As part of the move to upgrade its news operations to HD, the Drewry Communications Group has decided to standardize its electronic newsgathering efforts (ENG) at all five of the group's stations with JVC ProHD cameras from JVC Professional Products Company, a division of JVC Americas Corp.
KFDA-TV, the Drewry CBS affiliate serving Amarillo, Texas in DMA 131 became was the first station in the group to launch its local newscast in HD on February 23rd. Seven GY-HM790U cameras from JVC are currently being used in the field at the station.
Next on the list for the launch of a HD newscast is KXXV, the Drewry-owned ABC affiliate serving Waco-Temple-Bryan, Texas in DMA 89.
Mike Lee, vice president and general manager of KXXV added in a statement that the group's choice of JVC ProHD camcorders, particularly the GY-HM790U, was a result of several factors, including picture quality and the fact that they use inexpensive SDHC media cards, providing them with a cost-effective solution that helped the station group get the most out of its news budget.
The current workflow at KXXV involves ingesting tape-based footage to its Adobe Premiere CS5 NLE systems for post, then dubbing completed packages to tape for playback. With the move to a file-based system (along with its HD upgrade), the station will save on maintenance costs for its aging VTRs and camcorders and it spends less time ingesting and transcoding files.
KXXV is expected to make its own transition to local HD news on April 25. It has purchased 10 GY-HM790Us and three GY-HM700Us with Canon lenses for its main facility in Waco and for KRHD, its digital low-power satellite station in Bryan/College Station, Texas.
Drewry's other stations that have not yet made the transition to local HD news are KSWO and KAUZ, serving the combined market of Lawton, Okla., and Wichita Falls, Texas (DMA 146), and KWES in Odessa-Midland, Texas (DMA 151).
Separately, JVC also announced that KSHB, the NBC affiliate for Kansas City, Mo. (DMA 31) owned by Scripps TV Station Group, has purchased 21 GY-HM790U ProHD camcorders.
Most of the new cameras are being used for ENG, but one is located in the newsroom for breaking news reports and another is mounted on a jib in the news studio. KSHB began using its new camcorders in January.
KSHB also plans to purchase 11 KA-AS790G ASI modules, which will be utilized with the station's long cable runs in Arrowhead Stadium for Kansas City Chiefs coverage and Kauffman Stadium for Kansas City Royals coverage.
