Ikegami Press News

IKEGAMI HL-60W FULL DIGITAL CAMERA SETS A NEW STANDARD IN ENG/EFP SDTV PERFORMANCE

MAYWOOD, NJ - December 9, 2002: Ikegami has established a higher standard of ENG/EFP SDTV performance with the introduction of the new HL-60W full digital camera. Combining newly developed digital signal processing features with a compact size and low power consumption, the switchable 16:9/4:3 HL-60W brings outstanding image quality and value to a wide range of production applications.

"The Ikegami HL-60W is our most advanced ENG/EFP camera for SDTV yet," says Alan Keil, Vice President/Director of Engineering for Ikegami. "With innovations like a highly efficient new DSP ASIC and a flexible component triax configuration, the HL-60W builds on the legacy of its predecessor, the Ikegami HL-59, which has been the benchmark for this category."

The new HL-60W extends Ikegami’s long history of digital television advances with the debut of the 3-chip AIT 520,000 pixel CCD, and using Ikegami’s latest DSP ASIC with 0.18 micron design, in an SD camera. Featuring 38-bit internal processing, 65 dB signal-to-noise ratio and 750 TVL resolution, high sensitivity of f11, and low vertical smear of -135dB, the HL-60W realizes high performance and specifications. Since all imaging is now performed by a single ASIC, the HL-60W digital processing system is extremely compact and efficient, resulting in a camera head weight of just 5.1 lbs. and a low 10W power consumption.

Ideal for a wide variety of studio and ENG/EFP applications, the Ikegami HL-60W is available with either three-channel component triax or cost effective two-channel triax configurations. The component triax system works in tandem with the BS-593 digital processing base station.

Other highlights of the new Ikegami HL-60W include:

A wide sensitivity range and ten gain settings that greatly extend the operating range. The Hyper Gain of +48dB allows a minimum illumination of 0.12 lx. The sensitivity can also be increased up to 120 times by CCD charge accumulation over longer than standard 1/60 second, for special operation in the dark. (option)
Universal color control, which gives the operator subjective control of hue and saturation of the six color vectors, without disturbing the linear matrix set up. A unique addition to the system is auto detection (AHD) for two specific colors chosen by the operator. After selecting, the hue, saturation, and luminance level of the custom colors is under operator control.
A variety of DTL functions, including New Slim DTL for thinner horizontal and vertical detail edge, New Skin DTL, Soft DTL for more natural picture, Diagonal DTL for cross color suppression and more. Variable 8-step boost frequency for horizontal edge, and H/V balance control are incorporated.
New Skin and Color DTL. While the conventional Skin DTL function reduces DTL added to skin tone, the New Skin DTL feature also reduces the high frequency element of skin tone to further soften the complexion of the talent. A second system permits a decrease or increase of DTL in the color of the user's choice. For example, besides the correction of skin tone, the background color behind the face can be changed in sharpness.
Super Knee System. The color reproduction in high luminance areas is improved since the high luminance signal is digitally processed with a super KNEE System after it is reconverted to a linear signal. This system retains the color in the highlight area where it is washed out in conventional cameras.
Black Stretch and Black Press Control. The Black Stretch function meets the needs of the professional who wants to avoid excessive dark areas in high contrast scenes. This function enables improvement in the brightness in dark or shadow areas of the subject by raising the image level by 3%, 5% or 7% only for low-brightness portions. The Black Press suppresses gain in blacks by -7%, -5% or -3%. It can add contrast to a washed out picture.
P. FUNC (Personal Function) Switch. The P .FUNC switch is provided for the most frequently used functions for operator convenience, such as IRIS Correction, Black Press and Black Stretch. The HL-60W includes two user assigned P. FUNC switches.
Memory Card Function (SmartMedia) Camera operating conditions can be stored into a memory card. Camera setup is greatly simplified by loading the data stored in the memory card. Low cost readily available SmartMedia is used as the memory card.

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.

Smart-Media is a trademark of Toshiba Corporation