Trinity Broadcasting Network Taps Ikegami

Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) has chosen Ikegami HDK-79EXIII full-digital HDTV companion camera systems for its new Manhattan studio. “Our imagery is second to none, and it all starts with the Ikegami HDK-79EXIII,” says Russell Hall, TV director for TBN. “We’re excited to be in New York City, with an industry-standard camera creating pictures as good as or better than any other network on the air. The HD performance we get from these cameras has been unbelievable.”

Set inside a 200-seat 1800s-era theater in Manhattan’s Union Square, TBN NY (WTBY) makes the most of its classic but compact space. From this facility, TBN produces such shows as its flagship
Praise the Lord,
The Dino Show, and numerous specials. With only a 20- by 25-ft. stage and minimal room to maneuver, TBN needed to make the most of every inch of studio space.

“We needed cameras that were physically small but visually big,” Hall explains. “The Ikegami HDK-70EXIII gives us 1080i 16:9 images in a small-body camera. The clarity and detail that these Ikegami cameras provide is just stellar. Our scenic people built a set that is like a 3D model of NYC — the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, a helipad with lights, office buildings — but with the precision of these cameras, that set goes from being a background element to the foreground. The viewer can take in the whole picture as an experience.”

Ikegami’s top-of-the-line HDK-79EXIII is engineered for industry-leading picture quality, exceptional functionality, and highly reliable performance. It incorporates newly developed ⅔-inch, 2.3 million-pixel 1080i AIT CCD image sensors that achieve a horizontal resolution of 1,000 lines and S/N ratio of 60dB at f10. Using sophisticated full-digital process integrated circuits, precision-designed at 0.18um rule, the camera digitizes video signals with 14-bit A/D conversion and up to 38-bit internal digital processing circuits.

Designed as a companion camera system, the Ikegami HDK-79EXIII uses the same sensor block and identical video path as the HDK-790EXIII studio camera system, with matching pictures and the same operating functions. Both cameras can be used for multi-standard, simulcast broadcasting in HDTV or SDTV. Using the downconverter incorporated in the Ikegami CCU-790A camera-control unit, they can be also operated as high-end NTSC studio cameras. Both HDTV video and SDTV (NTSC) are provided simultaneously from the CCU-790A in both digital and analog form.

Both the Ikegami HDK-790EXIII and 79EXIII also feature advanced DTL (detail) correction for richer reproduction of details in skin tone and dark backgrounds, an important consideration in studio production applications. Accurate color reproduction is delivered by Ikegami’s Matrix circuits, with three tools available for production use: overall Color Saturation, a six-vector Color Corrector, and a unique two-channel Custom Color, where one or two keyed colors can be manipulated over a wide range in color phase, saturation, and luminance level.

Other features of the Ikegami HDK-79EXIII/HDK-790EXIII full-digital HDTV companion camera system include full automatic setup, extensive filing capability, online diagnostics, and a low center of gravity for ease and efficiency of use in the studio or the field. Both cameras are available with a wide array of new HDTV system accessories, including the 9-inch diagonal VFL-900HD 16:9 color LCD viewfinder with extra-wide viewing angle and very low lag characteristics. TBN’s Ikegami HDK-790EXIII studio cameras are paired with a variety of Canon HDTV studio lenses.