JVC Help St. Tammany Parish Reduce Costs, Improve Meeting Coverage For Public Access Channel

JVC Professional Video, a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, today announced Access St. Tammany, the government access channel serving Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish, has added three JVC KY‑PZ100 robotic PTZ network video production cameras and an RM‑LP100 remote camera controller to its council chambers. Installed last fall, the system has reduced personnel costs and improved meeting coverage.

“It was the right move for us,” says Ronnie Simpson, director of public information, St. Tammany Parish. 

“It was important to me that when we made a change it was either exactly the same or better than what we were shooting. I wasn’t willing to trade the convenience of PTZ for the quality of the shot.”

Before the three-camera PTZ system was installed, Access St. Tammany would bring up to three of its JVC GY-HM790 ProHD shoulder-mount cameras to cover monthly meetings for the St. Tammany Parish council, as well as separate planning and zoning meetings. At least one camera operator would be in the chambers throughout the meetings to adjust shots. Now, cameras are adjusted from the control room, so there are no camera operators in the chambers.

“We gain functionality and we don’t lose quality,” Simpson says.

“It’s also going to allow us to save money in the long run by having fewer folks working the meetings.”

One camera, positioned in the back of the chambers, remains wide to capture the entire dais, while another camera is mounted behind the dais to capture footage of public comments and staff tables. The third camera moves between council members to follow the meeting, which is not an easy task when there are 14 council members, as well as an attorney and clerk, on the dais.

Danny Zechenelly, station manager, says that they had no real learning curve with the new JVC cameras, as they shared the same menu structure as the shoulder-mount models. The RM-LP100 controls all three cameras and Zechenelly says they already have about 40 pre-programmed shots to make it faster and easier to frame shots during the council meetings.

“We love that the PTZs are so smooth and controllable,” Zechenelly says.

If there is a disaster, Simpson says one of the PTZ cameras can be relocated across town to the Emergency Operations Center so it can be used during press conferences for residents. The camera is controlled from the administration building via fiber.

Access St. Tammany’s additional JVC cameras are used for press conferences and original programming, including shows about the parish’s public hospitals, outdoor amenities, government agencies and arts and entertainment. Three cameras are assigned to the station’s studio in the administration building, while the other three are used in the field. The government access channel is available in HD on the web and locally on Charter Cable and is also available in SD to local AT&T subscribers.

Built for studio or field applications, the KY-PZ100 features a 1/2.8-inch CMOS sensor, 30x optical zoom lens and f/1.6-4.7 maximum low-light performance aperture. Available in black or white housings, the KY-PZ100 also offers HD streaming at a variety of bit rates, as well as on-board HD recording. The RM-LP100 provides IP control of up to 100 cameras, with a joystick and zoom rocker for smooth and precise camera movements, and can act as a virtual CCU for any JVC ProHD or 4KCAM camera with integrated IP technology. Its seven-inch touchscreen panel provides control of camera groups, presets, PTZ speed, and camera settings.