(SECAUCUS, NJ -- August 15, 2007) Cordillera Communications' member stations KVOA-TV (Tucson, AZ) and WLEX-TV (Lexington, KY) have been broadcasting all local news in HD since May 2007 with Panasonic cameras as a critical production linchpin.
NBC affiliates and the news leaders in their respective markets, between them KVOA and WLEX deploy six AK-HC930 HD studio cameras, 22 AJ-SPX800 P2 camera packages, three AK-HC1500G multi-format HD point-of-view cameras and an array of P2 field support equipment. Each station also uses an AJ-HPX2000 P2 HD camera for production.
More than two years ago, Cordillera Communications (Duluth, MN) announced a total conversion of news, production and promotional operations at its 13 broadcast stations to the DVCPRO P2 solid-state memory recording system. Since that time, Cordillera has purchased scores of AJ-SPX800 camera packages and P2 drives used for both field acquisition and production throughout the group. Most recently, investments were made in HC930 HD studio cameras, HC1500G HD multi-purpose cameras and HPX2000 P2 HD cameras.
"The decision to buy the HD studio cameras was made independently at the station level at both KVOA and WLEX," said Andy Suk, Vice President of Engineering & Operations. "The engineering staffs conducted shoot-outs, and were influenced by the HC930's picture quality, overall value, and the very good support and service Panasonic has provided Cordillera for many years. The camera's image quality really spoke for itself."
Three HC930s are installed on the news sets of both stations. At WLEX, two HC1500G POV cameras are used, one as a newsroom camera operated remotely from the control room, the second as a grid camera for wide shots. KVOA has installed its HC1500G as a grid camera. All the cameras are outfitted with Fujinon HD lenses.
In the field, WLEX photographers are equipped with 13 AJ-SPX800 2/3" 3-CCD 16:9/4:3 24P/30P/60i DVCPRO50/25 camcorders; KVOA photographers shoot with nine SPX800s. News is shot 16:9 at 50mbps, then upconverted to 1080i for broadcast. Editing is NLE-based, using the Leitch Velocity NX newsroom system.
Previously, Cordillera stations used Panasonic 25Mbps DVCPRO equipment for newsgathering and 50Mbps DVCPRO50 products for production.
"Once we made the decision to move the group wholly to tapeless operations, we chose P2 largely based on its elimination of all moving parts--the recording system is the typical point of failure in field cameras, and P2 has no moving mechanisms," said Suk. "Indeed, of all the challenges associated with a migration to tapeless, file-based news production, the P2 cameras have been the easiest element. The photographers love them, and with proper camera set-up, the 50Mbps material upconverts beautifully to HD, far more than adequate for our purposes."
"We made the decision at KVOA and WLEX to invest in HD studio cameras without incurring a huge capital investment in the field, a reasonable choice especially in view of the seamless upconversion of 50Mbps material to 1080i," Suk explained. "Ultimately, our plan is to purchase new P2 HD cameras with AVC-Intra capability for our larger-market stations, KVOA and WLEX specifically, and reassign the SPX800s to our smaller market stations."
"The reaction among viewers in Tucson and Lexington to news in HD has been phenomenal, with many telling us they've switched to our newscasts expressly because of the improved image quality," he noted.
About the AK-HC930
The dual-format AK-HC930 camera system offers outstanding1080 interlace performance and optional 480 interlace acquisition. Equipped with digital processing LSIs and 12-bit analog-to-digital conversion circuits, the AK-HC930 features three 2/3" 2.2 million pixel FIT CCDs, which reduce moiré and assure superb resolution. 38-bit internal processing dramatically improves dark and highlight image quality. Weighing 9.9 pounds, the compact AK-HC930 features a built-in signal format converter that converts the high-definition 1080i signal to a 480i standard-definition output.
About the AK-HC1500G
Compatible with all international HD standards, the AK-HC1500G is the first multi-purpose camera to feature a variable frame rate functionality and cine gamma curve, features that have distinguished Panasonic's popular VariCam HD Cinema™ camcorder. The camera's 1-megapixel, 2/3-inch 3-CCDs produce outstanding color accuracy, with improved on-chip lenses to achieve a standard sensitivity of F10.0 at 2000 lux and a smear level of less than -130 dB. The AK-HC1500 uses CCD accumulation and horizontal/vertical addition to create a gain increase of up to +68 dB (with a minimum illumination of 0.015 dB). The camera offers both 1080 (60i/59.94i, 50i, 30p, 25p/24p) and 720 (60p, 59.94p/50p) high definition output.
About Panasonic P2
DVCPRO P2 is a true nonlinear acquisition system that allows users to capture high quality images through reliable solid-state memory recording, without the limitations of tape or disc. DVCPRO P2 products offer instant access to recorded digital video on IT-friendly memory cards, eliminating the need for traditional digitizing and ingesting operations. The P2 memory card is ultra-reliable (resistant to environmental extremes including shock, vibration, and humidity), connects instantly with laptops and major non-linear editing systems, and is re-usable. Panasonic's DVCPRO P2 cameras feature in-camera editing capabilities and high-speed file transfer as well as industry-standard IT interfaces, including USB 2.0 and IEEE1394. For more information, visit http://www.panasonic.com/p2
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast and professional video products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Panasonic Corporation of North America. The company is the North American headquarters of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, visit http://www.panasonic.com/broadcast
The Redrock Micro DSLR Cinema Bundle for the Canon 5D MKII If you are using the Canon 5D MKII or Nikon D90 for their gorgeous HD video, or even thinking about it, you need to read this. Creative COW Contributing Editor Jim Harvey shows how the Redrock Micro DSLR Bundle makes these cameras even more useful for video shooters, then shows how he and other pros are using it, in the field and in the studio. Jim is enthusiastic about the possiblities it opens up, and thinks you will be too. Read ArticleSubscribe
Related News:
Related Article:
