SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai has hired industry veteran Bo Reames as East Coast sales manager for North America. He reports to National Sales Manager Kenneth Cyr.

Reames’ career began in live production and operations, including a five-year stretch with a former industry-leading broadcast station group. He took on roles of increasing responsibility over time, working his way up from master control to management positions that soon put him in charge of broadcast operations for 24 cable networks.

Reames shifted to the broadcast engineering side of the business in 2002, joining Backporch Broadcast as director of operations for 13 years. He gained valuable experience across many capacities, most of which were customer-facing. Prior to joining Hitachi, Reames spent 10 years in a leadership role at Joseph Electronics where, Hitachi Kokusai said, he “redefined the distribution firm’s business model to better serve the broadcast and AV integration communities.”

Hitachi Kokusai said Reames’ 23 years at Backporch and Joseph should help the company expand its presence in the AV market, where he sees opportunities to increase visibility with houses of worship, performance venues, universities, and the broader AV integration community. The fact that he has previous experience selling Hitachi cameras while at Backporch is a bonus, the company said.

“The ability to communicate with consultants, integrators and end users adds up to a powerful combination for the manufacturer,” Reames said. “These are the professionals that we sell to, and all three require a different sales approach because their needs and interests differ. Opposite of that, they all understand the benefits of excellent picture quality, reliability, aggressive pricing and strong customer service and support. The fact that Hitachi excels in these four areas provides a solid foundation for success.”

“Along with his knowledge, experience and affinity for Hitachi cameras, Bo’s familiarity with the East Coast made him the ideal candidate for the role,” Cyr said. “He has strong relationships with broadcast and AV customers throughout the territory, particularly in the Southeast region that has long been his base of operations. We welcome Bo to the team and look forward to his contributions.”

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai will focus on two 4K UHD camera systems built for live video production during 2024 NAB Show New York, Oct. 9-10 at the Javits Center in New York.

The company’s SK-UHD7000 incorporates three 2/3-inch CMOS image sensors with native 4K resolution to enable the capture of 3840x2160 UHD video. The global shutter technology in the sensors minimizes unwanted artifacts, such as flickering and banding, which could otherwise occur when capturing video on TV sets, at event venues and in worship environments with LED lighting and large LED displays, the company said.

The camera was built to ensure extraordinary sensitivity and consistent results for 4K productions across diverse scenarios. For example, its sensitivity of F11 at 59.94 frames enables high-quality acquisition in low lighting conditions, while a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 62 dB provides ultra-quiet images, Hitachi Kokusai said.

These qualities and all other performance benefits carry over to the SK-UHD7000-S2, a nearly identical model built for users who want high-quality 1080p productions today and a cost-effective path to 4K/UHD in the future. The latter is achieved through a license-upgrade option that provides immediate entry to the 4K/UHD production world, it said.

Introduced in April at NAB Show, Hitachi Kokusai’s DK-H700 4K box camera sits at the opposite end of the design scale, providing users with a compact POV solution that can reliably support focused applications in professional AV, government, broadcast and venue applications. Using the same UHD sensor as the DK-H700, SK-UHD7000 and SK-UHD7000-S2, the DK-H700 blends effortlessly with these cameras, the company said.

The DK-H700 is a multiformat solution that complies with ITU-R.BT-2020 wide color gamut specs and operates within Rec. BT.2100 High Dynamic Range standards. These qualities allow content creators to produce independent programs in a dual workflow configuration for HDTV or UHD SDI output formats, it said.

See Hitachi Kokusai at 2024 NAB Show New York booth 837.

More information is available on the company’s website.

BATON ROUGE, La.—As a top public research university, Louisiana State University is also well-known for sports, especially NCAA Division I football. As a member of the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference (SEC), our LSU Tigers consistently rank high among college football teams. We have also won recent national championships in baseball (2023), women’s basketball (2023) and gymnastics (2024).

SEC schools like LSU that want their athletic events carried on ESPN’s digital SEC Network platform must contribute their own live video streams to the network. Since ESPN wants the flexibility to put the games on either their digital or linear platforms, SEC schools must utilize video facilities—such as cameras and video control rooms—that meet ESPN’s strict broadcast quality standards.

The Hitachi Kokusai Legacy
Since the launch of the ESPN SEC Network in August 2014, we’ve continually upgraded our video facilities, centrally located in the campus administration building, to produce broadcast quality live sports. We recently bought two new Hitachi Kokusai Z-HD6500 multiformat HD cameras, each packaged with a CU-HD650 camera control unit (CCU) for shading. We also plan to acquire a few more Z-HD6500 camera systems this summer as our budget allows.

Our confidence in the Hitachi brand is buoyed by our 10 years of experience with their older camera systems, including nine SK-HD1300’s and eight SK-HD1200’s that remain in use. We now have 19 Hitachi Kokusai camera systems equipped with Canon lenses. Our Hitachi cameras have given us tremendous peace of mind because they’ve just been incredibly rock-solid, despite Louisiana’s typical heat, humidity and rain.

We also built four control rooms, which are regularly in use, and often have two or more control rooms running in tandem. One produces the SEC network feed, while the others produce video for the venue’s big screen displays.

