Video Equipment

When New York Giants center Shaun O'Hara and New England Patriots noseguard Vince Wilfork launch their combined 628 pounds at each other in Sunday's Super Bowl, more than 90 million viewers will be able to almost feel the collision. And for that they can thank Jim Rodnunsky, a filmmaker from Granada Hills who while working to make his skiing simulator more realistic stumbled upon what experts say is the most significant innovation in sports television of the last 20 years: the Cablecam.

The Police Commission on Tuesday selected IBM Corp. to install 300 digital video cameras in patrol cars in the first phase of a program that could put cameras in all 1,600 police vehicles. "It is a high priority for this commission and for the department," said Commission President John Mack. The $5-million contract needs City Council approval.

After a 10-year intermission, drive-in movies are returning to Orange County, courtesy of an inflatable silver screen. Tonight in Costa Mesa, a 300-car theater -- and unofficial backseat romance research center -- will flicker to life in a parking lot at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Bankrolled by four baby-boomers, the Star-Vu Drive-In plans to operate year-round, except during fair season. The last such venue, Westminster's Hi-way 39 theater, closed in 1997 to make room for a Wal-Mart.

Britain is attaching cameras to the caps and helmets of police officers, tightening a web of video surveillance that is the most extensive in the world. The country has a network of about 4 million closed-circuit cameras, and privacy advocates complain that the average Briton is recorded as many as 300 times a day. The Home Office said it was allocating $6 million for the plan, enough to buy more than 2,000 cameras for the country's 42 police departments.

Infiniti is taking a new angle on rear-view cameras. Nissan Motor Co.'s luxury nameplate is offering a new software-assisted camera system that provides drivers with a 360-degree overhead perspective of their car -- sort of a bird's-eye view for parallel parking. The "around view monitor" will be an option on the 2008 Infiniti EX35, a new small sport utility vehicle. "It's a high-tech parking aid that goes well beyond reverse-camera technology," said Robert Yakushi, Nissan North America Inc.'

The Police Department could save $3 million annually by installing video cameras in every police car to record civilian contacts instead of having officers write and read field data reports, Police Chief William J. Bratton said in a report Friday. In arguing that such cameras are cost-effective, Bratton said they would also make it easier to resolve complaints of officer misconduct and would cut down on investigative costs. The city has applied for a grant to install the cameras.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's investigation into a mysterious crash that destroyed a rare $1-million Ferrari in Malibu last month is now focusing on a videotape that was purportedly shot from inside the vehicle at the time of the accident, according to sources close to the case.

Microsoft Corp. will start selling a wireless digital music and video player to compete with Apple's iPod by Christmas, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. The new player will let users download music and videos over the air, according to one source, a feature that would give it an edge over the iPod. Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft has also been developing an application akin to Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod/iTunes integrated system, another source said.

After talking to journalism students at Stony Brook University recently, John Houseman of New York's WPIX-TV left behind 18 new video cameras. Houseman, assistant news director at WPIX, had enlisted students at the Long Island campus as contributors to his news operation with an investment of $119 per camera. He wants the budding journalists -- as well as students at Fordham, Rutgers and New York universities -- to send in material if they see something they believe to be a story.