Ikegami DNG Editcam II Government Video Story Shopping for 21 manned affiliates spread out worldwide, the Army Broadcasting Service was in search of a new ENG package that could streamline the acquisition, editing and playout process while still enhancing creativity. The solution arrived in one compact ENG camera package: the Ikegami Editcam2, a nonlinear disk camera/recorder that made direct editing with Avid Media Composer and newscutter easy, as well as allowing the service to eliminate the use of videotape in the ENG process. "We recently acquired 110 Ikegami Editcam 2 cameras as our primary ENG newsgathering device," says Mark Vagnerini, Broadcast Operations Manager for the Army Broadcasting Service "We wanted the ability to digitally acquire, edit, and play out to air in a single digital video resolution format. With its hard disk recording format, the Editcam 2 allows us to move files between platforms digitally, simplify our editing process and give the journalists more time to tell the story." Images come into the Editcam 2 via the same newly developed 10-bit digital processing ICs that are employed in Ikegami’s HL-series cameras. Instead of recording to tape, however, everything goes to the shirt pocket-sized FieldPak 2, which weighs in at a full 80% lighter than its predecessor. As a result, the already digitized footage can be instantly edited on Avid or PC, with a quick path to air. "There is a significant cost savings with the FieldPak 2," Vagnerini adds. "It will save us money over the life of camera as opposed to buying, storing, evaluating, disposing of and sustaining stocks of videotape.  Additionally, our Desktop FieldPak Adapter can instantly access three FieldPak 2s simultaneously for four percent of the cost of three tape based VTR’s. That hardware savings, combined with long term tape costs savings, made the Editcam 2 a very logical choice for ABS." With virtually no moving parts, the Ikegami Editcam 2 also offers improved reliability, durability and reduced long term maintenance costs " We have very strict life-cycle standards in the army," Vagnerini says. "Ikegami cameras have an industry reputation for reliability and durability, but the Editcam 2 provides a clear upward migration path. The cameras modular board construction and software based operating system will allow ABS to quickly upgrade the camera and take advantage of future digital formats to further improve quality and bandwidth utilazation. That translates into long term savings by extending the life cycle of the camera. Software upgrades can also be obtained via the Internet making upgrades quick and easy." " The Editcam 2 fielding to ABS outlets worldwide has been very successful. Our soldiers, sailors and airmen are very pleased with the cameras ease of use, performance characteristics and lightweight. It gives our folks enormous opportunity to improve their creative skills while improving both our product and bottom line. "