The control rooms can share the same camera sources, and they’re directly connected via fiber—using MultiDyne fiber network components—to our sports venues across this expansive campus. These include our 102,000-seat Tiger Stadium for football, Alex Box Stadium for baseball, Maravich Assembly Center for basketball, gymnastics and volleyball events, and Tiger Park for softball.

Easy to Mix
We like that we can easily mix footage shot by our different Hitachi camera models, especially for replays and highlights. Once our shaders set a certain video look, all three camera models can maintain those settings without drift. The cross-compatibility of our Hitachi cameras with CU-HD650 CCUs gives us the operational flexibility we need to rapidly reconfigure our equipment complement according to our production requirements.

All of our Hitachi cameras produce vivid imagery and the Z-HD6500s especially provide excellent light sensitivity, which is beneficial when moving between different indoor and outdoor lighting conditions. Hitachi’s Global Shutter feature, available in our Z-HD6500 and SK-HD1200 cameras, is also something we often leverage to accurately capture fast-paced sports action. Considering the speed of a baseball from the pitcher to the catcher or being hit by the bat, the global shutter produces artifact- and flicker-free imagery that holds up well, especially for slo-mos and replays.

I work with my colleague, John Schiebe, director of television operations for the SEC Network, to coordinate production schedules and juggle resources to effectively produce hundreds of LSU sports broadcasts and events annually. The reliability, flexibility and performance of our Hitachi camera configurations help our pretty lean staff save time, maximize resources and handle a bigger workload.

Lee Scioneaux is director of broadcast operations and live events at LSU Athletics. He can be reached at scioneaux@lsu.edu and John Schiebe at jschieb@lsu.edu.

For more informtion about Hitachi Kokusai products, contact Kenneth Cyr at
kenneth.cyr@hitachikokusai.us or visit www.hitachikokusai.com.

SOUTHWICIK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai will feature its now-shipping DK-H700 4K box camera designed for high-end broadcast, professional AV and government applications at the 2024 NAB Show, April 13-17, in Las Vegas.

Shown as a reference display at the 2023 NAB Show, the new box camera offers smooth operability as well as enables artistic capabilities and produces visually striking quality. Offering advanced digital signal processing and HDR support, the DK-H700 relies on three 2/3-inch RGB CMOS image sensors, each of which has 8.3 million pixels. Together, the sensors, digital signal processing and HDR support produce sharp, clear images with minimal noise, lifelike color and high sensitivity, Hitachi Kokusai said.

The DK-H700 is a multi-format solution that complies with ITU-R.BT-2020 wide color gamut specs and operates within REC BT2100 High Dynamic Range standards. These allow content creators to produce independent programs in a dual workflow configuration for both HDTV and/or UHD SDI output formats, the company said.

The new DK-H700 offers a ¼ ND filter that can produce a shallow depth of field with the iris open, which adds to artistic value and reduces the moiré effect on video walls. Providing the ability to produce shallow depth of field while also having 2/3-inch native global shutter sensors for maximum depth of field, the camera offers the best of both worlds, it said.

“This offers a versatile solution for customers across all of Hitachi Kokusai’s business verticals and shines in studio-based news production, indoor and outdoor venues, and even brings a premium level of detailed reality to ophthalmology and other medical procedures,” said Kenneth Cyr, national sales manager. 

“We are excited to show our customers how the DK-H700 can play the lead role in their productions or used to complement larger shoots when paired with our SK-UHD7000 Series of 4K/UHD cameras.” 

The company also will demonstrate its SK-UHD7000 Series, including the now-shipping SK-UHD7000-S2 camera introduced last year. The SK-UHD7000-S2 is a multi-format camera with an affordable license option for 4K.

See Hitachi Kokusai at NAB Show booth C4516.

More information is available on the company’s website.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai has announced it has completed one of the first deliveries of its new SK-UHD7000-S2 broadcast cameras to Maryland Public Television. The cameras were delivered through Digital Video Group, a longtime Hitachi Kokusai partner based in Ashland, Virginia and are part of the public broadcaster’s recent turnkey production studio upgrade at its Owings Mills headquarters northwest of Baltimore.

Introduced at the NAB 2023 Show in April, the SK-UHD7000-S2 leverages Hitachi Kokusai’s latest HD and 4K camera technology, with 12G 4K acquisition unlocked upon purchasing a 4K camera license upgrade. 

Maryland Public Television will use only the camera’s HD content acquisition capabilities until further notice, though its 4K performance and quality were among the customer’s key deciding factors, the company said. 

“The combination of technologies acquired for the new studio, including a larger green screen and modernized lighting grids, provide the customer with a genuine path to 4K production,” said Ed Jose, account manager for Digital Video Group. “The combination of SK-UHD7000-S2’s performance and price point stood apart from other HD/4K cameras evaluated, while its superior HD characteristics help the customer capitalize on producing higher quality content within their new, much larger studio space.”

