Oregon Public Broadcasting's network facility in Portland has upgraded most of its production equipment to enable high-definition acquisition and production. The facility is undergoing a conversion to standard-definition and HD digital operations, and recently purchased three Fujinon HA26x6.7ESM studio lenses to complement three new Sony HD cameras in the studio.
One of the cameras and an ENG-style lens will be mounted on a free-swinging jib to capture POV angles. The Fujinon lenses will capture programs in traditional 4:3 and widescreen 16:9 aspect ratios, and then down-converted to SD for analog viewers before being broadcast. Programs intended for HD broadcast air in the 1080i HD format with accompanying multi-channel audio. OPB broadcasts 24/7 in analog and about five hours of HD content per day on its digital channel.
Don McKay, OPB's director of engineering for production, said the PC-based Fujinon Digi Power digital servo control system was a factor in OPB's purchase, as the network may move to robotically controlled camera pedestals in the future. The servo system enables control over the lenses features, such as focus, zoom and iris adjustments. Specific lens settings can be saved and recalled from the PC interface.
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