, but the main product is still SDR and doesn’t support HDR.

Kasai: Normally, when it comes to 4KHDR support, I think there is an idea that the input and output must be aligned as a whole system, but I don't think so. The main thing is that even if you use only the camera with 4KHDR, there are sufficient merits.

Why should I turn my camera into an HDR device?

Tatsui: One reason is when you take a picture with an SDR camera, there are scenes where it will inevitably need white or black. If you take it with an HDR camera, you can shoot with sufficient quality. Even if you convert it to SDR, you can put it out to SDR while maintaining its quality. That's where it's big.

Kasai: Even within the same SDR range, you can use it within the range you want to use a lot.

 

Such adjustments would involve a fair number of parameters, but in live performances, you have to do it in real-time. Is it a good thing to be able to use just one knob?

Tatsui: We went through a lot of trial and error to create various curves. Some things didn't work with simple calculations alone.

Kasai: From the beginning, the concept was to make something end up as HDR and SDR with a single knob. HDR to SDR can't be entered without crushing somewhere. I'll look for the most effective part with the human eye and make a curve. I want to increase the number of parameters more and more, but I was quite careful about not increasing too much.

What kind of adjustment is the parameter of one knob? Connecting and changing multiple gamma curves?

Kasai: The adjustment is to bring the width of what you want to see into SDR. We hold it up or lift the bottom, and try to put it within the scope of SDR.

Tatsui: The idea of changing to a setting that feels good with a single parameter is an approach I was doing for a while in the musical instrument world. Like an analog compressor, there are various parameters. If you turn it this much, there are about three settings that are OK. We wondered how we could make it like an instrument.

Is that the most difficult aspect of this product?

Shimizu: I spent a lot of time planning it beginning over a year ago, Before that, there were various other versions of products, not in this form. When we first worked with 4K, we never used a device at all because of the idea of designing the foundation. Think of a rack-mounted successor to the VC-300HD. I considered that concept for quite a long time.

In marketing terms, where does this product sell?

Shimizu: HDR content is coming. 4K is on its way. First of all, for events of a certain size, there's no HDR system like this in the world. Currently, there is only this product available so there are many inquiries.

In the events industry, the technology cycle is faster than ever. The LED display has suddenly spread, and the brightness is getting higher and higher, and I think that it has advanced rapidly in recent years.

Shimizu: The biggest market for LED is China, but there is LED all over the place. Competition is fierce, cost reductions are fierce, and cheap LED displays are exported all over the world. Even small shopping malls install 200-inch LED displays. In this environment, 4K is also steadily reducing costs. 4K is not always the perfect solution, but interest content a little larger than HD is steadily increasing.

From its early products to 4K/HDR, Roland video equipment is always evolving. The products are always made to solve problems in the field. Roland's approach to creating such content is unique to the company, and it’s the starting point for a lot of users who trust us.

Even when something is not cutting-edge, it’s born from the attitude that we can always ride the tides of the times.