McGraw-Hill Broadcasting to convert news operations to DVCPro P2

New York City-based McGraw-Hill Broadcasting Group will convert news operations groupwide to the DVCPRO P2 solid-state memory recording system.

The stations slated to upgrade to tapeless newsgathering include ABC affiliates WRTV in Indianapolis, KGTV in San Diego, KERO in Bakersfield, CA, and KMGH in Denver.

WRTV and KGTV have already made initial purchases of AJ-SPX800 DVCPRO P2 shoulder-mount camcorders, AG-HVX200 DVPCRO P2 HD handheld camcorders, AJ-HPM100 mobile recorders, AJ-PS060G Stores, internal/external P2 drives and P2 memory cards and accessories. In addition to news, Indianapolis station WRTV will deploy P2 equipment for production and promotion.

Through its affiliation with the Azteca America Network, McGraw-Hill will also equip KXSD, the Azteca station in San Diego, with AG-HVX200 camcorders.

According to Tim Boling, McGraw-Hill’s group director of engineering, WRTV and KGTV will initially shoot news in DVCPRO25, with the option to shoot series and long-form programming in DVCPRO50. WRTV will shoot production and promotion pieces in DVCPRO50. The stations will use the Grass Valley NewsEdit system and Apple’s Final Cut Pro for field editing.

The hand-held HVX200 camera is easier to shoot with in many situations, such as investigative reporting, locker rooms and overseas assignments, Boling said. Additionally, it “affords us the ability to shoot HD, and we anticipate that the camera will address our initial needs for high-definition newsgathering.”

For more information, visit: www.panasonic.com/p2.