Ikegami Press News

THREE NEW SPORTS ARENAS AND THE HD GROUP GO LIVE
WITH IKEGAMI HC-400W and HL-45AW CAMERAS.

Scoreboards and Control Rooms Light Up With Imagery from Ikegami
HL-45AW and HC-400W Cameras, Plus Multiple Monitors

BUFFALO, NY - June 2, 2003: Fans coming to three of the newest sports arenas in the country will experience better in-house video than ever before with the outstanding imagery of Ikegami cameras. Video integrator The HD Group recently specified several Ikegami HL-45AW and HC-400W cameras and Ikegami monitors to provide dynamic in-house and local broadcast coverage at Comcast Center in College Park, MD, Gwinnet Civic Center in Atlanta, GA, and Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY.

"Video and video displays have become a powerful tool for arenas looking to add entertainment value and make an impact on people in the stands," says Bob Ferrulo, President of The HD Group. "Ikegami's combination of extremely high quality video, durability, feature sets and customer service make it the best camera for sports applications."

The Ikegami cameras serve as a high-performance video source for the giant scoreboards at the facilities, as well as in the in-house TV systems for their suites, concourse areas and concession stands. In each case, the imagery is routed to comprehensive in-house control rooms designed by Charles Thomas, VP of Engineering for The HD Group, delivering crisp video to fans in attendance at the arenas, which serve as the home for college and professional football, basketball, hockey, indoor lacrosse and other events. In many cases, the Ikegami packages also provide broadcast TV coverage of the teams to the local cable TV market.

The versatile design of the Ikegami HL-45AW cameras helped make them the top choice for the HD Group. "The Ikegami cameras have the most flexibility of configuration, as well as for patching into the triax transmission system from location back to the control room," Ferrulo says. "We can configure them as studio cameras, then easily break them down into ENG configuration and shoot promotional videos when the games are not going on."

Rugged construction and total ease of use were another reason why The HD Group selected the Ikegami HL-45AW and HC-400W cameras for the demanding sports applications. "These cameras have to be high quality, rugged and durable enough to take the beating of being set up and torn down for 80 or more events a year,"says Ferrulo. "Also, typically in these environments the crews are freelancers from local areas. With the prevalence of Ikegami products in the broadcast market, most freelancers are already familiar with their functions and have a higher comfort level with them."

Each arena control room also has a wide array of Ikegami color and B&W monitors, ensuring industry-leading views for the in-house producers. "Terrific image quality is why we selected Ikegami monitors," Ferrulo says. "Their monitors are the best on the market."

Ikegami's tradition of outstanding support meant that The HD Group could recommend the cameras to their clients with total confidence. "Ikegami's customer service is excellent from a sales and support standpoint, and from a technical standpoint it has been fabulous," says Ferrulo. "They are as close to us after the sale as they are before to make sure that customer satisfaction is there."

The Ikegami HL-45A/45AW is a cutting-edge, high-performance digital camera with new-generation ASICs that support reductions in camera size, weight and power consumption. High performance is achieved through three IT CCDs that provide an astounding 900 (HL-45A), 750(HL-45AW) TV lines, or more, resolution, a modulation depth of 75% (5MHz), a dynamic range of 600%, a sensitivity of f10 (HL-45A), f11 (HL-45AW) at 2000 lux and a S/N of 64dB (NTSC) and a switchable 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio(HL-45AW). For cost-savings, the HL-45A/45AW connects with existing TA/BS-OCP-40, and newly developed TA/BS/OCP-45 for wideband triax operation.

In the Ikegami HC-400/HC-400W, a new digital design produces high quality video with new digital processing ASICS, used in broadcast cameras. The use of a six-axis linear matrix system enables fine tuning of color, providing a natural look and stability not possible by analog cameras of the past. The HC-400 features a fixed 4:3 aspect ratio, using newly developed high-sensitivity 2/3 " IT CCDS, each with approx. 410,000 pixels.

The HC-400W features switchable 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio with a 520,000 pixel 2/3" IT CCD. The high quality CCD was selected under the harshest guidelines for image quality. The HC-400/HC-400W also features a dynamic range of 600%, with a minimum illumination of 0.5 lx and a sensitivity of f11.

At The HD Group's latest facilities in Comcast Center, Gwinnet Civic Center, and Blue Cross Arena, Ikegami is helping to advance the capabilities of sports arenas. "High quality video on the scoreboard and throughout the facility adds a whole different dimension and value to the experience," Bob Ferrulo concludes. "With the focus on vivid imagery and deep technical capabilities, Ikegami is the ideal fit."

Ikegami Electronics is one of the world's leading manufacturers of high quality professional broadcast equipment. Ikegami offers a broad range of TV cameras for ENG, EFP, Studio, HDTV, CCTV and Medical Imaging. Ikegami products have received various Emmy Awards for Engineering Excellence. The company's universal High Definition TV Cameras have been widely accepted by the broadcast industry as it continues the change over to the High Definition Television Format.