Hitachi Cameras Provide Solid Foundation for Tennessee Community TV

posted:

08/01/2011

The Hitachi SK-HD1000 studio camera during GHS-TV’s live coverage of “Election Night 2010.”

Germantown Community Television (GHS-TV), based at Germantown High School in Germantown, TN, a suburb of Memphis, has improved its on-air image quality with the purchased four new HD studio cameras from Hitachi. The new cameras are being used in SD mode for now but will serve as the foundation for an eventual transition to HD operations in the near future.

The studio facility supports the high school’s Production Workshop program, which teaches basic and advanced broadcast TV skills. The program’s 75 students produce more than 740 hours of public affairs programming annually for broadcast on Memphis stations, including Germantown Community Television (Comcast Channel 17), WPXX-TV (ION Media Channel 50) and WMC-TV (NBC-5).

Ted Beasley, supervising producer for GHS-TV, said the Hitachi cameras’ ease of use and superior image quality allow his students to produce high-quality programs in an intuitive way.

GHS-TV serves as the public access station for Germantown and produces more than 300 shows per school year. Students produce these shows in a 5000sq-ft studio. The control room features a Ross Video Vision 3 2.5M/E SD production switcher, HD-capable Harris Inscriber graphics system, an EditShare server, lighting grid, teleprompter, Yamaha Z02R96 audio mixer and five Avid editing suites.

The four SK-HD1000 cameras (with Fujinon HD lenses) are mounted on Vinten pedestals and are shared among a talk show, news desk and green-screen set. While all shows are produced in 4:3 SD now, GHS-TV plans to migrate to HDTV in approximately two years. The Hitachi cameras are the first key pieces of gear to prepare for that transition.

About Hitachi Kokusai Electric

Within the broadcast industry Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. is highly focused on the rapidly increasing digital and high-definition field. In addition to having introduced newly developed advanced digital high definition cameras we are continuing further development of these type products.

Hitachi Kokusai Electric