MONTGOMERY, ALA.—Whether it’s for a news photographer or MMJ, the GYHM660 is a one-size-fits-all option for Raycom Media. We’ve been buying JVC cameras for local ENG since 2013—and since that time, Raycom has purchased more than 400 GY-HM650 ProHD mobile news cameras. In 2016, we acquired the new JVC GYHM660 model, and already have more than 260 in use throughout our stations.
Headquartered in Montgomery, Ala., Raycom is one of the largest privately owned media companies in the United States. We own and/or provide services for 65 television stations in 44 markets across 20 states. About 40 of those stations produce local news.
MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR LIVE
For us, the GY-HM660 is more than streaming live ENG reports. The vast majority of our stations use the camera to send raw clips back to the station via FTP. As a result, in-house personnel don’t have to wait for an MMJ to get back to the station. In the on-demand SVOD world, this allows us to access the content immediately and edit breaking news for broadcast or online use.
Between our JVC cameras, satellite trucks, microwave trucks, and more, Raycom wants to make sure our stations have multiple ways to go live. The GY-HM660’s built-in streaming with Zixi error correction is another tool in the box for us. Not all our stations have decoders, so not all of them use their JVC cameras for live ENG reports from the field. However, the FTP function works for everyone.
For the stations that do use the GYHM660 for live news-over-IP, the results have been very positive. In fact, our folks in the field love it because it doesn’t slow them down. A lot of our stations are very aggressive when using their JVC cameras for live ENG reports.
No matter how footage comes into a station, we use the Bitcentral Oasis asset management system as our landing platform. That way, everyone has access to the raw content. It makes us much more efficient.
Beyond the live ENG and FTP capabilities, our JVC cameras have been dependable in the field. As someone who had to use proprietary recording formats in the past, I think recording to dual SD cards is great. It’s easy to swap cards in the field or even pick up a new card at a local Best Buy. That kind of workflow has really proven its worth.
Our MMJs love the lighter weight cameras, while our more experienced photographers appreciate the improved low-light performance and integrated 23x Fujinon zoom lens. We get a lot of good, positive feedback from everybody.
Clint Moore joined Raycom Media in 2015 as the corporate news operations manager. He previously spent almost nine years as the news operations manager for WMC-TV in Memphis, Tenn. He can be reached atclintmoore@raycommedia.com.
For more information on JVC, visitwww.jvc.comor call 310-639-9000.
