Vermont Public Television Selects Four Hitachi SK-HD1000 HDTV Cameras for Hi-Def Studio Production Upgrade |
(Archive News Story - Products mentioned in this Archive News Story may or may not be available from the manufacturer.)
Hitachi America Ltd.
2000 Sierra Point Pkwy.
Brisbane, CA, 94005
USA
Press release date: February 28, 2011
WOODBURY, NEW YORK, February 28, 2011 - Vermont Public Television (VPT)- Vermont's statewide PBS network - purchased four new Hitachi SK-HD1000 digital HDTV studio cameras as part of an extensive HDTV production upgrade at its Colchester, VT broadcast television facility.
"We chose the Hitachi SK-HD1000 after a year of exhaustive, comparative research and testing of all major HDTV studio cameras on the market," said Joseph Tymecki, CPBE, Chief Technology Officer, Vermont Public Television. "Since the cameras replaced four older analog studio cameras that'd been in service for nearly 20 years, we wanted to be sure we were ordering studio cameras that would serve us well into the future. We feel that these Hitachi cameras are the perfect fit for our facility."
"The picture quality is just stunning," added Tymecki. "After we first put them on the air to cover the inauguration of Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin in January 2011, some viewers actually called us to comment on how amazing our channel looked. They wondered what we were doing differently because they noticed a big difference."
The Hitachi SK-HD1000 camera package is part of an extensive HDTV studio production upgrade that included a Ross Vision multi-format production switcher, Chyron LEX3 live HD graphics system, Omneon server, and Miranda router. This upgrade was the final phase of a four-phase upgrade that included four new DTV transmitters (Phase 1), master control room (Phase 2), and field production and NLE editing workflow (Phase 3).
The new Hitachi SK-HD1000 cameras are outfitted with a complement of Hitachi accessories, including Hitachi TU-HD1000 camera control units, VF-HP840 8-inch color LCD viewfinders, and RU-1200JY remote control units, as well as the Fujinon ZA-22x7.6BERM HD telephoto zoom lenses with 2X extenders.
Tymecki said the fact that the Hitachi SK-HD1000 cameras capture in native 1080i was crucial to their buying decision since PBS and its member stations have standardized on a 1080i HD workflow. Another critical factor is that the SK-HD1000 camera heads provide enough power to run their (Autoscript) 19-inch TFT-LCD teleprompters - a capability many competing HDTV studio cameras do not offer.
"We also did extensive testing of Hitachi's digital triax system, compared to a SMPTE fiber optic solution, and we found the picture quality to be superb despite the signal compression," Tymecki said. "This is important to us because our production truck and many of the remote venues we shoot in use triax. Our engineers and crew are familiar with the maintenance of triax connectors."
While the cameras are dedicated to multi-camera studio production, VPT plans to pack them into road cases for occasional use on their truck. In the broadcast facility, the cameras shuttle between Studio A, a large 80 x 40-foot studio space, and smaller Studio B on Vinten pedestals and pan/tilt heads to produce three- or four-camera shows.
The Hitachi SK-HD1000s are used to shoot all VPT local productions including: "Profile," a show about the arts, culture, and public affairs in Vermont; "Vermont This Week," a look at the top news stories across the state, and live call-in programs with elected officials.
The Hitachi SK-HD1000s were purchased from Hitachi with the help of regional sales. "Hitachi's customer service has been exceptional, and the cameras have proven to be reliable and user-friendly," Tymecki said. "Considering all the built-in features and the attractive price point, these studio cameras are the best value out there."
About Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 400,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2009) consolidated revenues totaled 10,000 billion yen ($102.0 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials, logistics and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. designs, manufacturers and markets video cameras, digital transmission, processing and recording devices for the broadcast television, cable, video production, and industrial vision markets. For more information, please call (516) 921-7200 or visit Hitachi's web site at http://www.hitachikokusai.us . Hitachi Kokusai Electric, Inc. (TSE, OSE: 6756), is a Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) group company.
Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd., 150 Crossways Park Drive, Woodbury, NY 11797, U.S.A.
Tel: (516) 921-7200; Fax: (516) 496-3718; website: www.hitachikokusai.us
Contacts:
Emilio Aleman
Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd.
516.682.4406
emilio.aleman@hitachikokusai.us
Robin Hoffman
Pipeline Communications
973.746.6970
robinhoffman@pipecomm.com
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