OmniVision Inc., a company that specializes in developing advanced digital imaging solutions, just announced its OV9712, a native 720p wide-screen high definition video image sensor selected by Microsoft for its next generation webcam, namely the LifeCam Cinema the software giant's newest flagship webcamera. The LifeCam provides HD-quality digital video capture, a growing trend mostly enhanced by social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.

"The LifeCam Cinema is our first webcam to offer widescreen HD video," said Kurt Wrisley, senior development program manager at Microsoft. "Combining OmniVision's OV9712 sensor and Microsoft's new ClearFrame Technology, the LifeCam Cinema offers best-in-class low-light performance and image quality, as well as broader field of view thanks to a 74-degree viewing angle. LifeCam Cinema will now have access to new integrations with Windows Live - Windows Live Movie Maker and Windows Live Photo Gallery - that make editing and uploading videos and photos easier."

The OV9712 unit comes as a no-compromise 720p HD imaging sensor that offers widescreen HD video format with display resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, boasting a smooth 30 frames per second. All in a 1/4-inch size using a 3-micron OmniPixel3-HS pixel architecture and delivering best (for its class, of course) low-light performance of 3300mV/lux-sec. That is what allows the OV9712 to function in low-lit scenarios, below 15 lux, making it a cost effective, high-quality video solution. The wide range of applications include notebooks, netbooks, PC cameras, digital video camcorders, DSCs, mobile phones and other portable media.

"Webcams are used predominantly indoors where lighting conditions are often far from ideal, making image quality and low-light performance key drivers to the success of these products in the market," said Nick Nam, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision. "The LifeCam Cinema design win underscores Microsoft's continued confidence in OmniVision to deliver the highest quality digital imaging solutions for mainstream consumer products."

One can observe the performance of OmniVision's OmniPixel3-HS pixel technology in the already available Microsoft LifeCam Cinema webcam.


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