MAYWOOD, NEW JERSEY, July 2, 2007--As the home of the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, and elite entertainment events throughout the year, the TD Banknorth Garden hosts 3.5 million annual visitors. A state-of-the-art 19,600-seat arena, the TD Banknorth Garden is equipped with three private restaurants, 104 executive suites, 2,400 club seats, a multi-million dollar video scoreboard, and a giant 360° high-definition video display. Capturing high-definition video images for this massive screen can‘t be left to just any camera, which is why this world-class arena chose two Ikegami HDK-75EX full-digital portable HD camera systems, which feature a sophisticated full-digital design and an integrated fiber adapter that delivers superb HD video to keep the crowds cheering.
“The look of Ikegami cameras on our Mitsubishi HD Diamond Vision screen is absolutely stunning,” says John Mitchell, Director of Audio/Video for TD Banknorth Garden, Boston. “The performance is amazing, achieving a crisp picture even in low-light conditions. And now that our workflow is completely digital, our Ikegami cameras have made life much easier for our in-house editors.”
The two Ikegami HDK-75EX full digital portable HD cameras that keep track of the action at TD Banknorth Garden feature 2/3-inch 2,200,000-pixel IT 1080i CCD image sensors that achieve superb picture quality with a horizontal resolution of 1,000 lines and a S/N ratio of 56dB. “The HDK-75EX‘s deliver terrific resolution in 1080i,” Mitchell adds. “Everybody was very excited by what they saw from the Ikegami cameras. Once we integrated them into our set-up, we loved the fact that they can go SMPTE fiber straight upstairs to our all-digital high definition control room and editing facilities.”
The Ikegami HDK-75EX‘s integrated fiber adaptor ensures pristine delivery of HD video direct to the Garden‘s new HD control room. This has enabled the TD Banknorth Garden to establish an extremely efficient workflow, from image capture straight to editing and final output. “Now everything goes directly from our Ikegami cameras straight to our EVS replay system and our five HD non-linear editing systems,” Mitchell points out. “We have first-generation digital clips of every play. These HD clips can be moved quickly and efficiently over our gigabyte network, rather than having to wait for re-digitizing. Our whole way of working has really been transformed.”
According to Mitchell, Ikegami‘s reputation for durability and premier support is on full display at his facility. “The cameras are holding up in the line of fire,” he says. “We‘re constantly running around the court, grabbing player interviews, grabbing fan shots, or getting around the Celtic Dancers, and we‘ve had zero significant issues. Whenever we‘ve needed any kind of support from Ikegami, they‘ve always stepped up.”
The Ikegami HDK-75EX is an advanced technology, full-digital HDTV compact portable camera system that can be converted for studio use with either five- or nine-inch viewfinders and full studio lenses with the SE-H700 System Expander. Whether in a portable or studio configuration, the HDK-75EX provides superior HD image performance and sophisticated design. Incorporating a new, next-generation digital-process ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), video signals are digitalized with 12-bit A/D conversion and up to 38-bit internal digital processing (quantization) circuits. A detail correction system--including digitally processed horizontal, vertical, and diagonal correction signals for red, green, and blue video--is incorporated into the HDK-75EX camera head and achieves noise-free full-resolution HD picture quality even when the camera is used in stand-alone configuration. This sophisticated detail enhancement and color reproduction is accomplished in the digital domain, including Skin Detail Tracking with the zoom and focus-follow signals from the lens. Using a down-converter incorporated into the camera control unit (CCU), the HDK-75EX can also be operated as a high-end NTSC studio camera. Both HDTV and SDTV video are provided simultaneously from the CCU and in both digital and analog form.
With Ikegami in the house, all the views at TD Banknorth Garden are dramatic--from the court straight to the big screen. “Ikegami is an integral part of our multi-million-dollar, first-of-its-kind HD scoreboard installation,” Mitchell concludes. “Going all-digital with Ikegami and our Mitsubishi HD Diamond Vision screen has taken our fans‘ experience straight to the next level. With Ikegami on the front end, our new HD video boards have been a huge hit with Bruins and Celtics fans.”
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, closed circuit TV equipment, video and computer display monitors, industrial power supplies, and medical camera systems. 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.
Ikegami--“Tapeless Wireless Seamless”
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.
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