Jose adds that the new space will also accommodate a larger studio audience, which along with the new technology will energize live and pre-recorded productions captured in the studio for broadcast purposes. He also explained that the SK-UHD7000-S2 camera’s seamless integration with Ross Dashboard for control and monitoring represents another important benefit for the customer.

The SK-UHD7000-S2 delivers spectacular depth of modulation, lifelike images, exceptional visual quality, and superior price/performance for live performance applications while providing signal to noise ratio surpassing -62dB on every output, Hitachi said. 

Its quiet streamlined one-piece camera body design has a low center of gravity for ease of use on the shoulder, and high efficiency cooling system for comfortable operation, the company said. 

The SK-UHD7000-S2 camera’s upgrade license will also integrate new 4K technologies that Hitachi Kokusai develops moving forward, ensuring that customers like Maryland Public Television always receive the latest benefits and features upon upgrading. 

“Along with a lower initial price point for future 4K users, the SK-UHD7000-S2 will provide customers like Maryland Public Television with greater creative freedom with lighting, exposure, color control and more inside modern studio spaces,” said Kenneth Cyr, national sales manager, Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. “The SK-UHD7000-S2 offers the advanced controls and dual workflow capacity to take control of challenging shooting situations and venue conditions.”

BETHLEHEM, Pa.—The Service Electric Network (SEN) is the television production arm of Service Electric Cable TV and Communications, a third-generation family-owned company. The company was founded in 1948 by John Walson with the goal of bringing TV service to the Lehigh Valley through what was then described as a “community antenna television system”—and today called “cable television.”

The company has since expanded into telephone and broadband internet service and operates a live production arm with three mobile units for regional news, sports and event coverage, including local concerts.

Triple A Production
Situated about one hour north of Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley is home to several minor league sports teams associated with professional Philadelphia teams. Service Electric Network broadcasts all home games for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Triple A baseball affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Philadelphia Flyers’ AHL team. Our three mobile units are deployed to the local venues, where we use Hitachi Kokusai cameras for our live production workflow.

Our friends at Hitachi Kokusai would agree that SEN is an anomaly in today’s media environment because we remain a regional entity that continues to grow and prosper despite not being part of a large media conglomerate. 

And because of that independence, we also have the freedom to consider the best technology for our organization when it comes to price and performance. Eight Hitachi SK-UHD7000 4K/HD cameras were among our more recent purchases, which we have since added to our mobile units to replace long-serving Hitachi Kokusai SK-HD1200 cameras.

The SK-HD1200 is an outstanding camera with excellent HD performance and image quality, and we continue to use three of these cameras for studio productions. As sports production tends to be on the leading edge for broadcast quality and resolution, upgrading to the SK-UHD7000 made perfect sense. 

Hitachi Kokusai has engineered a dual-4K/HD system that somehow provides even greater image quality and lifelike visuals with exceptional color reproduction, thanks in part to its greater atmospheric sensitivity. 

On the technical side, the cameras incorporate three 2/3 CMOS image sensors with global shutter technology, which minimizes unwanted artifacts such as flickering in banding, which occurs from asynchronous lighting sources inside event venues. 

The SK-UHD7000 cameras also improve production quality for our high school sports programming, important to local high school sports fans.

Path to 4K 
The futureproof design of the camera is perhaps of most value. While we achieve outstanding HD quality productions today, the SK-UHD7000 offers a dual 4K/HD workflow, along with separate controls for HDR and SDR, making us well-prepared for a 4K/HDR future as we gradually upgrade our broadcast and production infrastructure and workflow.

I have worked at SEN since 2001 and we have used Hitachi Kokusai cameras throughout my tenure. As general manager since 2019, I stick with the brand not only because of the quality it brings to our productions and viewers, but also because of the very fair price point and exceptional customer service. 

Product reliability is strong, and we rarely require technical support—though they are responsive when needed. The quality of our programming is what keeps people subscribing to SEN, which is of utmost importance as an independent media entity. Hitachi Kokusai cameras help us translate our level of commitment and broadcast quality to our subscribers. l 

To learn more about Hitachi Kokusai, contact Ken Cyr at kenneth.cyr@hitachikokusai.us or visit www.hitachikokusai.com.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai will introduce the Z-HD6500 HD camera for live production applications at the 2023 NAB Show, April 16-19, in Las Vegas.

The camera, which will make its debut along with the company’s new 4K models, supports multiple HD formats up to 1080p and is designed to offer a seamless triax-to-fiber transition to lower costs and reduce system complexity, Hitachi Kokusai said.

A three 2/3-inch CMOS image sensor camera, the Z-HD6500 offers a global shutter to enable users to capture crystal-clear video compliant with BT.2020 color. The global shutter technology reduces artifacts, such as banding and flicker that can occur with LED lighting and large LED displays, the company said.

With sensitivity of F10 at 59.94 frames per second, the camera can capture high-quality video in reduced lighting and a signal-to-noise ratio of 62dB. The camera supports HD workflows for multi-format productions and offers separate controls for High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Standard Dynamic Range (SDR), it said. 

““We are introducing a larger number and broader variety of new camera systems this NAB compared to recent NAB shows, and we will accentuate our market-leading cost-to-performance value proposition as we demonstrate the vast feature sets of each new camera system,” said Sean Moran, the company’s chief operating officer (COO).

