Panasonic’s BT-LH2550 LCD video monitor TALLAHASSEE, FLA.— Seminole Productions is the in-house production company in the College of Communication at Florida State University. We provide script writing, creative development, videography, 3D production, graphics and post production editing services for departments on the FSU campus and government-related entities.
One of our largest clients is Florida State’s athletic department. We produce all of the FSU coaches’ shows that appear on local, regional and national cable channels. In addition, we are responsible for weekly sports and magazine shows. and provide graphics for the live game day experiences and video boards in all our sports venues on and off campus.
Under the direction of the professional staff, our students gain hands-on experience in every phase of the production process, giving them the knowledge and skills needed in today’s competitive production industry.
MONITORS FOR ALL APPLICATIONS
Video monitoring is a big part of any such operation and we meet this requirement with a number of Panasonic models. LCD production monitors and professional plasma displays are installed in our master control facility and we also have smaller Panasonic LCD units that are used as electronic viewfinders on our camcorders in live acquisition. As these small monitors are battery-powered, we also frequently use them as utility monitors when we’re doing live events.
We’ve been using all of this gear for more than four years with very few problems. This really bears out Panasonic’s claim that their monitors are “productiontough.”
We have three 25-inch units in the middle of the control room, along with 42-inch plasma displays mounted above and below them. We elected to install a couple of 65-inch plasmas vertically (portrait style) at either end of the room. All of the plasma displays are fed by multiviewers to provide split-screen views.
FEATURE SET AND FUNCTIONALITY
Our monitor selection was based on both picture quality and display size. The Panasonic units are ideal for our application, providing us with true 16:9 widescreen high-definition displays. They have plenty of live camera inputs and CG channels, and can display all high-definition television line and frame rates. There’s a pixel-to-pixel mode that allows us to view video in its native resolution, and the monitors’ embedded audio tools let us display audio information supered over the image for increased efficiency when screening video footage.
Early on, when many of our feeds were still 4:3, we made extensive use of the monitors’ marking features to ensure that safe areas were provided for both titles and video content.
The use of Panasonic gear by Seminole Productions goes well beyond picture monitors. We deploy Panasonic P2 HD camcorders to capture live sports shoots and football analysis, and we also have professional 3D camcorders to create football highlight reels and for classroom instruction. Just as with my colleagues who supervise acquisition, my years of hands-on experience with the company’s monitoring and display products have convinced me that this Panasonic equipment is rugged, reliable, and well-built. It easily stands up to the sometimes rough treatment in the hands of the student operators.
Jeff Levine is studio supervisor/director at Seminole Productions and has been with that organization for nine years. He may be contacted atjlevine@admin.fsu.edu.
For additional information, contact Panasonic at 877-803-8492 or visitwww.panasonic.com/broadcast.
