MAYWOOD, NEW JERSEY, December 8, 2010 – Providing on-location television production facilities for clients that include broadcast and cable networks, corporate communicators, pay-per-view producers, and Internet content providers requires the ability to adapt to many different production environments and to deliver more than just one HD video format. For CSP Mobile Productions, answering these challenges means equipping the company’s two newest HDTV production vehicles with 16 Ikegami HDK-77EC full-digital HD native multi-format CMOS camera systems. Based in Saco, Maine and specializing in Northeast college sports, CSP Mobile Productions specified the superb 720p/1080i imagery of Ikegami HDK-77EC HD cameras for its newest vehicles, designated HD-1 and HD-3.
“We have always owned Ikegami cameras for all of our trucks,” notes Len Chase, President/Co-Owner of CSP Mobile Productions. “We already own 24 Ikegami SD cameras. The most important things we’ve experienced throughout that time are the reliability and phenomenal customer service that we get from Ikegami.”
CSP Mobile Productions’ 16 new Ikegami HDK-77EC economical docking-style portable multi-format HD cameras are divided between HD-1, a 53-ft. expando truck, and HD-3, a 53-ft. straight truck. The Ikegami cameras join a full complement of other state-of-the-art HD broadcast technologies that are carried aboard the two vehicles either for on-location deployment or for use within the trucks’ mobile HDTV control rooms. Little Bay Broadcast Services of Madbury, New Hampshire provided integration services for the new trucks.
“In the mobile business, key camera attributes include reliability, ease of use, and versatility,” Chase says. “It’s great to have one camera to address two leading HD formats. This enables us to serve the needs of a wider range of clients.” Leveraging the benefits of its three advanced 2/3-inch 2.5 mega-pixel CMOS image sensors, Ikegami’s HDK-77EC delivers superb 1080i and 720p HD video quality with native interlace and progressive readout modes. The high resolution of the sensors delivers extremely sharp and detailed pictures. Ikegami CMOS technology also provides the added benefits of reduced camera power consumption and operating temperature.
“Versatility also extends to the challenges of different sports venues having different infrastructures,” Chase continues. “The Ikegami HDK-77EC enables us to go into any facility and change between triax and fiber much more efficiently than with any other camera.” The HDK-77EC can connect to fiber or triax for convenient, lightweight, mobile flexibility via Ikegami’s CCU-890M camera control unit. Users can choose the type of camera cable with a simple switch at the CCU, combined with mounting a docking FA Fiber Adapter or TA Triax Adapter to the camera head.
“These cameras can also be easily ‘future-ized’ with a cost-effective upgrade path,” he adds. “The price point on the HDK-77EC was also right, and – of course – they make beautiful pictures.”
For Chase and his team, the complete customer support provided by Ikegami was another factor in selecting 16 HDK-77EC cameras for HD-1 and HD-3. “When I call Ikegami they pick up the phone and ask, ‘What do you need?’ ” he says. “If I need a replacement part or a demo unit, it’s taken care of.”
Mobile HDTV production presents unique challenges, including the fact that no two assignments are ever quite the same. But, Chase reminds, the personal rewards are worth it. “What’s exciting about mobile production is that you have a group of people coming together every day, using advanced HDTV equipment to mesh and mold something together that becomes a unique TV broadcast,” Chase says. “For us, our clients, and our viewers, Ikegami’s HDK-77EC cameras are an essential part of that experience.”
For more information and the location of the Regional Office nearest you, call Ikegami's Maywood NJ headquarters at 201-368-9171 or visit www.Ikegami.com.
Ikegami Electronics (U.S.A.), Inc. is a leading supplier of professional broadcasting products in the Western Hemisphere. With U.S. offices in New Jersey, California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois, the Ikegami name is recognized worldwide for its state-of-the-art television cameras and closed-circuit TV equipment. Ikegami's universal High Definition TV cameras have been widely accepted by the broadcast industry as it continues the transition to the High Definition Television Format.
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