MILWAUKEE—Weigel Broadcasting Co. Milwaukee, home of four local stations, has selected several JVC GY-HC900 and GY-HC550 Connected Cam camcorders to record natively to SD cards.
“We have been using JVC for over a decade in the field and have been very happy,” said Steve Percefull, chief engineer, Weigel Broadcasting Co. Milwaukee, which owns WDJT-TV, CBS 58; WMLW-TV, The M; WBME-CD, Me-TV; and WYTU-LD, Telemundo Wisconsin.
“We have the GY-HM650 ProHD Mobile News Camera and GY-HM790 ProHD Solid State Media Camcorder, as well as GY-HM850 and GY-HM890 ProHD Shoulder Camcorders in our inventory,” he said.
“We have tried other manufacturers’ cameras over the years, but have to use adapters to use SD cards, which became problematic. This time around when I was buying cameras, I wanted something easy and user-friendly, so we went back to JVC,”
The GY-HC900 has a full-frame and two-thirds lens, which Percefull said is well-suited to the group’s needs. “It has more bells and whistles than some of the other cameras we were using, and a larger lens, so it was any easy choice,” he added.
Aaron Frye, WDJT director of photography, was among the first to use the cameras at Weigel Broadcasting. “I primarily use our new JVC GY-HC900 for field anchoring and to shoot news stories and have been really impressed,” he said. “The GY-HC900 has a nice depth of field and the colors really pop; it’s a great upgrade from our previous cameras.”
The broadcaster also bought the GY-HC550s as replacements for its aging cameras used by its Multimedia Journalists (MMJs). The ruggedness of both the GY-HC900 and GY-HC550 have impressed Percefull, he said.
“These are the most road-ready JVC cameras we have used. In addition, the support we receive has been top-notch. Both cameras are very user-friendly as they are very similar to the other JVC cameras we have in our inventory,” he said.
Although Weigel uses the new JVC Connected Cam camcorders for its live standups, the cameras also can stream content live, including to Facebook Live and YouTube Live.
More information is available on the company’s website.
