News 12 Networks, a division of Cablevision Systems, is adopting Sony's new XDCAM HD Professional Disc system for all electronic newsgathering and news production applications. The group plans to roll out 90 XDCAM HD camcorders across its channels over the next two years.
News 12 Networks operates seven 24-hour local news channels covering Westchester County, the Hudson Valley, Long Island, the Bronx and Brooklyn in New York, southwestern Connecticut and 14 counties in New Jersey. The news programs are telecast on cable television systems in each region.
The workflow benefits of Sony's optical technology are well suited to the daily demands of gathering and producing regional news programming, according to News 12 Networks senior vice president for news development Norm Fein.
Initially, the stations will downconvert recorded content to standard definition. However, having HD master to archive greatly increases the image quality of file footage for later use. Additionally, when the organization fully migrates to HD, the high definition ENG and production infrastructure will be in place, explained Steve Weinberg, senior vice president of business and news operations for News 12 Networks.
News 12 was attracted to the format by the special advantages of optical disc production, including in-camera editing capabilities, the ability to easily browse footage as thumbnails and preview content on the camcorder's LCD screen, high-speed transfer of proxy A/V and high-resolution data using the MXF file protocol, and immediate random access to data in the field or on the set using the Sony Professional Disc media, Weinberg noted.
