Vt. Public TV Adds Hitachi SK-HD1000 Cameras

Vermont Public Television (VPT) — Vermont’s statewide PBS network — purchased four Hitachi SK-HD1000 digital HDTV studio cameras as part of an extensive HDTV production upgrade at its Colchester, Vt., broadcast television facility.

“We chose the Hitachi SK-HD1000 after a year of exhaustive, comparative research and testing of all major HDTV studio cameras on the market,” said Joseph Tymecki, VPT’s  chief technology officer.  “Since the cameras replaced four older analog studio cameras that’d been in service for nearly 20 years, we wanted to be sure we were ordering studio cameras that would serve us well into the future.  We feel that these Hitachi cameras are the perfect fit for our facility.”

The Hitachi SK-HD1000 camera package is part of an extensive HDTV studio production upgrade that included a Ross Vision multi-format production switcher, Chyron LEX3 live HD graphics system, Omneon server and Miranda router.  This upgrade was the final phase of a four-phase upgrade that included four new DTV transmitters (Phase 1), master control room (Phase 2), and field production and NLE editing workflow (Phase 3).

The new Hitachi SK-HD1000 cameras are outfitted with a complement of Hitachi accessories, including Hitachi TU-HD1000 camera control units, VF-HP840 8-inch color LCD viewfinders, and RU-1200JY remote control units, as well as the Fujinon ZA-22×7.6BERM HD telephoto zoom lenses with 2X extenders.

Tymecki said the fact that the Hitachi SK-HD1000 cameras capture in native 1080i was crucial to their buying decision since PBS and its member stations have standardized on a 1080i HD workflow.  Another critical factor is that the SK-HD1000 camera heads provide enough power to run the Autoscript 19-inch TFT-LCD teleprompters. 

“We also did extensive testing of Hitachi’s digital triax system, compared to a SMPTE fiber optic solution, and we found the picture quality to be superb despite the signal compression,” Tymecki said.  “This is important to us because our production truck and many of the remote venues we shoot in use triax. Our engineers and crew are familiar with the maintenance of triax connectors.”

While the cameras are dedicated to multi-camera studio production, VPT plans to pack them into road cases for occasional use on their truck.  In the broadcast facility, the cameras shuttle between Studio A, a large 80 x 40-foot studio space, and smaller Studio B on Vinten pedestals and pan/tilt heads to produce three- or four-camera shows.

The Hitachi SK-HD1000s are used to shoot all VPT local productions including: Profile, a show about the arts, culture, and public affairs in Vermont; Vermont This Week, a look at the top news stories across the state, and live call-in programs with elected officials.