The ZD-HD6500 joins the new SK-UHD7000-S2 4K/HD camera and DK-H700 4K box camera on Hitachi Kokusai’s NAB booth next week. The Z-HD6500 begins shipping this spring.

See Hitachi Kokusai in NAB Show booth C6117.

More information is available on the company’s website.

FLUSHING, NY–Interface Communications was founded in 1999 to provide a higher level of mobile television production to broadcast and corporate organizations worldwide. We provide production services and engineering solutions for everything from sports and entertainment events to parades, fashion shows, and church services, with clients including the NBA, ESPN, CNBC, and Fortune 100 corporations.

Earlier this year we set out to upgrade the cameras on our 33-foot production hybrid truck Hermes to better support the work we do with the NBA, which includes coverage of pre- and post-game press conferences, events such as the governor’s meetings, and additional supplementary feeds. Our existing cameras were 1080i and used HD-SDI connectivity, but the NBA production compound uses 1080p over 3G-SDI. Adding 1080p cameras would not only avoid the need for conversions in the NBA compound, but also give us greater format flexibility with other clients. 

Competitive Prices
Our positive experience with earlier Hitachi camera models—including the SK-HD1000 and SK-HD1200—prompted us to look at their newest HDTV camera model, the SK-HD1800. We compared the Hitachi cameras to other manufacturers’ offerings and found the SK-HD1800s to deliver visual quality that is just as good as the alternatives but at a more competitive price point. At the end of the day, very few people can tell the difference between the SK-HD1800s and much more expensive competitors. 

We initially purchased four SK-HD1800s and now have seven. We used them for the first time during the NBA All-Star Game in February and used them during the NBA Finals as well. So far, we have done about 20 productions with the new cameras. 

The benefits we’re getting from the Hitachi cameras go beyond their great image quality—their global shutter image sensors are ideal for shooting against LED backdrops. Some of our corporate clients do announcements with LED video walls in the background and shooting against those with other cameras would drive us crazy trying to get a stable, flicker-free image, but it’s a lot easier with the SK-HD1800s. They’re also very forgiving in low light, which is particularly useful for church services. 

Format Flexibility
The SK-HD1800s give us the flexibility to match whatever signal format is needed for any particular project and we can be up and running fast—which is crucial when we’re setting up on-site under a tight timeframe. As for reliability, we’ve had no issues at all with the SK-HD1800s, despite the beating they’ve endured from some of the crews that we use. 

Our satisfaction with Hitachi Kokusai isn’t just about the cameras themselves, but also the people behind the products. Their after-sale support has been amazing. If we have an on-site problem or question, we need answers fast, but with many vendors, it can be hard to get someone on the phone. With Hitachi Kokusai, they’re always there for us. 

In my opinion, for the price, you simply can’t beat the SK-HD1800s. As a small company, we have to get the most value for our money, but even if we had a much bigger budget, we would stick with the Hitachi cameras—they do what they’re supposed to do and do it well. They’re flexible enough to handle practically any project we take on, and they put out a great picture, which is what I care about most.  

Dimitrios Lagos is operations manager at Interface Communications. He can be reached at dlagos@interfacetv.com.

For more information on Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, call 833-227-1658 or visit  www.hitachikokusai.us.

TV TECH: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2022 NAB Show?

JOHN J. HUMPHREY: For our specialty—professional system cameras used for broadcast and live events—4K and full HD cameras with high dynamic range and wide color gamut continue to become increasingly important. For traditional broadcasters, the significance of these technologies has mostly been for future-proofing their archives, but NextGen TV will enable consumer delivery as well. Media enterprises in other segments of the market or with other delivery mechanisms, such as streamers and mobile sports production, have already been active in deploying these technologies, and their usage will continue to expand.

TVT: What will be your most important product news?

HUMPHREY: We’re planning to unveil our second-generation 4K Ultra HD broadcast and live production camera system, the SK-UHD7000. It incorporates three 2/3-inch, global shutter CMOS image sensors with native 4K resolution. A new prism design with expanded spectral range fully complies with all international colorimetry specifications and enables full-range BT.2020 UHD Wide Color Gamut (WCG) capture. Meanwhile, a dual 4K and HDTV workflow supports separate controls for Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) HDR and standard dynamic range (SDR). There’s a lot more I’d love to tell you about the camera, but I’ll save that for the full announcement.

TVT: How is your new product different from what’s available on the market? 

HUMPHREY: In short: price/performance value. Hitachi Kokusai has long differentiated itself by providing cameras that incorporate the latest technologies, exceptional performance and advanced features that broadcasters and production professionals need, all at accessible price points that deliver unmatched cost-effectiveness. The SK-UHD7000 is designed to continue this tradition.

From a feature standpoint, the SK-UHD7000 incorporates the latest CMOS global shutter imagers and advanced digital signal processing. And since it uses three 2/3-inch, 4K sensors, no adapter is needed for the camera to use standard B4 lenses.

TVT: How has the pandemic affected your company's business over the past two years and how will it impact how you exhibit at this year's show?

