MAYWOOD, NEW JERSEY, September 8, 2009 – With a demanding production schedule that includes televising and streaming Division I football and men’s and women’s hockey and basketball, the new HD video control room at Boston College’s Conte Forum and Alumni Stadium is set for a busy season. Mark Chambers, Boston College’s Director of Multimedia Services, Athletics designed the new facility (working closely with Little Bay Broadcast) for an efficient, tapeless HD workflow that will also enable it to deliver brilliant, live HD video to giant-screen display boards in Conte Forum for the enjoyment of fans. Essential to the entire operation is high-quality HD video acquisition. Chambers chose an Ikegami GFCam HDS-V10 Flash RAM HD camcorder and two Ikegami HDK-77EC native multi-format HD CMOS field cameras to capture superior HD video.
“Ikegami HD cameras are a huge part of the design of our new control room,” Chambers says. “You can’t go full HD until you have the cameras. The HD graphics, post production, and replay equipment at Boston College’s new HD control room are important, but the HD pictures come first, and I built the plan of the new HD video control room around that. We also chose two Ikegami HLM-2400 and one HLM-2450W HD LCD monitors. With Ikegami, I’m confident we have the best product available for sports television in terms of quality and flexibility.”
The Tapeless Advantage
Chambers’ background includes a decade with the Boston Bruins and the TD Banknorth Garden as Director of Game Operations and Entertainment. “I have a history with Ikegami,” he notes. “When I worked with Little Bay Broadcast to help design the new HD control room at the Garden, we did our research and invited several companies to come in for camera shoot-outs. We chose to go with Ikegami, which is respected in the sports broadcast industry.”
Boston College’s two Ikegami HDK-77EC native multi-format HD CMOS field cameras will be used as the main HD game cameras. Both are outfitted with nine-inch Ikegami LCD color viewfinders, Canon 40X telephoto HD zoom lenses, and Ikegami CCU-890M camera control units operating with SMPTE fiber connectivity. The college’s GFCam HDS-V10 Flash RAM HD camcorder, meanwhile, will serve a dual purpose. It will be used as a hand-held unit to shoot games (connected to the new control room with a Telecast Fiber Systems fiber optic extension) and as a stand-alone tapeless HD camcorder for ENG-style interviews with coaches and players.
“We interview coaches and players for the Atlantic Coast Conference, and we also post our content on our website,” Chambers explains. “Tapeless is the ‘now technology’ of video. We are committed to tapeless with our Ikegami GFCam and our HD postproduction system because it brings flexibility to the design of our control room. Instantly injecting digital footage rather than dealing with tape is a major advantage. Tapeless will also help us organize our archiving system.”
Camera Details
Part of Ikegami’s GFSeries tapeless Flash RAM HD/SD production solution, the GFCam HDS-V10 is a rugged, broadcast-grade ENG camcorder that employs three advanced 2/3-inch AIT CCD’s and is available in native 1080i or native 720p versions. The GFCam records HD images using MPEG-2 50Mbps Long GOP or 100Mbps I-Frame Only to GFPak Flash RAM media, which supports tens of thousands of rewrite cycles. GFPaks are available in 16, 32, and 64 GB capacities. A 64GB GFPak can hold two hours of full-resolution 1920x1080 / 4:2.2 HD video in the 50Mbps MPEG-2 MXF file format. GFPaks also feature a built-in USB 2.0 port, high-speed S-ATA interface, and a remaining-capacity indicator, visible on the GFPak itself with no power applied. GFCam also features such Ikegami Intelligent Recording innovations as Retro Loop (so videographers never miss a shot) and a time-lapse function.
Ikegami’s new HDK-77EC is an economical docking-style portable multi-format HD camera with CMOS imaging sensors for 1080i/720p HD format flexibility, lower power consumption, and reduced operating temperature. Ikegami’s CCU-890M camera control unit provides built-in fiber or triax connectivity for the HDK-77EC for convenient, lightweight, mobile flexibility. Users can choose the type of camera cable with a simple switch at the CCU, combined with mounting the docking FA Fiber Adapter or TA Triax Adapter to the camera head.
“I believe in Ikegami’s products,” Chambers says. “I have worked at TV stations and in TV trucks, where Ikegami products are popular. Our Ikegami cameras, combined with our new HD control room and HD post-production equipment will provide what we need for television and web streaming. The new video display boards installed in Conte Forum will further enhance the entertainment experience of Boston College sports fans. In terms of the college market, our new HD facility is unique in this region.”
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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