- Las Vegas, NV (April
20, 2009) — 2009 is a
pivotal year for the broadcast industry. Declining viewership,
falling revenues, increased fixed costs, competition from new
programming sources (internet and mobile), the switch-over to
digital transmission, and an imminent need to transition to HD
programming have all come together in the worst economic climate
since the Great Depression.
- Yet, in spite of the harsh economic
realities, with 56 million U.S. households receiving HDTV
programming at the beginning of 2009—and that figure projected to
grow to 86 million households by the end of 2010—the
message to TV station owners is clear: without a large percentage of
HDTV programming including news in HD, stations will not be
competitive in their local market place.
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- In many instances, the economic downturn
has delayed purchases, giving broadcasters an opportunity to look at
new equipment in order to reevaluate their purchasing budgets and
determine where to best allocate capital investments. The bottom
line is, stations need to purchase the right products that will
deliver quality HD to air faster and cheaper in order to survive,
let alone to turn a profit.
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- With broadcasters' capital budgets being
slashed dramatically, it would seem an inopportune time for a
manufacturer to launch a new series of cameras targeted at the
broadcast industry. But a close look at JVC's approach reveals a
stunning irony: the transition to digital HDTV can actually save the
broadcaster money while providing a means to increase market share
and revenue. In a competitive environment where camera manufacturers
are promoting expensive proprietary solutions, the panacea
broadcasters have been hoping for may just be found in JVC's ProHD
line-up.
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- ProHD Makes Your HD News Highly Cost
Effective.
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JVC’s ProHD is an
integrated family of new HD cameras, camcorders and system
components, designed for professional television, with emphasis on
the competitive local news environment, delivering unprecedented HD
format and solid state recording flexibility through a highly
attractive performance-price ratio.
- With the wide adoption of
JVC’s GY-HD250 in its studio configuration, JVC has now expanded
its ProHD line with two new camcorders—the
GY-HM700 and the GY-HM100—specifically
aimed at the ENG
market. Rather than just package the features of the already popular
GY-HD250 into a different form factor, JVC, along with key partners,
developed and integrated enhancements designed to improve image
quality, streamline workflow, and significantly reduce media and
archiving costs.
- Among JVC’s key
decisions in expanding the ProHD line were the inclusion of Native
File Recording to Apple’s QuickTime .mov and Sony’s XDCAM EX HD
formats. Also significant was the capability of recording onto SxS
professional memory cards or widely available and economical SDHC
high grade high capacity memory cards. JVC
and Sony joined forces to combine the original ProHD 720p60 with the
EX .MP4 18, 25 and 35Mbps in the new expanded ProHD family, and to
support Sony’s SxS solid state flash memory cards as well as JVC’s
own recently available SDHC dual-slot integrated memory card
recording sub-system.
- JVC’s GY-HM700 and GY-HM100 camcorders
support all major HD signal formats including 1920x1080, 1440x1080
and 1280x720, recording
in realtime on the SxS memory cards (GY-HM700 only, with the
optional SxS Docking Recorder KA-MR100G) or on the fully integrated
dual slot SDHC memory card recorder, a built-in feature on both the
GY-HM700 and the GY-HM100 camcorders.
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Practical Media Solution.
- When the ProHD concept was introduced back in
2004, JVC declared that the products must be able to utilize
inexpensive, readily available media. Initially that meant
tape, and JVC added random access capability with an optional HDD.
JVC determined that the move to solid state would occur only when
they could offer the convenience and economy of tape, and the random
access capability of a hard disk. It is finally possible to do
that with SDHC memory. It's reliable, proven, and widely
available in capacities up to 32GB. 16GB Class 6 SDHC cards are
advertised for under $30. A pair of these cards will hold 1
hour and 40 minutes of HD at the highest quality level. A quick
comparison of 1080/HD recording times tells the dramatic difference
between SDHC and proprietary formats, such as P2 cards and SxS
memory. Whereas P2 costs about $50 per minute, and SxS costs
about $14 per minute, SDHC comes in at less than $1 per minute, is
non-proprietary, and is about the size of a postage stamp.
