KUSI Upgrades ENG Cameras to JVC 2/3-Inch CONNECTED CAM GY-HC900

WAYNE, NJ (Sept. 19, 2019) – JVC Professional Video, a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, today announced KUSI, an independent television station owned by McKinnon Broadcasting that serves San Diego (DMA #29), has purchased 11 GY‑HC900 CONNECTED CAM 2/3-inch broadcast camcorders for ENG and EFP projects. Deployed in August, the new cameras are used to help produce 65 hours of news content per week.

The new cameras replaced 11 JVC GY-HM700 ProHD camcorders that had been in use since the station transitioned to HD production in April 2008. Fred Swift, KUSI chief engineer, said video quality was the main reason why the station upgraded to 2/3-inch camcorders in the field. “It’s substantially better,” he said.

In addition to its regular newscasts, KUSI produces a Friday night high school football wrap-up show, The Prep Pigskin Report, which offers highlights from about 36 games around the area. According to Swift, the GY-HC900 really shines during sports coverage. He also praised its low-light performance.

Another advantage with the new camcorders is the HD-SDI pool feed input, so photogs no longer need to bring an external device to the courthouse and other locations to record footage. “Being able to record a pool feed on your camera is pretty handy, and SD cards make it easy,” Swift added. “JVC really thought this through for news and included a lot of features. It is a professional camera.”

The new camcorders are paired with FUJINON 20x zoom lenses and protected by Porta Brace covers. While KUSI is currently using external video transmission systems in the field, Swift said the camcorder’s integrated streaming “looks enticing” for future use, possibly after 5G technology has been adopted in the region.

Both the GY-HC900 and GY-HC900ST studio model feature three 2/3-inch CMOS sensors to produce full HD images, plus an industry B4 lens mount and four-position optical filter. For ENG and other live applications, the GY-HC900 has built-in Wi-Fi, dual external antennas, streaming/FTP performance up to 20Mbps, and SMPTE 2022 forward error correction and Zixi error correction with ARQ for reliable transmission. Other features include dual SDXC card slots, three XLR inputs, 50 Mbps 4:2:2 10-bit recording, MPEG-2 recording up to 35 Mbps, and slow motion and HDR recording modes.

ABOUT JVC PROFESSIONAL VIDEO
Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC Professional Video is a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JVCKENWOOD Corporation. The company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of broadcast and professional video equipment, as well as D-ILA front projection systems. For more information, visit JVC’s website at http://pro.jvc.com or call (800) 582‑5825.

Mark J. Pescatore
Content Director, SCN

Mark J. Pescatore, Ph.D., is the content director of Systems Contractor News. He has been writing about Pro AV industry for more than 20 years. Previously, he spent more than eight years as the editor of Government Video magazine. During his career, he's produced and hosted two podcasts focused on the professional video marketplace, taught more than a dozen college communication courses, co-authored the book Working with HDV, and co-edited two editions of The Guide to Digital Television