Hitachi Multiformat Cameras Help New Maryland Public Television Studio Shine

Hitachi Kokusai has completed one of the first deliveries of its new SK-UHD7000-S2 broadcast cameras to Maryland Public Television through Digital Video Group, a longtime Hitachi Kokusai partner based in Ashland, Va. The cameras were an essential component of the public broadcaster’s recent turnkey production studio upgrade at its Owings Mills headquarters northwest of Baltimore.

Introduced at this April’s NAB Show, the SK-UHD7000-S2 leverages Hitachi Kokusai’s latest HD and 4K camera technology, with 12G 4K acquisition unlocked upon purchasing a 4K camera license upgrade. Maryland Public Television will use only the camera’s HD content acquisition capabilities until further notice, though its 4K performance and quality were among the customer’s key deciding factors.

“The combination of technologies acquired for the new studio, including a larger green screen and modernized lighting grids, provide the customer with a genuine path to 4K production,” said Ed Jose, account manager for Digital Video Group. “The combination of SK-UHD7000-S2’s performance and price point stood apart from other HD/4K cameras evaluated, while its superior HD characteristics help the customer capitalize on producing higher quality content within their new, much larger studio space.”

Jose adds that the new space will also accommodate a larger studio audience, which along with the new technology will energize live and pre-recorded productions captured in the studio for broadcast purposes. He also confirms that the SK-UHD7000-S2 camera’s seamless integration with Ross Dashboard for control and monitoring represents another important benefit for the customer.

According to Hitachi, “the whisper-quiet SK-UHD7000-S2 delivers spectacular depth of modulation, lifelike images, exceptional visual quality, and superior price/performance for live performance applications while providing signal to noise ratio surpassing -62dB on every output. Its streamlined one-piece camera body design has a low center of gravity for ease of use on the shoulder, and high efficiency cooling system for comfortable operation.”

The SK-UHD7000-S2 camera’s upgrade license will also integrate new 4K technologies that Hitachi Kokusai develops moving forward, “ensuring that customers like Maryland Public Television always receive the latest benefits and features upon upgrading.”

“Along with a lower initial price point for future 4K users, the SK-UHD7000-S2 will provide customers like Maryland Public Television with greater creative freedom with lighting, exposure, color control and more inside modern studio spaces,” said Kenneth Cyr, national sales manager, Hitachi Kokusai. “The SK-UHD7000-S2 offers the advanced controls and dual workflow capacity to take control of challenging shooting situations and venue conditions.”