- So why does lower cost media matter in a file
based workflow where media is reused, and files are stored on a
server? The reality is that in the field, when news is breaking and
deadlines are tight, footage is often edited where access to the
servers is limited. A camera operator can easily hand an inexpensive
SDHC card to a reporter or producer and not worry about tracking it
down later, or whether the files have been off loaded. It's treated
like tape. Just pop in a new blank media card and continue working.
Files can be archived just by saving the SDHC card.
- As for storage solutions, JVC offers 3 x 5
note card size sleeves for storing SDHC media. While a seemingly low
tech approach for file storage, many users will prefer the simple
hands-on ability to archive the SDHC cards themselves.
- Regardless of whether the broadcaster chooses
to archive media itself, or simply reuse it, the cost of a
file-based SDHC workflow is far less than competing proprietary
solid state solutions, and lower than tape itself (when considering
machine maintenance, physical storage requirements, etc.).
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JVC’s first two solid state camcorders, the
GY-HM100 compact hand held and GY-HM700 compact shoulder camcorders
record directly to SDHC cards. While the two cameras are
internally quite different, they do share the same encoder meaning
that the files created are interchangeable regardless of shooting
mode. With the GY-HM700, JVC also offers a model that records
to both SDHC and SxS cards.
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Native File (Fast-to-Air)
Acquisition
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Both the GY-HM700 and
GY-HM100 camcorders incorporate JVC’s ProHD Native File Recording technology, storing video
in a Ready-to-Edit file format (.mov) on the SDHC memory card. The
files are used and accessed directly by Apple’s Final Cut Pro non-linear
editing system. The native workflow means
several things:
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Files are in a format that is
easily and instantly editable. There is no waiting for conversion or
transcoding, which is critical in a breaking news environment when
you need to be first to air. Files are compressed at a bit rate that
makes efficient and economical storage and manipulation possible.
Gone are the huge server requirements of 100+ Mbps video. Basically,
any infrastructure that can accommodate DV (25Mbps) can accommodate
ProHD at 19-35Mbps.
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Even off the shelf computers
and editing systems (such as a Mac Book Pro equipped with FCP) can
be used, saving huge amounts of money over proprietary news editing
systems. Using popular editing products such as FCP, also makes
sense from a staffing perspective since there are many more trained
editors that are familiar with these products.
- Smaller files are also ideal
when they need to be used by many different people within the
organization. One user might be editing a story for the evening
news, while another user may be preparing the story for a webcast,
or mobile news cast.
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It all goes to the bottom
line. Operating a news operation requires changing the way things
have been traditionally done, and embracing new more cost-effective
technologies.
- GY-HM700 Solid State Media
Camcorder.
- ENG shooters often spend
hours a day holding their cameras. For this reason, cameras have
been traditionally shoulder supported. The ProHD compact shoulder
form factor has won favor with photojournalists because it retains
the familiar operation position of larger cameras, but with lighter
weight and smaller size.
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The GY-HM700 combines JVC’s
popular shoulder form factor with a new level of performance
suitable for demanding applications in HD ENG, as well as in
production and cinematography, built on cutting edge solid state
recording technology offering the choice of using the very
economical and widely available SDHC memory cards or the extremely
fast SxS memory card standard shared with the Sony EX product line.
SxS and .mp4 operation requires to add the KA-MR100 camera-back SxS
Media Recorder between the camera body and the battery. JVC models
with an “XT” suffix have the Media Recorder pre-installed.
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ProHD is Full Resolution
Choice: 720p60 and 1080i60
- Many broadcast groups offer
programming in both 1080i and 720p formats depending on network
affiliation of individual stations. JVC's ProHD platform now offers
both formats, so that cameras can be standardized throughout the
entire organization. With ProHD, stations that broadcast in 1080i
also have the option of shooting in 720p at 19.7Mbps.. Encoding at
19.7Mbps has the unique advantage of producing signals that can be
easily microwaved and stored, and then cross converted to 1080i upon
playout.