HUMPHREY: While business with broadcasters and mobile event companies slowed during the peaks of the pandemic, the uptake of broadcast-class cameras in other markets increased. For example, the need to begin or improve high-quality live streaming production led many houses of worship to expand or upgrade their equipment, and such customers benefit from the advantages of system cameras for their multicamera live events.

In terms of our NAB Show exhibit, as eager as everyone is to get back to in-person trade shows, there are still many people who aren’t comfortable yet returning to a physical event. While we may reduce the amount of equipment we display in our booth, we’re keeping a similar footprint to what we had in 2019, leaving plenty of room for maintaining distancing and meeting health protocols.

We’re in the same location as we were in 2019 too, C4409. We’re looking forward to getting to meet our customers face-to-face in Las Vegas again!

UNIONDALE, N.Y.—The Catholic Faith Network (CFN) is a not-for-profit television organization that uses all forms of media to keep the Catholic community connected to their faith. CFN is available on Optimum, Verizon FiOS and Charter Spectrum throughout the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area, plus selected cable and satellite systems nationwide as well as streaming at www.CFNtv.org. Our programming includes live masses, talk shows and topics ranging from faith and societal issues to health and cooking. 

We have been satisfied users of Hitachi cameras for many years. With Catholic Faith Network expanding and our existing Z-HD5000 models still going strong but more than eight years old, we decided to double our roster of cameras by adding the latest and greatest HD technology. We didn’t go to 4K because we wouldn’t really be able to take advantage of the extra resolution. We broadcast in HD, but some of our carriers even still downconvert our signal to SD.

QUICK, EASY SETUP 

The exceptional reliability, durability and quality of Hitachi cameras were some of the key technical factors that led us to stay with Hitachi for our new purchase. Before working at CFN, we both worked for a high school sports network where we used 12 Hitachi cameras on our HD trucks. We compared Hitachi picture quality side-by-side to more expensive alternatives, and nobody could tell the difference. And despite beating up those cameras while producing sports six days a week with many different operators, they withstood everything we threw at them. 

In March, CFN purchased three new SK-HD1800 HDTV production cameras from Hitachi Kokusai. Setting up the new cameras went seamlessly. We built the three cameras ourselves within 45 minutes from opening the boxes to fully assembled. Local Hitachi staff helped us wire in our new CU-HD1200 CCUs in the control room and commission the cameras. We were all done within two hours and shooting just three hours later. 

One of our favorite features of the SK-HD1800 is its global shutter sensor. Some of our sets are heavily monitor-based, with a 9x9 monitor wall, monitor strip and large standalone monitor. Our studios also use many different types and generations of LED fixtures. With earlier camera technologies we could get rolling shutter artifacts, but with the SK-HD1800s we don’t need to worry about that.

UPGRADED REMOTE CONTROL

Enhanced skin tone adjustments have also been helpful when dealing with multiple people on set by letting us dial in and preset multiple skin tones. Other standouts from our upgrade include the RU-1500JY remote control units with their amazing LCD touchscreens, and the VF-PBM-307 color viewfinders, which our camera operators love. 

For CFN, buying Hitachi cameras is about more than just quality products. The support we get from Hitachi Kokusai is second to none and goes beyond great customer service. It really is a relationship. They even help us with things that aren’t the cameras themselves, such as lenses and fiber, and work with us to find complementary products. 

New studio cameras are a big investment for a not-for-profit organization, but our President and CEO, Monsignor Jim Vlaun, and General Manager Joe Perrone were comfortable with our choice of Hitachi Kokusai based on how they have treated CFN. You’re not just buying a Hitachi camera—you’re buying a lot more, and for the price, you can’t beat it. 

 Sean Kennedy (skennedy@cfntv.org) is senior executive producer and Bryan Butler (bbutler@cfntv.org) is studio & production coordinator at Catholic Faith Network.  

For more information on Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, call 833-227-1658 or visit the company’s website at www.hitachikokusai.us. 

WOODBURY, N.Y.—Hitachi Kokusai Electric America Ltd. is picking up shop and relocating its U.S. headquarters to a larger facility in Southwick, Mass., where it will be under the same roof as its subsidiary, Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC (Comark).

Hitachi’s lease for its Long Island, N.Y., facility is set to expire, which opened the door to working side-by-side with Comark, said Sean Moran, chief operating officer of Hitachi. Sharing the 53,000-square-foot space will lead to future collaboration opportunities, Moran continued, as well as simply offering more engineering space and resources.

The moving process is beginning in December, with the changeover expected to be official by Jan. 1, 2021.

Hitachi will retain all of its staff from the previous location. Employees who chose not to relocate to Massachusetts will be permitted to work remotely.

Hitachi Kokusai’s new address is 104 Feeding Hills Road, Southwick, Mass., 01077.

WOODBURY, N.Y.—North Carolina Central University’s NCCU TV Studio has a mission of training students for their professional careers through hands-on experience. To help with that mission, the school recently purchased three SK-UHD4000 UHD cameras from Hitachi Kokusai.

