Twin Cities Public Television (tpt) in St. Paul recently added to its HD production arsenal two Panasonic AK-HC931 720p studio cameras -- the AJ-HDC27 VariCam HD Cinema and AJ-HD1200A DVCPRO HD recorder. tpt currently multicasts up to six DTV stations, along with analog channels 2 and 17.
The cameras are being installed at tpt's upgraded studio and control room. The AK-HC931 will be used for the HD production of two weekly, live public affairs shows, one of which is a remote from the state Capitol building. Station engineers said they liked the variable frame rate capabilities of the 720p VariCam for their HD field needs. They also think it will make their heavy schedule of documentaries look like film.
The resemblance to film is hardly coincidental, of course. The HDC27 VariCam is designed to replicate many of the key features of film-based image acquisition, including 24-frame progressive scan images, time-lapse recording, and variable frame rates (4-60 fps in single-frame increments) for traditional "overcranked" and "undercranked" camera effects. And tpt's new HD tape recorder, the AJ-HD1200A, will be coupled with Apple Final Cut Pro HD editing software.
