Ikegami Press News

IKEGAMI EDITCAM II BRINGS TOP DIGITAL IMAGE ACQUISITION,
SPEED AND FLEXIBILITY TO PINNACLE SYSTEMS TEAM SPORTS

Three NFL Teams Raise Their Game with Ikegami Innovation,
Using Tapeless Environments for Faster Preparation

LOWELL, MA - October 29, 2003: NFL teams in three cities are now faster than ever with camera technology from Ikegami. Using the Ikegami Editcam II DNS-21W, which records directly to a hard drive, and is an integral part of Pinnacle Systems Team Sports tapeless environment, coaches can view completed footage much quicker than with analog video. Teams including the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs now have an additional tool to help them get up to speed when preparing for their next opponent.

“Ikegami was far ahead of its time with the original Editcam, but NFL personnel are now among the many people realizing that it's a better way to work," says John Barkley, Director of Marketing and Business Development for Pinnacle Systems Team Sports. “For going tapeless from start to finish, we know what our clients expect, and that's high-end products. Ikegami has always been a very high end camera, with professional-quality imagery."

Recording footage from games directly to the compact, pocket-sized FieldPak (FP-S4), the Ikegami Editcam II bring a whole new level of speed and efficiency to the image acquisition stage for the NFL teams-systems. Once the video is collected on the hard drives, coaches can copy the video onto their networks at 4X faster than real time. Combined with objective information logged via the camera for each play, the system allows team personnel to save several hours each week in getting valuable game preparation knowledge into coaches-hands.

“Ikegami was ideal because the video goes directly to a FieldPak disk, and they were very helpful in modifying the camera to support our logging remote," Barkley adds. "They (Ikegami and NLT) worked closely with us to create this wonderful tool, providing technology that can connect efficiently with laptops and desktop computers. Ikegami has been very responsive with service and support, and we're extremely pleased with their involvement."

Combining tapeless recording with Ikegami's high-performance digital processing, Editcam II is a pioneering system that has addressed the video production and broadcast industry's increased needs for intelligent options to traditional recording formats. With groundbreaking features such as RetroLoop and time lapse recording built into the lightest body yet, the Editcam II is bringing new levels of versatility and efficiency to DNG shooters. The camera section employs high performance 520,000 pixel CCD's and digital processing circuit to obtain superb picture quality and an excellent signal-to-noise ratio. It inherits Ikegami's high quality digital process color camera technology and combines this with a sturdy magnesium body and rock solid stability, while its new design reduces size and weight by 20% compared to the DNS-11 and DNS-101, and makes it almost the same size as the HL-V77 series DVCPro camcorders.

The pressure is always on to win in the NFL, and capturing game-day footage with the Ikegami EditCam II is how three teams are getting a competitive edge, with more on the way. "NFL teams are very high on the technology and processes that have made the tapeless environment possible," John Barkley concludes. “Ikegami has stayed true to that vision, and they’ve been a tremendous help in making these systems a reality."

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.