Major Christian Broadcaster Equips its New York Production Facility With Six Top-of-the-Line HDTV Field Cameras Configured for Studio Use
MAYWOOD, NEW JERSEY, January 6, 2009 – When the opportunity arises to outfit a production facility for HDTV, broadcasters know that choosing the right cameras will be crucial to determining the look of the programming they’ll be creating. That’s why the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) has specified the industry-leading picture quality and reliability of Ikegami HDK-79EXIII full digital HDTV companion camera systems for their new Manhattan studio.
“Our imagery is second to none, and it all starts with the Ikegami HDK-79EXIII,” says Russell Hall, TV Director for TBN. “We’re excited to be in New York City, with an industry-standard camera creating pictures as good as or better than any other network on the air. The HD performance we get from these cameras has been unbelievable.”
Set inside an 1800’s-era 200-seat theater in Manhattan’s Union Square, TBN NY (WTBY 54) makes the most of its classic but compact space. From this facility TBN produces such shows as their flagship Praise the Lord Program, The Dino Show, and numerous specials. With only a 20-ft. by 25-ft. stage and minimal room to maneuver, TBN needed to make the most of every inch of studio space.
“We needed cameras that were physically small but visually big,” Hall explains. “The Ikegami HDK-70EXIII gives us 1080i 16:9 images in a small-body camera. The clarity and detail that these Ikegami cameras provide is just stellar. Our scenic people built a set that is like a 3D model of NYC – the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, a helipad with lights, office buildings – but with the precision of these cameras, that set goes from being a background element to the foreground. The viewer can take in the whole picture as an experience.”
The HDK-79EXIII is Ikegami's top-of-the-line full digital HDTV studio camera system, which is engineered for industry-leading picture quality, exceptional functionality, and highly reliable performance. The HDK-790EXIII incorporates newly developed 2/3-inch 2,300,000-pixel 1080i AIT CCD image sensors that achieve a horizontal resolution of 1,000 lines and a S/N ratio of 60dB at f 10. Using sophisticated full-digital process integrated circuits, precision designed at 0.18 um rule, the camera's video signals are digitized with 14-bit A/D conversion and up to 38-bit internal digital processing circuits.
Designed as a Companion Camera system, the Ikegami HDK-79EXIII uses the same sensor block and identical video path as the HDK-790EXIII full-digital HDTV studio camera system, which provides perfectly matching pictures and the same operating functions. Both cameras can be used for multi-standard, simulcast broadcasting in HDTV or SDTV. Using the down-converter incorporated in the Ikegami CCU-790A camera control unit, the HDK-790EXIII and 79EXIII can be also operated as high-end NTSC studio cameras. Both HDTV video and SDTV (NTSC) are provided simultaneously from the CCU-790A in both digital and analog form.
Both the Ikegami HDK-790EXIII and 79EXIII also feature advanced DTL (detail) correction for richer reproduction of details in skin tone and dark backgrounds, an important consideration in studio production applications. Accurate color reproduction is delivered by Ikegami’s Matrix circuits, with three tools available for production use: overall Color Saturation, a six-vector Color Corrector, and a unique two-channel Custom Color where one or two keyed colors can be manipulated over a wide range in color phase, saturation, and luminance level.
Other features of the Ikegami HDK-79EXIII/HDK-790EXIII full-digital HDTV Companion Camera System includes full automatic set-up, extensive filing capability, on-line diagnostics, and a low center of gravity for ease and efficiency of use in the studio or the field. Both cameras are available with a wide array of new HDTV system accessories, including the nine-inch diagonal VFL-900HD 16:9 color LCD viewfinder with extra-wide viewing angle and very low lag characteristics. TBN’s Ikegami HDK-790EXIII full digital HDTV studio cameras are paired with a variety of Canon HDTV studio lenses.
“Ikegami service has been fantastic – if we have the slightest need, Ikegami jumps on the request,” says Hall. “That’s not just here in our New York location. We’ve been using Ikegami cameras for the last 30 of our 35 years of broadcasting. They’ve proven that they’ll be right there for us.”
With TBN firmly established as a hit in the Big Apple, Russell Hall is confident that their Ikegami HDK-79EXIII full digital HDTV companion camera systems have been central to the network’s latest success story. “Being in New York, with so much of the entertainment industry here, we kept saying that we wanted to do it right,” Hall says. “The picture quality and value of Ikegami make us one of the front-runners in quality television pictures in New York City.”
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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