WAYNE, N.J.: JVC announced that ABC affiliate WCFT/WJSU/WBMA in Birmingham, Ala. has purchased 20 GY-HM790 ProHD camcorders for studio and ENG work as part of an overall transition to local HD news production.
WCFT began using GY-HM790 camcorders in the field on Sept. 12 as well, replacing a fleet of aging Philips LDK 700 DVCPRO camcorders. Not only are the units lighter than the previous cameras, but Director of Engineering Ron Thomas said they balance well when paired with the station’s new Anton/Bauer DIONIC batteries.
While Thomas admitted station personnel faced a learning curve when they moved from a tape-based workflow, he said they quickly embraced the use of JVC’s native file recording on SDHC solid-state media cards.
WCFT is affiliated with Allbritton Communications Co., which is based in Arlington, Va., and recently standardized on JVC ProHD cameras for studio and ENG work at six of its stations. The new cameras are part of an overall transition to local HD news production for all stations in the group.
