NAB 2017: JVC to Unveil New Bonded Cellular System; Camera Upgrades; TriCaster Support
JVC will showcase its end-to-end live production workflow, as well as a number of product enhancements and technology demonstrations, at the 2017 NAB Show (Booth C4315) next week.
With the ProHD Mobile Bridge and the new ProHD Portable Bridge, JVC has created robust bonded cellular solutions for ENG and multi-camera live productions. The technology has been successfully deployed in several challenging frequency environments, from the PGA National Resort during the Honda Classic to the streets of Philadelphia during the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k race earlier this month.
At NAB, JVC will demonstrate the JVC Command Center, a command and control workstation, which can access all the active “Bridge” cameras in an organization and superimpose their locations over a street map with live image previews. The workstation will also allow the operator to access each Bridge camera on the network, take control, or manage settings.
JVC is also unveiling the ProHD Studio, a portable, four-channel live production and streaming system. Designed to support HD-SDI, HDMI, or IP cameras, the ProHD Studio offers integrated camera control and ISO recording for each camera, full PTZ control of JVC KY-PZ100 cameras, and HD program recording and simultaneous RTMP and MPEG-TS output. The ProHD Studio also supports external signals with keying for PowerPoint and other sources.
Other features include an integrated audio mixer, CG, four key layers, dual-monitor support with PIP and split-screen layouts, built-in encoder for live streaming, and direct streaming integration for JVC VIDEOCLOUD and Facebook Live. When combined with the optional SCOREPLUS real-time sports CG software, the ProHD Studio becomes a complete multi-camera sports production system with professional overlays, scores, and slow-motion replays.
“The ProHD Studio is the component that completes JVC’s complete end-to-end news and multi-camera live production workflow,” says Craig Yanagi, product marketing manager, JVCKENWOOD. “Our ProHD and 4KCAM cameras deliver the industry’s best acquisition options for ENG and multimedia journalists, while our ProHD Bridge products transmit the signals back to the studio. The ProHD Studio can handle the production and stream live programming, while our ProHD Broadcaster can deliver live, time-shifting, or on-demand playout. Our JVCVIDEOCLOUD delivers the final program to any number of viewers around the world using the robust Akamai network. ”
New upgrades to JVC’s GY-HM850 (pictured) and GY-HM890 cameras include integrated IFB channels.
New upgrades to JVC’s GY-HM850 and GY-HM890 cameras include integrated IFB channels. Introduced last year for the 600 Series of ProHD mobile news camcorders, the IFB upgrade allows field reporters and camera operators to communicate with the studio while streaming live HD reports. Other improvements include support for JVC VIDEOCLOUD, JVC’s new online video and live streaming platform, as well as additional live streaming formats. The free firmware upgrade for all GY-HM850 and GY-HM890 customers is available now.
The Version 4.0 firmware upgrade for the popular GY-LS300CH 4KCAM Super 35 handheld camcorder will bring significant improvements. The free upgrade, which will be available in late May, increases color resolution to 4:2:2 in 4K mode recording and expands Ultra HD (3840×2160) output to include 60/50p. The upgrade also provides 4:2:2 (8-bit) 4K recording at 24/25/30p onboard to SDXC media cards. Plus, the GY-LS300CH can output Ultra HD at 60/50p via its HDMI 2.0b port. It will operate seamlessly with the new Atomos Ninja Inferno and Shogun Inferno monitor recorders, triggering recording from the camera’s start/stop operation.
And NewTek TriCaster multi-camera video production systems will offer native support of JVC KY-PZ100 robotic PTZ network video production cameras. TriCaster offers control of a select group of PTZ cameras directly from its switcher user interface, which is useful for education, government, worship, corporate, traditional broadcast, and sports applications. JVC PTZ cameras will be added to the list of supported cameras as part of the next TriCaster software update and in the just announced TriCaster TC1. In addition to LAN and RS-232/422, TriCaster can control KY-PZ100 over Wi-Fi and 4G LTE with appropriate adapters.
“JVC has been part of the NewTek Developer Network since 2015, and TriCaster users can already use our ProHD and 4KCAM wireless cameras in multi-camera productions,” says Lon Mass, vice president of marketing, JVC Professional Video. “We are very pleased that TriCaster will now offer native support of our PTZ cameras, which will be a very valuable feature for productions that rely on limited personnel.
”We are excited to add control of JVC’s PTZ cameras directly from the interface of the NewTek TriCaster. Customers are going to love native support of JVC’s PTZ cameras in TriCaster,” adds Michael Kornet, executive vice president of Business Development for NewTek. “The combined JVC PTZ and NewTek TriCaster solution is a perfect fit for the flexibility, ease-of-use, and cost savings this represents in the market.”
Available in black and white housings, the KY-PZ100 features a 1/2.8-inch CMOS sensor and 30x optical zoom lens, and its f/1.6-4.7 maximum aperture delivers excellent low-light performance. When connected to a Wi-Fi adapter or LTE modem via USB or directly connected to a LAN, it streams up to 1080p/60 video at a variety of bit rates with two-channel audio and minimal latency. The KY-PZ100 also supports on-board HD recording at up to 50 Mbps to a MicroSDHC/SDXC media card, and recorded files can be uploaded to an external server.
With a free firmware update available in September, JVC is upgrading its RM-LP100 remote camera controller to act as a virtual CCU for any JVC ProHD or 4KCAM camera with integrated IP technology. The upgrade creates a CCU for several camera models that do not have a CCU option. With support for up to 100 cameras, the RM-LP100 will perform white balance and painting adjustments, plus provide color bars, tally control, and more. The RM-LP100 upgrade can save thousands of dollars for studios, particularly for installations where PTZ cameras and studio cameras are used together.
JVC is also expanding its on-board customized titling solutions, which are helpful for single-camera productions. In late 2015, the company introduced the GY-HM200SP 4KCAM camcorder with embedded score panel graphics for sports coverage, and last fall added the GY-HM200HW, which features integrated graphics and congregation-specific text for houses of worship. In response to customer recommendations, both cameras will be upgraded through a free firmware upgrade in July to allow full-screen graphic overlays.
Users can add graphics (.JPG and .PNG formats) via an SD card and store them in the camera for future use. As a result, live events can open and close with full-screen graphics, which creates a more polished production, and GY-HM200SP users can create graphic loops that present advertising during halftime or other extended breaks in the action. The firmware upgrade will also include hockey-specific scoring for the GY-HM200SP. JVC will also have a technology demonstration that combines its sports overlay technology with a KY-PZ100, potentially for use in gymnasiums and other permanent installations.
Technology Demonstrations
A new partnership with IBM is central to a unique technology demonstration of real-time multilingual captioning within a single camera. During NAB, JVC will show how the integration of JVC PTZ cameras and IBM’s “cognitive-over-IP” cloud computing can revolutionize real-time captioning.
Audio from the KY-PZ100 PTZ network video production camera is transmitted via IP to the IBM supercomputer in the cloud, which automatically provides speech-to-text conversion and sends the data back to the camera (translated in multiple languages, if requested). Users can create a text overlay in the camera for recorded footage or for live captioning during streaming of lectures, worship services, or government meetings.
NAB attendees will also have a technology demo of JVC’s virtual reality (VR) glasses and its 360-degree camera. The camera outputs live, distortion-free 360-degree panoramic video, and detects and tracks objects and motion.