NCCU TV has been working to upgrade from its legacy standard-definition equipment, so that it can transition from its current 1080p HD to Ultra HD when the time comes. The school got a recommendation for the SK-UHD4000s from systems integrator Digital Video Group.

The new Hitachi cameras arrived on campus in February 2019 and were included in the renovated NCCU TV Studio that opened in April of that year. Deployed on Vinten Osprey Light pedestals, the SK-UHD4000s are used for a variety of productions, with broadcast curriculum students operating them.

Felecia Casey-Hicks, NCCU TV Studio manager, highlights the cameras’ ease of use that allow the students to balance the operation and creative aspects of production.

“The students are very excited, and some of our first group of students that used the cameras last year came back this past semester to help train the next students behind them,” said Casey-Hicks. “If they’re learning well enough to subsequently teach somebody else, then we’re doing our jobs right—and the Hitachi cameras are a big part of that.”

For more information, visit www.hitachikokusai.com.  

WOODBURY, N.Y.—The University of North Alabama recruited Hitachi Kokusai’s Z-HD5000 HDTV cameras when the athletic department was required to upgrade and expand its production capabilities to handle streaming broadcasts for ESPN+.

Now that UNA has joined Division I’s Atlantic Sun Conference, the school has games broadcast on the sports network’s streaming service. As part of its preparations, it acquired four Z-HD5000 cameras. The school uses them for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball and volleyball broadcasts. 

In addition to broadcasts for ESPN+, the cameras are also used to feed large video boards and record footage for highlight reels.

Eddy Forsythe, UNA’s athletics broadcast/video coordinator, praised the Z-HD5000’s visual quality and the camera’s ability to adapt to varied lighting conditions. He was also pleased with the ease of use of the cameras to be able to train students who assist with broadcasts.

For more information, visit the Hitachi website. 

WOODBURY, N.Y.—Hitachi Kokusai is ready to release its latest in 8K technology, the SK-UHD8060B dockable 8K UHDTV camera. Built off Hitachi’s previous 8K models, this new camera adds an organic photoconductive CMOS image sensor for capturing 8K video with expanded dynamic range.

Incorporating organic photoconductive film (OPF) into a CMOS sensor enables a higher saturation charge than silicon photodiodes, increasing dynamic range, per Hitachi. The company says that the SK-UHD8060B model offers greater than 400% dynamic range.

The 8K video is delivered with 7680x4320 resolution. It conforms to global standards like UHD-2, ITU-R BT.2020 color specification, ITU-R BT.2100 for HDR and Japan’s ARIB specification.

Additional features include support for PL mount lenses, as well as the ability to output multiple TV standards, including 8K, 4K/UHD, 1080p, 1080i and 720p. The camera head can be paired with a dockable recorder that uses a visually lossless codec.

For more information, visit www.hitachikokusai.us. 

Hitachi Kokusai Electric America plans to make its recently launched CU-HD550 camera control unit the center of spring offerings, with a number of new features to showcase.

The CU-HD550 was first introduced at the 2019 NAB Show New York, designed for 1080p60 video production. Now, Hitachi provides new dual-workflow functionality for CU-HD550 that enables parallel HDR/SDR acquisition with a single camera by providing separate video sharing adjustments for HDR and SDR outputs.

CU-HD550 also has added a configuration for single-link 12G-SDI output for transforming natively-acquired 1080p video to 4K resolution. This 4K output functionality supports HDR when used with an HDR-enabled camera, while the color matrix of the 12Gbps SDI output can be switched between ITU-Rec.709 and BT.2020 color spaces.

In addition to the CU-HD550, Hitachi plans to offer its companion CA-HF550 camera adapter and its SK-HD1800 studio and field production camera.

For more information, visit Hitachi’s website.

WOODBURY, N.Y.—To help give its students experience with industry-standard equipment, Santa Ana College’s TV and Video Communications department has purchased six SK-UHD4000 UD cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America.

While it touts its TV and video production studio as one of the largest in the community college system, as recently as 2015 SAC still relied on SD cameras for studio production. SAC’s goal with purchasing the SK-UHD4000s was to future-proof its programs.

“By going with cameras that could do both HD and 4K, we could be ready to basically flip a switch and move to a 4K production model when we upgrade the rest of the studio environment to 4K,” said Michael Taylor, SAC’s department chair. “We plan to do that when the overall television industry has greater adoption of 4K, since we’re preparing our students for careers in that field.”

Taylor said they were attracted to Hitachi’s cameras capability to be used in both 1080p and 4K, as well as the ability to integrate with Ross Dashboard. While not currently using the camera’s 4K imaging, Taylor praises the image quality the cameras produce in HD mode.

With the cameras, Taylor says they are able to prepare their students for careers post-graduation, but there is also a benefit for the school itself, as the high-quality equipment emphasizes that SAC is a competitive program that is able to properly train students while creating professional-level productions.

NEW YORK—Hitachi Kokusai will unveil the CU-HD550 camera control unit (CCU) and CA-HF550 camera adapter at the upcoming NAB Show New York on Oct. 16–17. The CU-HD550 and CA-HF550 are compatible with all Hitachi 1080p and 1080i Z and SK-series HDTV cameras. The new accessories combine with Hitachi Kokusai’s 1080p60-native studio and field production camera heads, including the Z-HD5500 and recently introduced SK-HD1800.

