JVC ANNOUNCES NEW COMPACT, COST-EFFECTIVE VIDEO CAMERAS

New 3-CCD KY-F560 and KY-F550 Color Video Cameras Expand Image Capture Quality

WAYNE, NJ (February 25, 2004) -- JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY today unveiled two of the latest and most affordable high performance cameras for professional video applications. JVC's high-quality, compact size KY-F560 and KY-F550 cameras feature newly designed high-quality, low-noise 12-bit digital signal processing (DSP) and Digital Auto Shading Compensation that automatically compensates for color and two dimensional luminance shading. These highly affordable, high performance digital video cameras are easy to use and are ideal for use in video production, medical, scientific, and remote surveillance applications.

"With the release of the KY-F560 and KY-F550 compact cameras, JVC has introduced the next generation of its two popular legacy cameras -- the KY-F32 and KY-F55B," said Edgar Shane, product manager for JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY. "This latest evolution offers improved image quality with increased functionality and flexibility, making them the ideal solution for video production challenges where the highest image quality and resolution is required."

The Multi-purpose KY-F560

A high-quality, multi-purpose camera, the compact KY-F560 is an affordable three-chip 1/2-inch CCD box camera that offers remote functionality that is extendable for studio configurations.

The versatile KY-F560 is compatible with and builds upon the capabilities of the JVC KY-F32 camera, producing 850 lines of horizontal resolution and a signal-to-noise ratio of 62dB. The KY-F560 offers excellent sensitivity, F13 at 2,000 lux and produces 100 percent video in a minimum illumination of 0.5 lux. Three 1/2-inch progressive scan CCD chips offer 440,000 effective pixels and 16:9 wide screen capability. The camera has composite output and Genlock input. Camera features such as the lens, iris, focus and zoom can be controlled remotely through the RS232C port.

With just a few simple accessories, the lightweight KY-F560 becomes an efficient and cost-effective studio camera for those space-restricted environments. Optional plug-in boards allow users to easily expand the functionality of the high-performance KY-F560 camera to include remote pan/tilt/zoom capabilities and SDI output. A cost-effective studio configuration can be created with a studio accessory kit.

When equipped with a pan and tilt unit and the appropriate remote controllable lens, the KY-F560 will have a strong following in houses of worship, schools, cable origination, city council rooms and other facilities. In addition to its production studio quality and pan/tilt/zoom functionality, the KY-F560 is also a strong choice for teleconferencing, traffic monitoring, and security applications.

The Ultra Compact KY-F550

JVC's KY-F550U is an extremely compact, very high quality 1/3-inch 3-CCD camera well suited for a wide range of remote-controlled imaging and medical applications. Following in the footsteps of JVC's successful KY-F55B, the lightweight F550 offers enhanced performance, connectivity and unique customer-requested features such as simple "smart cable" connections. A single cable connected to the camera's IEEE-1394 interface can provide power and control signals to the camera as well as digital video output to the connected device.

The KY-F550 offers superb camera performance with an exceptional 800 lines of horizontal resolution and a 62 dB signal-to-noise ratio. The high-performance three CCDs offer very high sensitivity of F11 at 2000 lux and a 1-lux minimum illumination (F1.4). The KY-F550 comes with multiple video outputs, including DV (IEEE1394), RGB, Y/C and composite video signals. The built-in IEEE 1394 interface lets users transfer digital signals from the camera to storage devices. KY-Controller software bundled with the KY-F550 enables PC remote control of the camera.

Medical UL-approved (UL2601-1), the KY-F550 can be connected to numerous medical and scientific imaging products and is ideal for computer imaging and other remote-control applications where high quality, high-resolution images are required from an extremely small camera. The KY-F550 uses a standard C-Mount lenses enabling it to mount microscope, endoscope or surgery microscope lenses without any extra optical adapters.

ABOUT JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY

JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, located in Wayne, New Jersey, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of a complete line of broadcast and professional equipment. For more information about this, or any other JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY product, contact JVC at (800) 582-5825; or Deirdre Breakenridge at PFS Marketwyse 973-812-8883, or visit JVC's Web site at http://www.jvc.com/pro.

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