JVC Professional Products Company

LAS VEGAS, NV (April 13, 2015)– JVC Professional Video, a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, has defined ENG for a decade with its ProHD line of cameras and accessories. Celebrating its 10th anniversary at the 2015 NAB Show, the ProHD line has dominated the broadcast news market for many years, a result of our commitment to outstanding image quality, durable cameras, professional features, and world-class support.

When ProHD was originally introduced in 2005 – back when tape was still the prominent recording media in the industry – JVC representatives spent a lot of time explaining that ProHD was not a new tape format. It was a product line grounded in a philosophy, a revolutionary approach to ENG and production workflows anchored in non-proprietary digital media, open architectures, long-GOP compression and low bit rates for manageable file sizes, and reasonable prices.

Broadcasters and other video professionals quickly got the message and embraced the ProHD philosophy. By the time JVC introduced tapeless ProHD cameras with native file workflows, which used SD media cards instead of expensive proprietary recording systems, JVC’s affordable HD attitude had already ended the days of $30,000 ENG cameras and $100,000 studio cameras.

Built-In HD Streaming Soars

In 2012, JVC delivered more innovation, launching the era of IP-based newsgathering with its 600 Series ProHDmobile news cameras . Today, broadcasters across the country use JVC’s built-in streaming capabilities – paired with 4G LTE modems or mobile hotspots instead of costly bonded cellular solutions – to deliver live ENG reports from the field:

• NBC affiliate KSEE and CBS affiliate KGPE, which serve the Fresno-Visalia, Calif., market, share 15 JVC GY-HM650 cameras to provide live ENG reports. “We’re ready to go live wherever the cameras are,” explained Chad McCollum, KSEE/KGPE news director. “This has really been a game changer.”

• Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX uses six JVC GY-HM890 shoulder-mount camcorders in conjunction with the JVC BR-800 ProHD Broadcaster server powered by Zixi. Although the station has four microwave trucks and two satellite trucks, photogs in the field have been trained to use the GY-HM890’s built-in HD streaming capabilities first for ENG reports, a move that has “dramatically” reduced operating costs, according to George Severson, news director.

• KBZK and KXLF, the CBS affiliates serving Montana’s Butte-Bozeman market, use four JVC GY-HM650 mobile news cameras for live ENG reports. Engineer Michael Regan said the JVC cameras have essentially replaced the station’s microwave truck for live shots, because they are more versatile and cost effective. Bryan Zehntner, technical director, estimated the stations now produce at least two or three live shots per week, compared to two or three live shots per month when the microwave truck was the primary source for live shots.

• WDBJ, the CBS affiliate in Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va., has 16 GY-HM890 cameras paired with 4G LTE modems that connect directly to the cameras via USB. Alan Novitsky, WDBJ7 director of engineering and IT, said one of the cameras delivered “flawless live shots that looked absolutely fantastic” when it was used for coverage of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. It also eliminated a roughly 2,300-mile round trip for the station’s satellite truck, which provided significant operational cost savings.

JVC’s ProHD line continues to evolve, with lightweight but durable (and ergonomically sound) shoulder-mount camcorders, compact handheld cameras, and mobile news cameras. Later this year, JVC will provide firmware updates for its streaming camcordersthat include adaptive bit rate technology for more reliable streaming, support for Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), which allows a direct connection to a number of content distribution networks (CDNs) for live streaming, and a high quality 12 Mbps mode. Plus, its BR-800 ProHDBroadcaster server powered by Zixi has been upgraded to provide multi-view status monitoring, so multiple live streams can be viewed on a single monitor screen with drag-and-drop output switching.

The company is also proud to introduce the JVC Private MESH Video Network at NAB. An ideal solution for wireless, multi-camera coverage of sports and other location shoots, the independent, isolated network is built around the use of mobile MESH nodes that can communicate while moving without any kind of fixed infrastructure. Each node in the JVC system is a Silvus Transceiver Radio that serves as both transmitter and receiver, creating a flexible, self-managing, and self-healing network that provides bandwidth up to 85 Mbps, which is significantly more than traditional cellular and even bonded cellular transmission systems.

4KCAM: The New Benchmark

Rather than resting on our laurels, JVC has launched 4KCAM , a complementary camera line that adheres to many of the same principles that have made ProHD the camera of choice for broadcasters, independent filmmakers, and more. The 4KCAM line provides affordable, high-quality HD and 4K video acquisition. Designed to empower visual creativity for all levels of prof