PATRIOT LEAGUE
STREAMS LIVE COVERAGE OF SPORTING EVENTS WITH GY-HM600U
Patriot League, a Division 1 conference with sponsored championship competition in 24 sports, purchased
30 JVC GY‑HM600 ProHD cameras as part of 10 portable video production
systems to stream live coverage of sporting events from its member
schools to its digital network, in partnership with Campus Insiders.
Established in 1986, the Patriot League includes 10 full members and
three associate members. It has been streaming sports coverage for
seven years, but had limited digital rights and only produced about 150
events per year. This year, armed with a more consolidated rights
package and custom-built, multi-camera HD production systems for each
full member school, the league will stream nearly 250 live home games
in the fall from a variety of men and women’s sports, including
football, basketball, field hockey, volleyball, and soccer.
Designed and built by Applied Video Technology, a systems integrator
based in Malvern, Penn., each “VidCaster 455” system is anchored by
three GY-HM600 cameras and a NewTek TriCaster 455 integrated production
system. “We designed the VidCaster 455 to be a self-contained HD
production system that’s easy to transport and set up,” Bruce
MacLelland, owner of AVT. “We think the JVC GY-HM600 is perfect for the
Patriot League. It’s affordable, works well as studio configs or as a
handheld, and has a built-in 23x zoom lens that’s a great choice for
sports.”
According to Richard Wanninger, Patriot League senior associate
executive director, the new systems were deployed starting in
mid-August, and the new site,
www.campusinsiders.com/network/patriot_league, went live on Aug. 26.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to get cameras of this
quality,” said Wanninger. “For action footage, it’s unbelievable. We
are able to capture the action better than we could in the past,
especially with the zoom features.”
Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Penn., produced the inaugural live
event using a new VidCaster 455 system, providing coverage of its
women’s soccer season opener, a 3-0 victory over Rider University, on
Aug. 23. Prior to the VidCaster 455 system, Bucknell had relied on
Canon GL2 mini-DV cameras for game coverage.
Doug Birdsong, the radio/TV coordinator at Bucknell University,
reported very positive reactions from viewers and staff following the
first production using the new JVC cameras. “There was no comparison.
The picture quality – it just blew everyone away,” he said. “With
sports, the action happens so quickly. The zoom is incredible. It’s
fast and you don’t get a fuzzy image. All I could say was, ‘Wow.’”
The Bucknell crew kept its GY-HM600s on tripods for the first
production, but has already added handheld footage to football
coverage. With its built-in BNC connector for SDI output, the camera is
ideal for mobile sideline shooting, Birdsong said.
The GY-HM600 features three, 1/3-inch CMOS sensors that deliver
excellent sensitivity in low light, which was put to the test during
Bucknell’s first production. The soccer field was not evenly lit – one
end of the field was noticeably darker – but Birdsong said there were
no significant issues with contrast between the cameras.
Beyond game coverage, the new JVC cameras are being used to produce
highlight and feature packages. The Patriot League purchased an
additional GY-HM600, housed at the league’s main offices in Center
Valley, Penn., to produce clips on student athletes and alumni
throughout the year. Member schools are producing their own packages as
well.
With its .MOV native file recording and use of non-proprietary SDHC or
SDXC media cards, the GY-HM600 has ushered in a tapeless ENG workflow
for Bucknell. Birdsong said post production is much easier now, as he
can quickly access clips from Final Cut Pro without transcoding.
“There are just a lot more features with the JVC GY-HM600,” he added.
“Particularly for what we were hoping to do, it offers the best
solution for the schools in the Patriot League.”
"The Patriot League features tremendous student athletes and programs,
and we are proud to be partnering with them," said Crowley Sullivan,
general manager of Campus Insiders. "This is a great match of college
sports content and Campus Insiders
distribution platforms that will enable us to best serve the fans of the Patriot League and its member schools.”