(Secaucus, New Jersey--October 30, 2009) Duluth Public Access Community Television (PACT), serving the populace of Minnesota’s fourth largest city, recently purchased 10 Panasonic AG-HMC150 professional handheld AVCCAM camcorders that are available to its members for both studio and field production.
PACT is a volunteer, non-profit organization that encourages and enables individuals and groups to produce local programs that are non-commercial and uncensored. PACT offers equipment and provides editing facilities to its members, who in addition to producing their own television shows can take PACT-sponsored classes in electronic field production, videography and post-production.
PACT manages four channels for the City of Duluth (7, 14, 16 and 20) on Charter Communications, a cable company reaching 20,000 Duluth subscribers. The eclectic programming ranges from live coverage of city and county governmental meetings to shows produced by religious organizations and enthusiasts of all stripes: sports, music, local history, finance and more.
Executive Director Jerry Moscatelli joined PACT in 1996, shortly after the organization’s move into its current quarters in Duluth City Hall. A veteran of nearly 30 years in the city’s cable and broadcast industries, Moscatelli was well-equipped to manage PACT’s exponential growth, expansion typified by the large-scale purchase of the HMC150 AVCCAMs, which replaced aging mini-DV and S-VHS gear.
“The HMC150 AVCCAM is the camera for public access,” said Moscatelli. “Anyone in our business should take a look at it. We were initially drawn to camcorder’s cost-effectiveness, its tapeless, low-cost SD media, small size and HD acquisition. We also liked the HMC150’s XLR two-channel audio inputs and wide-angle Leica Dicomar™ zoom lens.”
Six of the AVCCAMs are provided to PACT members for field production, and are also used for general camcorder instruction. Moscatelli said that the organization hopes to initiate classes in digital cinematography in the near future. Members can also schedule time in the PACT studio, where four of the HMC150s have been configured for studio use. PACT’s HMC150s were all purchased from EPA Audio Visual (Rockford, MN).
Studio productions are both live and pre-recorded. Programming shot in advance is recorded to Panasonic DVD recorders with built-in hard drives, and recorded to tape as a back-up. In the field, shooters are provided with 16GB SDHC cards, and encouraged to shoot in the HMC150’s highest-quality PH mode (average 21 Mbps/max. 24 Mbps) at 1080/60i. Editing is done in both Final Cut Pro and iMovie. Material is currently delivered to Charter Communications on DVDs. Moscatelli said he anticipates also using the HMC150s to produce video streaming for the city of Duluth and PACT websites.
“Having shot with the HMC150s for the past several months, I’ve come to depend on the on-screen waveform monitors and the selectable, switchable audio inputs,” Moscatelli said. “There’s easy access for the shutter and user-friendly buttons on the side panel. The expanded focus assists are especially beneficial.”
“Our members have been able to pick up on the HMC150s very quickly,” HE added. “They’re definitely producing more quality video faster.”
“We are very thankful for the funding from the City of Duluth that allowed us to purchase these cameras from Panasonic,” Moscatelli said.
For more information about Duluth Public Access Community Television, visit http://www.pacttv.org.
About the AG-HMC150
Based on the proven design and advanced functionality of the highly popular DVX100, the HMC150 professional handheld AVCCAM camcorder provides professionals and enthusiasts alike the flexibility of high-quality 1080/720 AVCHD recording at bit rates up to 24Mbps and a simple, solid-state SD memory card workflow. AVCHD, the industry’s new MPEG-4 / AVC Hi Profile compression format, provides a near doubling of bandwidth efficiency with improved video performance over the older MPEG-2 compression used in HDV formats. The handheld incorporates three 1/3-inch progressive CCD imagers to produce stunning 1920 x 1080 resolution picture quality. It is equipped with a high-performance 28 mm (35mm equivalent) wide-angle Leica Dicomar™ 13x zoom lens and 24- and 30-frame progressive capture in a full range of HD formats, making it well suited for all types of projects. For more information on the HMC150, visit http://www.panasonic.com/broadcast.
About Panasonic Broadcast
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast and professional video products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a Unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC) and the hub of Panasonic’s U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, visit http://www.panasonic.com/broadcast.
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