LESS CAN BE MORE IN HD CAMERAS

Many stations shopping for HD studio cameras at NAB this year may opt for lower-priced alternatives—field and ENG cameras with just enough of the right stuff.

Not because they don't want or need the high-end studio models offered by such industry stalwarts as Sony, Ikegami and Grass Valley, but because they're watching their budgets as they upgrade their facilities to HD.

Buying a studio camera is a decision not to be taken lightly. Used mainly in the newsroom, these cameras capture news set and anchors—the pictures that project a station's image.

And studio cameras are in high demand these days as the drive to HD news continues to sweep the station universe.

With the number of stations broadcasting high-def news in some form now approaching 75, the pressure is on for most remaining stations to follow suit—and many have plans to do so.

“We’ll be fully HD news in all our facilities by the end of the year,” says Mike Doback, VP of engineering at Scripps Television Station Group. “And we’ll be extending that to HD field work in a lot of places too.”

High-end HD studio cameras can range in price anywhere from around $30,000 to upwards of six figures, depending on model, features, configuration and lenses.

And for big-market stations with budgets to match, purchasing high-quality, fully featured models like Sony's line of HDC-1500/1400 cameras, or Ikegami's HDK series or Thomson Grass Valley's LDK models makes a lot of sense.

But prices like that are just wishful thinking for some stations in smaller markets. So, they are considering taking lower-cost cameras designed primarily for field use and adapting them to the newsroom.

Panasonic and JVC have both entered this arena with their ENG and field camcorders.

“We’re making a lot of moves to grow our market share in studio cameras,” said Mike Bergeron, chief technologist at Panasonic Broadcast.

“People are taking advantage of advances in the performance and reduction in the price of HD camcorders. They want to outfit them for studio configurations. There’s a lot of demand for that, and it has impacted our camcorder business.”

Bergeron cites Panasonic's AG-HPX500 P2 HD camcorder—which lists for about $14,000 and is featured in the company's literature as ideal for use in “harsh environments”—as an example of a non-studio camera that can handle the studio chores.

JVC, well known for its prosumer and field cameras, has also seen a pronounced trend among broadcasters to adopt its cameras for studio use—and not just in small-market stations.

For example, WOIO, Raycom’s CBS affiliate in Cleveland, uses the JVC GY-250 camcorder as its primary on-air studio camera, says Dave Walton, assistant VP of marketing, JVC Professional Products. “It competes with cameras that cost five times more.”

The GY-250 lists for around $10,000. “Depending on commitment, we're looking at a price that can be under $8,000,” says Larry Librach, VP, digital video division, JVC Professional Products.

“What our customers are finding out, even in major markets, is that you can put these field camcorders into the studio alongside a camera that costs considerably more and then do quite well,” Librach says. “Even stations in major markets are going on the air with our cameras as their main cameras in the studio for the evening news.”

WXYZ, the Scripps ABC affiliate in Detroit, DMA 11, was one of the first stations to use the GY-250 for studio work, mixing it with other, higher-end cameras, including models from Grass Valley and Ikegami.

“We’re using JVC 250’s in some of our studios, along with a studio-buildup package and good lenses,” says Scripps' Doback. “[Their images] look better than those of some of our much more expensive cameras, and they're perfectly acceptable for studio use.”

“Of course, expensive studio cameras have features that our cameras don't, but the fundamental features of our cameras are sophisticated enough that in a higher-numbered DMA they become a good value proposition,” Librach says.

Other new camcorders that could wind up in newsrooms rather than in the field include Grass Valley’s Infinity, Sony's XDCAM EX, priced at under $8,000, and the GFCAM, a joint development of Ikegami and Toshiba, described so far only as “low cost.” Both will receive their official U.S. debuts at NAB.