Aware of the benefits of JVC’s new CONNECTED CAM line of camcorders, which includes the GY-HC900, GY-HC500 and GY-HC550, KUSI opted for GY HC900, considered ideal for news content and sports.
The GY HC900 CONNECTED CAM 2/3-inch broadcast camcorder from JVC is part of the family that includes, also, the models GY-HC500 and GY-HC550. KUSI, an independent television station, owned by McKinnon Broadcasting, that serves San Diego, picked 11 GY HC900 CONNECTED CAM 2/3-inch broadcast camcorders for ENG and EFP projects, replacing the 11 JVC GY-HM700 ProHD camcorders that had been in use since the station transitioned to HD production in April 2008.
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Deployed in August, the new cameras are used to help produce 65 hours of news content per week. In addition to its regular newscasts, KUSI produces a Friday night high school football wrap-up show, The Prep Pigskin Report, which offers highlights from about 36 games around the area.
JVC included a lot of features
Fred Swift, KUSI chief engineer, said video quality was the main reason why the station upgraded to 2/3-inch camcorders in the field. “It’s substantially better,” he said. According to Swift, the GY-HC900 really shines during sports coverage. He also praised its low-light performance.
Another advantage with the new camcorders is the HD-SDI pool feed input, so photographers no longer need to bring an external device to the courthouse and other locations to record footage. “Being able to record a pool feed on your camera is pretty handy, and SD cards make it easy,” Swift added. “JVC really thought this through for news and included a lot of features. It is a professional camera.”
Integrated streaming “looks enticing”
The new camcorders are paired with FUJINON 20x zoom lenses and protected by Porta Brace covers. While KUSI is currently using external video transmission systems in the field, Swift said the camcorder’s integrated streaming “looks enticing” for future use, possibly after 5G technology has been adopted in the region.
Both the GY-HC900 and GY-HC900ST studio model feature three 2/3-inch CMOS sensors to produce full HD images, plus an industry B4 lens mount and four-position optical filter. For ENG and other live applications, the GY-HC900 has built-in Wi-Fi, dual external antennas, streaming/FTP performance up to 20Mbps, and SMPTE 2022 forward error correction and Zixi error correction with ARQ for reliable transmission. Other features include dual SDXC card slots, three XLR inputs, 50 Mbps 4:2:2 10-bit recording, MPEG-2 recording up to 35 Mbps, and slow motion and HDR recording modes.