According to the company, the CU-HD550/CA-HF550 combination offers a lower-cost entry point to production for customers who don’t require the advanced expansion options and extra I/O connections of the flagship CU-HD1300 CCU series.

Compatible with both the new CU-HD550 and existing Hitachi CCU models, the CA-HF550 transmits video, audio, power and control over SMPTE 304M fiber between the camera and CCU. Two HD-SDI connections on the CA-HF550 provide video output at the camera end and can be switched between camera, prompter and return video. The CA-HF550 also provides AC power at the camera head to drive both a prompter and floor monitor through the fiber cable.

The fiber-connected CU-HD550 combines multiformat SDI inputs and outputs with intercom, return video, teleprompter, tally and remote-control interfaces in a heavy-duty 2RU form factor. An RJ-45 network port enables IP-based control, including integration with Ross Video’s open DashBoard control platform.

Also on display will be Hitachi Kokusai’s SK-HD1800 studio and field production camera. The feature-packed, 1080p SK-HD1800 combines the advanced, global shutter CMOS imaging technology first implemented in the company’s popular Z-HD5500 camera with a motorized, remote filter wheel to deliver image quality for mobile and event-based productions.

The new camera adapter and CCU are slated for release in January. The company will exhibit them in booth N438.

LAS VEGAS—As part of its NAB Show presentation, Hitachi Kokusai will demonstrate the latest firmware updates to two of its HD compact box camera models, the DK-H200 and DK-Z50. The upgrades provide HDR support to the DK-H200 1080p camera, while also boosting the quality of the 1080i DK-Z50.

Via the new update, the DK-H200 brings HDR benefits—increased contrast, expanded mid-tones and greater detail in dark and bright picture regions—to HDTV productions for improved viewer experiences. The firmware supports HDR specifications including Hybrid Log-Gamma and HPR, which is compatible with the HDR10 open standard.

The DK-Z50, meanwhile, will get a boost in image quality from the firmware update, enabling closer picture matching with Hitachi’s Z-HD5000 broadcast studio and field production camera. With the firmware, the DK-Z50’s signal-to-noise ratio rises to more than 60dB while also enhancing its detail functions and characteristics.

Hitachi is expected to release the new versions of the DK-H200 and DK-Z50 in the second quarter of 2019.

Hitachi will display all of its latest products at booth C4409. To register for the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.

AMES, IOWA--When the University of Iowa’s Collaborative Technology Services (CTS) unit wanted to up its production game, deploying cameras that were easy to get in and out of remote venues, offered great sensitivity for challenging lighting environments and delivered high-quality 1080p images was high on the list of priorities.

CTS found in the Hitachi Kokusai Electric America Z-HD5500 studio and field production cameras the right solution to satisfy its requirements.

Those requirements have evolved as the CTS mission has grown over the six years of its existence, says CTS manager Roger Suski.

“Our group’s original primary goal was to deliver classes online, so we started with some lower-end technology and made the best of what we had available,” he says. “That often meant cobbling together disparate products as best we could.”

However, as CTS was called upon to produce events, such as convocations, presidential addresses and community activities, a change was needed.

The Hitachi Z-HD5500 offered the technical specs Suski sought and came as a turnkey camera system from one manufacturer to enable CTS productions to “be set up in a standardized way,” he says.

The camera’s native 1080p imager was particularly attractive to Suski. “Some cameras had only 720p sensors that they upconverted for 1080p output,” he says. “Others had 4K sensors that could be licensed to just do 1080p, but then you’re paying more for something you’re not going to use, which isn’t a prudent use of university budget.”

The camera’s light sensitivity was another important feature because CTS frequently must make do with the lighting that’s available at a venue. Ease of setup and fiber connectivity also make the Z-HD5500 the right choice for CTS, he says.

“We used to have to block large amounts of time in anticipation of configuration and setup problems,” he says. “But now I can be confident we’ll have a base level of operation set up in a very short time.”

Having the new Hitachi Z-HD5500 cameras has given Suski the confidence to take on any job that comes in the door, he adds.

More information is available on the Hitachi website.

Photo credit: Paul Jewell

SOUTHWICK, MA–Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC, a manufacturer and supplier of DTV transmitters, encoding systems, and associated field services, has signed a partnership agreement with ENENSYS for ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 technology and products.

The agreement appoints COMARK as an authorized reseller and service provider of the ENENSYS hardware and software product line. COMARK will focus on the North American broadcast DTV market for ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 solutions.

Comark Digital Services (CDS) was originally formed back in 1997 during the transition from analog to DTV, delivering a multitude of solutions to DTV customers. Earlier this year CDS was relaunched to assist customers with navigating the FCC repack and migrating to ATSC 3.0. CDS currently operates a full laboratory for equipment testing, integration, and customer demonstrations.

