American College of Cardiology Relies on JVC GY-HM700 ProHD Camcorder for Studio, Field Productions
WAYNE, NJ - JVC Professional Products, a division of JVC U.S.A., announced today that the American College of Cardiology (ACC) is using three JVC GY-HM700 ProHD camcorders to produce CardioSourceVideoNews (CVN), an ongoing collection of educational video news briefs produced for its 39,000 members. CVN produces roughly 600 videos per year that are posted to www.cardiosource.org for the ACC's membership.
Based in Washington, DC, the ACC is a nonprofit medical professional society active in health policy and legislation, standards and guidelines, and cardiovascular research. CVN produces six regularly scheduled series of two to four-minute videos that focus on science and quality of care issues. According to Justin Schauble, associate director of video production, CVN is also planning to shoot a pilot for The ACC Update, a longer format show, this month.
The new JVC cameras are not CVN's first foray into tapeless solid-state acquisition; in fact, they are replacing several Panasonic AG-HVX200 camcorders, which record to P2 media. CVN is an Apple Final Cut Pro shop, and Schauble said the GY-HM700's native file recording of .MOV files was an excellent fit for its workflow.
CVN purchased its first GY-HM700 late last year, and recently added a third exclusively for studio productions. By next June, Schauble plans to be using only JVC cameras.
Schauble said the investment in JVC cameras was part of a modestly budgeted upgrade to HD production that began last fall and will be completed by the end of this summer. Beyond the new JVC cameras, CVN invested in two switchers for its control room, a Grass Valley Indigo for traditional productions and a NewTek TriCaster TCXD300 for productions that require real-time chromakey.
More than half of CVN's studio productions use virtual sets, and the studio is equipped with a full greenscreen cyc. Schauble said he field tested the GY-HM700 against a Sony XDCAM and the JVC's HD-SDI 4:2:2 output provided a cleaner signal for chromakey. The HD-SDI feed from the camera is fed directly to the TricCaster for a live key, or HD footage can be captured using a Blackmagic Design Multibridge system and the key added in post production.
Beyond studio projects, CVN produces an extensive amount of 720p video in the field, covering educational summits, legislative conferences, and other events. Schauble prefers the GY-HM700's shoulder-mount form factor, because it provides better stability for handheld shots. "JVC stands up as a professional camera," said Schauble. "The image quality is spectacular."
Video specialist David Wardrick said the GY-HM700 is also well equipped for field use. Equipped with the Canon KT14x4.4KRSJ HD lens, the camera is lightweight and has good balance. He also said he likes the built-in adjustable monitor speaker, which allows him to work without headphones on some projects. He recalled a recent shoot in an unimpressive hospital conference room with limited lighting. "It looked amazing, a really crisp and clear image," Wardrick said. "What you're capturing looks gorgeous."
Schauble is also a big fan of non-proprietary SDHC cards, the solid-state recording media used by the GY-HM700, because they are universally available and affordable. "I can buy 15 SDHC cards for the cost of a single P2 card," he explained. "They're practically disposable. The budget folks love that."
The SDHC cards have proven to be a very robust recording media. The CVN team has not had a glitch or recording error since they started using the camcorders last year.
"It is very gratifying to know that a prestigious organization like the American College of Cardiology relies on JVC to share important information with its members - and it takes advantage of both our native QuickTime file workflow in the field and 4:2:2 HD-SDI output in the studio," said Craig Yanagi, national marketing manager, JVC Professional Products. "Their use of GY-HM700 cameras for ENG work and clean chromakey studio productions speaks to the continued commitment to versatility and reliability of our ProHD line of cameras."
ABOUT JVC U.S.A.
Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC U.S.A. is a division of JVC Americas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Victor Company of Japan Ltd. JVC distributes a complete line of video and audio equipment for the consumer and professional markets. For further product information, visit JVC's Web site at pro.jvc.com or call (800)582-5825.
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