MAYWOOD N.J., June 10, 2009 – When a popular TV station also operates a full-service HD video facility with two busy studios, maintaining an efficient production workflow is an important consideration. At KGEB TV-53 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this challenge is met by using Ikegami’s GFCam HDS-V10 Flash Memory tapeless HD camcorder. Employing three advanced 2/3-inch CCD’s and available in native 1080i or native 720p versions, the GFCam HDS-V10 records 4:2:2 digital video in the MPEG-2 MXF file format on removable Flash RAM media for maximum tapeless workflow efficiency.
“The stumbling blocks of long ingest times from tape-based formats have been removed with the Ikegami GFCam HDS-V10 camcorder,” says Bill Lee, Director of Engineering for KGEB-TV, the flagship station of the Golden Eagle Broadcasting Network located at the Oral Roberts University Campus. “Being able to do a quick file transfer of footage from our 1080i GFCam into an NLE makes a lot of sense.”
Part of Ikegami’s new GFSeries tapeless Flash RAM HD production system, the GFCam HDS-V10 is a rugged, broadcast-grade ENG camcorder that records to durable GFPak Flash RAM cartridges manufactured by Toshiba, a world leader in Flash RAM. GFPaks support tens of thousands of rewrite cycles and are available in 16, 32, and 64 GB capacities. A 64GB GFPak can hold two hours of full-resolution 50Mbps 1920 x 1080/4:2.2 HD video. GFPaks feature a remaining-capacity indicator, a high-speed S-ATA interface, and a built-in USB 2.0 port for instant connection to leading nonlinear editing systems.
“From an editing standpoint, I really appreciate that I can take the GFPak out of the GFCam, connect it to the computer with a simple USB cable, and then drag-and-drop the files into Final Cut and go,” says Charmaine Lee, Director of Creative Services for KGEB. “Instead of dealing with the typical log-and-transfer process with other cameras, I can move straight to editing.”
Drawing from Ikegami’s long experience in having introduced the industry’s first tapeless camcorder (the Editcam, in 1995), the new GFCam features such Intelligent Recording innovations as Retro Loop (so videographers never miss a shot) and a time-lapse function.
“Intelligent Recording features like Retro Loop are very useful,” notes Charmaine Lee. “If you don’t want to miss an event that’s once in a lifetime, you can just set up the camera in Retro Loop recording, and even if you press the RECORD button after the fact you’re good to go. So if you’re taping a building demolition or waiting for a world record to be broken, you’ve got it with the GFCam.”
One of the latest new features of Ikegami’s GFCam is the ability to instantly export thumbnail clips via Bluetooth directly to a laptop application for fast logging, metadata insertion, and other workflow advantages.
“We are excited about the prospective capabilities of the GFCam’s Bluetooth interface, as announced by Ikegami at NAB 2009,” Charmaine Lee adds. “It will completely change the logging of metadata files. It will be a wonderful thing to sit there with your laptop and input shot information as you’re rolling. Having the metadata all ready from the field when you come back will add a level of convenience.”
The GFCam’s superior Ikegami HD image quality is another aspect of the camera that Bill Lee points to as an important factor for KGEB, which also has four Ikegami HDK-79EC HD native multi-format HD CMOS camera systems.
“The 1080i imagery of our GFCam is beautiful,” Bill Lee notes. “It matches well with our Ikegami HDK-79’s, which are also gorgeous-looking cameras. The colorimetry is quite accurate. It’s clean, crisp, and not over-enhanced. The colors are vibrant without being oversaturated. We also like the form factor of the camera: it has a balance that makes it easier to use, especially for pans and tilts. That’s a big factor in production.”
KGEB’s two studios comprise a combined area of more than 11,000 square feet. As Bill and Charmaine Lee explain, having the workflow advantage of being able to instantly ingest 1080i GFCam HD into the station’s Final Cut Pro editing workstations is a big advantage when you’re simultaneously managing student camera crews and the need to maintain a competitive visual edge.
“Workflow and bang for the buck is what drives a lot of our decision-making,” Bill Lee concludes. “Having a very flexible camera at a very effective cost point is a big plus for our station. We can go straight from shooting to editing to air with the Ikegami GFCam.”
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.
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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