MAYWOOD, NEW JERSEY, December 17, 2007--The excitement of the NFL has risen even further at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Equipped with advanced Ikegami portable cameras, including five HL-65W full-digital broadcasting cameras and one tapeless DNS-33W Editcam3 for nonlinear acquisition, the Jaguars‘ video production team is bringing its fans even closer to the on-field action.
Each of the Ikegami HL-65‘s are deployed throughout the 67,164-seat stadium to deliver live game-day coverage of the Jaguars and their fans, transmitting Ikegami‘s superb imagery to dual Jumbotron 60-ft. by 156-ft. scoreboards. “The crispness of our new Ikegami cameras makes our fans‘ game-day experience that much better,” says Adam Lane, Senior Producer for the Jacksonville Jaguars. “From our live coverage to pre-produced spots and video elements, the increase in clarity has been significant. It has been noticed by everyone from our ticket-holders to the news media.”
The Jaguars‘ recent upgrade to an all-digital video production plant has also benefited from the integration of Ikegami‘s tapeless DNS-33W Editcam3 camcorder, which brings large gains in efficiency to their acquisition and editing operations. “We work on Avids and make heavy use of the ‘plug-and-play‘ functionality,” Lane explains. “During the week, we use the Editcam3 to shoot our sponsored elements and locker room interviews. Instead of dealing with tape, we simply offload the footage into the Avid and wipe the camera‘s removable media. From both a workflow and picture quality standpoint, the Editcam3 has been a great addition here.”
The lightweight and ergonomically advanced 14-bit full-digital Ikegami HL-65W delivers high quality, outstanding performance, and sophisticated features for an all-digital production environment. Switchable between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios, the HL-65W is equipped with advanced digital signal processing ICs that digitize its video signal with 14-bit A/D conversion and up to 38-bit internal processing. Superb high-quality pictures, with excellent S/N ratio, are obtained during all operating conditions since such processing as white shading, gamma, and DTL (detail) are all performed digitally, and the color reproduction in low-light areas is greatly improved thanks to 14-bit A/D conversion. Camera settings can be stored on an SD memory card, which greatly simplifies set-up. In addition, newly developed AIT (Advanced Interline Transfer) CCDs offer high sensitivity of f11 and very low smear level of -135dB. The HL-65W is ergonomically designed with a low center of gravity for stable on-shoulder camera work (it weighs 2.3 kg/5.11 lbs.), good side viewing, and user friendliness. The camera can be configured for multiple uses, including in the studio or field, and using triax, multi-core, or wireless RF.
Ikegami introduced the industry‘s first tapeless camcorder in 1995 and has continually advanced this technology, now with its third-generation DNS-33W Editcam3 portable camcorder. A revolution in nonlinear acquisition, the DNS-33W Editcam3 is a 520,000-pixel AIT (Advanced Interline Transfer) CCD camcorder that features such innovations as Retroloop (so videographers never miss a shot), Intelligent Recording (which enables Editcam to automatically record to available media space), and Timelapse Recording. Editcam3 records to either its hard-drive FieldPak or to solid-state RAMPak media. Current FieldPak capacities go up to 160GB; RAMPaks at present offer 32MB but will increase in capacity as solid state recording technology advances. Editcam's 80GB FieldPak2 can record six hours of DV25 digital video, with DV50 and IMX formats available as options.
In addition to advanced features, Ikegami‘s dedication to total service and support was essential to Adam Lane and his team. “With all the upgrades going on here, we relied on Ikegami support to make sure that everything was correctly wired and going out in 16:9,” he states. “They were extremely helpful throughout the entire process.”
The precision imagery of Ikegami‘s digital camera technology is a crucial part of the unforgettable big-picture football experience that the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ fans enjoy on game day. “We‘re competing with HDTV in everyone‘s house and keeping up with all the local TV stations,” Adam Lane says. “We‘re extremely satisfied with everything the Ikegami cameras have done to improve our fans‘ experience at the stadium.”
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.
Product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
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