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GY-HM100 Solid State Media
Camcorder Ideal for News Reporters & Producers
- The GY-HM100 is the compact handheld smaller
companion of the GY-HM700, offering features and performance found
only in larger and more expensive models. Seasoned shooters will find the small size
convenient for work in environments where larger cameras would be
impractical, while producing HD material which can be easily
intercut in HD News and HD ENG programs. The capability to record to
dual SDHC memory cards in the standard ProHD file format (.mov) in
35, 25 and 19Mbps makes this high performance HD camcorder the ideal
companion to the larger shoulder-carried GY-HM700. Outputs include
HDMI, easily converted to HD-SDI by external device.
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- The ProHD Studio Solution.
- JVC designed its GY-HD250 ProHD camera
with a robust studio configuration, complete with camera control
unit, remote operations panel, studio viewfinders and lenses. With
over 1,000 studio installations in the U.S. as of January 2009, the
GY-HD250 is one of the nation’s top-selling studio cameras. Now in
daily HD broadcast studio use across the country in major cities as
well as in smaller markets, JVC's GY-HD250 has replaced dedicated
studio cameras delivering both outstanding quality and significant
cost savings.
- In a studio configuration, the GY-HD250
offers both 720p and 1080i digital output, allowing it to be used in
either environment. The camera's size and flexible mounting options
allow it to be employed in a multitude of ways: on a pedestal,
tripod, jib, or mounted on a robotic platform to the ceiling. This
flexibility also includes the ability to use the camera outside the
studio, for field ENG work or as part of highly specialized POV
systems—such as within weather-resistant housings from Troll
Systems. These systems, with full remote camera control, are used by
stations to provide unique high-definition POV shots and camera
views from locations not able to be manned. The affordability of the
GY-HD250U, combined with the camera's built-in MPEG2 encoder makes
these types of applications practical.
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- The GY-HD250 will be shown at NAB 2009
configured with a full range of studio options, including a fully
featured CCU with remote operations panel (OCP), an 8.4-inch HD
studio viewfinder, as well as a range of studio lenses and lens
controls, including Canon’s DigiSuper 22x Compact Studio Lens.
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- Expanded HD Video Switching
- JVC has significantly broadened the scope
of its HD studio peripherals with two new HD video production
switchers, the KM-H3000U and KM-H2500U. The KM-H3000 is a powerful
12-input single Multi-Level Effects (MLE) switcher ideal for small
production studios, OB vans and flight packs. Its fully digital
multi-resolution design makes it perfect for use with JVC GY-HD250
series ProHD cameras. The KM-H3000 features a compact single-piece
design, allowing it to be installed virtually anywhere. Yet despite
its small size, the KM-H3000U is packed with high-end features and
performance, including frame synchronizers on four of its twelve
input channels. The KM-H2500 is a 6-input version of the KM-H3000.
- Field HD ENG Implementation
- The latest generation HD electronic
newsgathering solutions present real timesaving advantages for
production because they introduce the benefits of a file-based
workflow. However, HD ENG solutions using data rates of 50 or 100
Mbps may actually undermine the productivity gains of handling video
as digital files. Too often they actually drive costs higher by
limiting users to proprietary media, necessary multiple transcoding
as part of the workflow, more expensive editing and storage systems,
and potentially high archive costs. Generally, as data rates rise,
so do workflow and facility infrastructure costs.
- Understanding the way stations prefer to
produce their SD newscasts is important to developing new HD
newsgathering tools. Production systems must be optimized for
efficient workflow while making economic sense. To be truly useful,
new HD News workflows must take into account the entire content
chain, from acquisition through to final transmission delivery.
Ideally, all the capabilities previously available in SD news must
be equally available for HD News. If so, then a file-based workflow
will facilitate increased productivity and a fast ROI will be
realized.
- HD News: Uniformity Should Be the
Benchmark.
