WOODBURY, N.Y.—Jewelry Television (JTV) added 12 new Z-HD6000 HDTV cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America in June to the six Hitachi studio cameras it began using in 2015.
The cameras, part of a major studio overhaul project undertaken by the Knoxville, Tenn.,-based jewelry and gemstone retailer, are used in production of JTV’s live programming, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In 2015, JTV replaced its ageing lineup of studio cameras with six Z-HD6000 HDTV cameras, which along with a new set and lighting, helped to produce a tangible improvement in sales from the new studio. That experience demonstrated JTV was “on the right track,” said Dennis Wilson, JTV chief engineer.
“[I]t’s one of the reasons that we’re now updating Studios A and B and that we bought the additional Z-HD6000 cameras –to try to get the same boost,” said Wilson.
Of the 18, Z-HD6000 cameras, five are deployed on pedestals in Studio C and four each are being assigned to Studios A and B. Three of the Z-HD6000 cameras are used in JTV’s lightbox for product specialty shots, and the two remaining cameras are installed in JTV’s recently built 450-seat auditorium, which can accommodate up to nine cameras, if needed.
Wilson, who is pleased with the picture and color reproduction of the Hitachi cameras, said the new cameras don’t require as many lights as JTV’s previous studio cameras to achieve the same result, which benefits the productions and the on-camera talent, he explained. “We need to light the jewelry to make it sparkle, while also keeping our on-camera talent happy,” said Wilson.
The JTV chief engineer added the cameras are quite reliable. “Once we have them set up, we never have to go back and do anything to them,” he said.
JTV has begun construction of another new studio and control room, and Wilson plans to use Hitachi cameras for that expansion, he added.
Technical Video Systems, a Hitachi reseller in Cary, N.C., suppled JTV with the new cameras.
More information is available on the Hitachi website.
