The FCCN (Foundation for National Scientific Computing) - meanwhile integrated in the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) - to ensure a good level of service to the community it serves, renewed, during the first semester of 2013, the park of cameras high definition for JVC and LIBEC tripods / pedestals thus replacing some of the basic equipment existing in the TV studio. This renewal was clearly necessary because the existing camera solutions were still of a semi-professional range, and presented some obstacles such as the difficulty in ensuring good color adjustments and not guaranteeing perfect chroma cutouts. In addition, whenever work was carried out outdoors, there was a need to “dismember” a good part of the equipment, leaving the studio inoperable. The renewal decision was also made because the age of the existing equipment made its repair impracticable.
In the first phase, the market was consulted in order to find studio camera solutions from the professional line that have interchangeable and brighter lenses than the previous cameras. It was also a requirement that these have image control and CCU power, allowing to create a standard broadcast TV environment. It was equally important, in order to maintain this broadcast TV environment, that the cameras in question had the possibility of zoom / focus control and that this operation be carried out on the tripod handles, as usual. A market survey was also carried out in search of solutions for studio tripods and also for a pedestal for one of the cameras that would support an existing telepoint. Additionally, there was also the intention of being able to create some more dynamic camera movements, something that the pedestal allows.
What led to the choice of JVC GY-HM790 studio cameras with LIBECStudio LX10Studio tripods and RSP-750PD pedestal?
After the first phase of market consultation, an invitation to tender was launched, based on a specification that aimed to respect all the defined supply requirements. PANTALHA's proposal was chosen among several contestants for the award contest, both for the fulfillment of the characteristics of the equipment and for the amount defined in the specifications.
The selected equipment would result in an added value that distinguished this proposal from the others for several reasons. Among these, the following can be highlighted: the fact that the Canon lens, which is standard on JVC cameras, is very luminous; the affordable accessibility of the recording medium; the external LCD which presents very satisfactory dimensions - the largest existing in a professional camera - thus avoiding investing in the acquisition of an external monitor. In addition, the proposed tripods are composed of a very light structure and the pedestal has great resistance. The verified price / quality ratio turned out to be unbeatable.
The entire installation / integration of JVC cameras with the existing equipment has been greatly simplified, thus facilitating the creation of the intended TV broadcast environment.
In this way, FCCN stopped having only one equipment kit used simultaneously in the studio and in outdoor work, to start having two independent equipment kits: one with Broadcast quality and reliability, dedicated exclusively to production in the studio and another , very portable, for outdoor productions. Together with the audio system, lighting, Chroma Key, Mistura, Media Asset Management System, Stream H264 / Flash and videoconference, FCCN now provides, for free to the entire national academic and scientific community, an infrastructure for production video at the level of the best national studios.
Cláudio José Silva
Advanced Services and Video Technician FCCN
2013