- Some manufacturers like to distill their
HD News quality story to a simple “numbers” game, promoting the
“false hope” idea that the higher the number (bit rate) during
acquisition, the better the quality. Although there is some merit in
this broad-brush approach, the reality of making it work goes a bit
deeper. Beyond the numbers, one should consider how HD News quality
is captured and preserved. One un-told HD News story is what happens
after
original field footage is captured. A second “gotcha” involves
the hidden sacrifices linked to bit rate numbers, both as they
relate to acquisition and microwave transmission.
- While some are battling over proprietary
compression solutions, they are devoid of real world perspective.
Despite the “beautiful picture” that some manufacturers are
promoting, there are hidden sacrifices linked to acquiring footage
at 50-100 Mbps. Among them is the high (and expensive) computing
horsepower necessary to process and compress files sizes to an
easily manageable house format. Another is the difficulty or
inability to affordably send “live” news and other field footage
back to the station via microwave.
- After acquiring HD images at a high data
rate, the news producer must transcode it—either to a form usable
by the station’s news editing system or to an uncompressed HD-SDI
signal, or both—in order to seamlessly insert it into that
evening’s newscast. The edited story is then often stored on a
server. To conserve storage space, footage routed in the HD-SDI
format might be transcoded again to an intermediate data format.
Accessing the story for final airing may involve another transcoding
step back to HD-SDI, after which the story is again transcoded to
the long GOP MPEG-2 format for final transmission.
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- Each of these transcoding steps is not
only costly, but can also degrade quality. As any chief engineer
will tell you, in the end, the quality that matters is the quality
aired. Avoiding excessive compression and decompression steps
throughout the HD News workflow by working in a lower bit rate
format not only preserves capital, it preserves quality.
- In addition, when sending HD footage back
to the station, data rates above 21 Mbps are incompatible with
widely available RF microwave systems. They also don’t travel as
far. So, with high data rate materials, compression is your only
practical solution. Yet then there’s the concern about quality
loss.
- A second sacrifice linked to high data
rate production is the cost of required proprietary media and the
speed at which the media is consumed. Although the ideal of a
tapeless workflow sounds promising, news organizations accustomed to
the cost of tape-based media are often shocked by the cost of
proprietary form factors.
- An ideal HD News workflow, then, would
have capabilities and economics virtually identical to an SD News
workflow. It’s an end-to-end system that stays “native” across
the content creation process and delivers virtually original HD
quality to the viewer.
- The JVC solution offers the advantage of
capturing images that are pre-encoded, eliminating the need for
transcoding, delivering great quality uniformly throughout your
newscast.
- HD News Workflow: “Affordable HD”
Becomes PRACTICAL HD.
- The key to a practical
HD News transition is taking full advantage of available real-world
technology. Because facility and operating costs rise in direct
relation to data rates, the greatest benefits and greatest
efficiencies result when data rates are kept low. At 20 Mbps, long
GOP HD material looks great and fits perfectly within the most
common Broadcast News infrastructures. Fortunately, long GOP
encoding has matured over several years, enabling HD to be
manipulated and complete programs created at SD data rates. Today,
the MPEG-2 HD standard has evolved into a powerful, effective
balance of quality and economy. Its use in a file-based news
workflow based around a sensible facility infrastructure enables
first-generation HD quality to be maintained throughout the
production process, from ingest to the studio switcher. It also
looks great on an HDTV screen.
- JVC has supported and championed long-GOP
encoding in its ProHD product family, including the its GY-HD250U
camera, and this continues with the GY-HM700 and GY-HM100. JVC
recognizes that the most practical and cost-effective way to make a
smooth and quick transition to HD News hinges on a station’s
ability to leverage low data rates while still maintaining a
high-quality signal. Why transcode and continuously compress and
decompress all along the production chain—which has a negative
affect on image quality—when you can acquire footage in a native
long GOP format at a low data rate and keep that content as a native
file (and maintain high quality) during editing, in storage and even
when broadcasting it to viewers?
- 20 Megabits per second is the ideal bit
rate because:
