Hitachi Delivers Remote Cameras And Portable HD Camera To Pete's Big TVs
Woodbury, NY - Pete's Big TVs, a production company specializing in large-screen display and video production for live staged concerts and events, based in New Castle, Delaware, has taken delivery of two Hitachi DK-H32 HDTV remote observation compact cameras and one Hitachi SK-3020P handheld production HDTV camera.
The new two Hitachi DK-H32 HDTV cameras purchased last fall, along with two other DK-H32's purchased in fall of 2006, enable Pete's Big TVs to produce a live HD video show that displays on large-screen HDTV monitors for all concerts in the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 2008 tour. The Hitachi DK-H32 HDTV remote observation compact cameras are used in conjunction with other HD studio cameras positioned throughout the house whenever Springsteen performs.
The new Hitachi SK-3020P handheld production HDTV camera purchased by the company is currently being used to produce the video show displayed for concertgoers attending R&B star R. Kelly's 2008 U.S. tour.
Uncompromised Quality
For Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band, Pete's Big TVs provided HD video production services—using the Hitachi DK-H32 HDTV remote box cameras—for both the 2008 tour, as well as Springsteen's 2006/2007 "Seeger Sessions Tour" across Europe.
According to Peter Daniel, president of Pete's Big TVs, the Hitachi DK-H32's were purchased because Bruce Springsteen dislikes camera operators moving about the stage while he and his band are performing. Because the Hitachi DK-H32's are HDTV remote box cameras, they can be remotely controlled to move around the performers and capture much-needed stage shots without detracting from the performance.
"We chose the Hitachi DK-H32 because it is one of the few full raster 1920 x 1080 pixel HDTV box cameras on the market, and we felt that having true 1080/24p 2.2 million pixel HD image resolution provided by 2/3-inch CCDs is critical to our production standards," said Daniel. "When we were shopping for HDTV remote box cameras, we found that competing models were either native 720p only, or they upconverted the signals from 720p to 1080i, which we felt was an unacceptable image quality compromise."
Outstanding Service
In the fall of 2006, when his company was preparing the camera package for the "Seeger Sessions Tour," Daniel felt it was critical to have the Hitachi DK-H32 HDTV remote box cameras on stage covering the band. But Hitachi didn't plan to have the DK-H32 ready until its official rollout five months later at the April 2007 NAB show.
"At the time, I discussed the situation with Sean Moran, Hitachi's North American sales representative, and he generously offered to loan us their two prototypes of the Hitachi DK-H32. These were literally the only two HDTV remote box cameras available worldwide capable of multi-format outputs in 1080 line, 24p, 30p, 60i switchable," said Daniel. "I asked him how long we could use the loaners, and he said, ‘Until we ship your new cameras next spring.' So, because of Hitachi's outstanding customer service, we were able to take the two prototypes to Europe—which was the only way that we could have realized our demanding production goals for those Springsteen concerts."
The two Hitachi DK-H32 prototypes were used at every Springsteen concert that took place during 2006 in major cities across Europe. At the end of the tour, the prototypes were also used to video a three-night Springsteen concert that took place at The Point, a club in Dublin, Ireland. Big Pete's TVs' Director Chris Hilson simultaneously switched the live show for the house audience as well as supervised the recording of ISO camera feeds onto Sony HDCAM-SR HD videotape.
Hilson and Pete's Big TVs' Editor Tom Zimney later edited the HD footage, in close cooperation with Springsteen and his managers Jon Landau and Barbara Carr (of Jon Landau Management, Greenwich, CT), and George Travis, executive producer of the HD DVD, called " Live in Dublin: Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band," released by Sony Music on Blu-ray hi-def DVD.
Capturing Stage Shots
For this year's Springsteen tour, Daniel said that HD video signals from all four Hitachi DK-H32 HDTV remote observation compact cameras will be used in conjunction with four Sony HDC-1500 HDTV cameras and fed to an HD production uplink flypack, equipped with a Ross 3ME MDX Series production switcher, set up on-site at each arena.
"We're especially pleased with the camera remote control units for these Hitachi remote box cameras," said Daniel. "While many competing systems require that you access functions by navigating through menus, the Hitachi camera control units are designed with commonly used adjustments and function access buttons used in a production environment. This means that our operators can just grab and turn knobs to work the equipment which is much more practical in the middle of a live show."
The four Hitachi DK-H32's are mounted on Eagle PT-101 robotic pan and tilt heads, and equipped with Canon HD lenses including two HJ-22EX7.6B super telephoto HD lenses; one HJ-17EX7.7B HD telephoto zoom lens; and an HJ-11EX4.7B HD wide angle lens.
Each robotic camera rolls around the stage and swivels in response to the operator's command. For example, one camera glides in front of Clarence Clemons, Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Van Zandt as they perform in a line center stage for dramatic effect.
"These Hitachi remote observation cameras have performed wonderfully. They compare favorably with the more expensive Sony 1500's," said Daniel. "The shots these Hitachi box cameras get are just as beautiful, even in the challenging low-light conditions typical of theatrical lighting. Their HD picture quality and precision remote control operation have exceeded our expectations and satisfy even our most demanding customers."
SOURCE: Pete's Big TVs