CDS has delivered systems to key ATSC 3.0 trials in the U.S., all of which included ENENSYS products, including:

• ATSCheduler, an ATSC3.0 Broadcast Gateway that encapsulates MMT, ROUTE, ALP or any IP streams into an ATSC multiplex, inserts synchronization data from Single Frequency Network (SFN) Broadcasting, allocates data into the different Sub-Frame and Physical Layer Pipes (PLP) and generates STL output packets;

• IPGuardV2, which enables 1+1 Automatic IP switching with bypass mechanism. Designed for IP architectures, it allows to switch between main & backup IP sources based on a set of configurable criteria in order to provide reliable IP transport and error-free streams, and

• ATSCaster: As ATSC3.0 compression is based on DASH or MPU segment generation, ATSCaster is designed to create the ROUTE or MMT packaging and generation over IP multicast streams for live services, including the signaling of these services.

“This agreement formalizes a long-standing relationship between ENENSYS and COMARK. ENENSYS complements our current product portfolio with key technologies for both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 systems,” says Dick Fiore, President and CEO of Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark LLC. “The ENENSYS IPGuard, ATSCscheduler, and ATSCaster products provide our customers with a future-proof upgrade path for Next Gen Broadcast Television deployments.”

“As an already accepted industry leader in the emerging ATSC 3.0 deployments as well as ATSC 1.0 solutions, ENENSYS Technologies is proud to be partnered with CDS. Their reputation as a customer focused, technologically sound, and innovative company is exactly what we and the broadcast industry need for both today and into the future.” states Phil Whitebloom, Director of Sales – North America.

TOLEDO, OHIO—The University of Toledo Rockets compete across 15 NCAA Division I sports in the Mid-American Conference. Our live sports production class in the Department of Communication provides students with hands-on, credit-earning learning experiences while serving the video production needs of the university’s Athletics department.

We rely on Hitachi HDTV cameras to provide high-quality image acquisition for both stadium-based and mobile productions. Our most recent additions are four Z-HD6000 studio and field production cameras for our football stadium, the “Glass Bowl.” The stadium previously used very old standard-definition cameras from multiple manufacturers that required an unsustainable amount of maintenance. When it came time to replace them and upgrade to HD, our satisfaction with Hitachi Z-HD5000 cameras on our mobile production truck led us to again turn to Hitachi Kokusai.

VENUE COVERAGE

The Z-HD6000 cameras provide video for in-house productions that are shown on the stadium’s 40-foot wide video board and TVs throughout the venue. Three of the cameras are stationed on tripods, while the fourth is operated handheld on the sidelines. All four are connected via fiber to CU-HD500 base stations in the control room over cable runs of more than 1000 feet each, with MultiDyne SMPTE-HUT transceivers converting between SMPTE fiber and tactical fiber for transport over the stadium’s existing single-mode fiber infrastructure.

Between football seasons, the stadium’s handheld Z-HD6000 is also used as a fifth camera on our production truck, complementing four Hitachi Z-HD5000s permanently assigned to the vehicle. The truck’s cameras are used in varying fixed-position and handheld combinations depending on the particular sport or event being covered, including soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, swimming, and non-athletic activities such as concerts and commencements.

I like the Hitachi cameras because they’re reliable, produce great images, and they’re very competitively priced. In my experience, to buy a camera in the same class from another major manufacturer, you’re looking at a lot more money to get something that does the same thing.

I really like the way the Hitachi cameras look right out of the box; the color, saturation and contrast all look great. That superb quality really stands out when we produce ESPN3 streaming broadcasts in our basketball arena, where cameras from a different manufacturer are used for the video board. Iso feeds from our Hitachi cameras are seen side-by-side in the control room with shots from the other vendor’s cameras. It takes a lot of adjustments on the other cameras to get them to look nearly as good as the Hitachi units, and the other cameras still don’t quite get there.

TAKES A LICKIN’

The durability of the Hitachi cameras is similarly impressive. They are primarily used by students who have varying levels of competency and experience when they begin the program. The ZHD6000s and Z-HD5000s handle abuse very well, and have also withstood some pretty severe conditions. At one soccer match, we had 60 mph winds that actually blew a camera over. The tripod and shotgun microphone didn’t survive, but the camera kept working.

Beyond the technical attributes of the Hitachi cameras and the positive impact on our production quality, they also deliver valuable educational benefits, exposing students to broadcast-quality equipment at a price we can afford. As a department, we not only focus on helping students successfully complete the program, we also focus on getting them jobs. It’s experiential learning that gets students to that point, and the Hitachi cameras help us do that. Our students are able to say they’ve shot eight different types of sports in live productions, with equipment that’s comparable or better than what they will be using in their first jobs.

For me, another big advantage is customer service. There are a lot of good products out there, but Hitachi Kokusai has been awesome in terms of taking care of us and going above and beyond. We love the Hitachi cameras and have had great experience with them over the years, and we love the support we get from the company.

John Eidemiller is executive producer, ESPN3 & Athletic Video Productions in the Department of Communication at the University of Toledo. He can be reached atjohn.eidemiller@utoledo.edu.

For more information on Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, visitwww.hitachikokusai.usor call 855-891-5179.