Channel 31, a nationwide television channel based in the Kazakhstan’s former capital city, Almaty, has chosen Ikegami cameras for integration into the production facilities at its headquarters in Almaty. Five HDK-73 camera chains have been purchased, each including a BSF-300L base station and OCP-500 control panel. Four VFL-P700A 7 inch HD LCD viewfinders also form part of the investment.

Launched in October 1992 as TRC 31 Channel and rebranded in April 1993, Channel 31 (https://www.31.kz/kz) is a family-oriented entertainment channel transmitting news, entertain-ment programs, TV series and sitcoms of its own production in Russian and Kazakh, as well as features from studios around the world. Its Informbureau is one of the three highest-rated news programs in Kazakhstan and has won many awards, including the annually presented Tumar National Television Award which is is aimed at promoting and developing high-quality television in Kazakhstan.

“Ikegami Tsushinki sells broadcasting equipment to the Kazakhstan market through its Tokyo-based distribution partner, E-Globaledge Corporation (https://www.e-globaledge.com). "This is an order from a new client rather than a renewal from an existing customer,” comments Shinya Adachi, Section Manager of Department 2 at E-Globaledge’s ES Division. “The chief engineer of the Channel 31 expressed high praise for the excellent quality of Ikegami products. In addition to our existing customer base of state broadcasters, we have successfully expanded into a new market with this independently-owned network. The project raises our expectations for further growth in the Kazakhstan market.”

Channel 31’s interest in HDK-73 cameras stemmed from the successful experience of broad-cast industry colleagues and positive reports in the broadcast-related news media. Tests con-ducted at the channel’s main studio confirmed the HDK-73’s high video quality and ease of op-eration. The Channel 31 team were particularly impressed by the camera’s inherent versatility, including a powerful signal processor offering advanced detail correction with independent hori-zontal and vertical correction of red, green and blue signals, plus anti-moire filtering.

The Ikegami HDK-73 is a dockable multi-role high-definition camera designed for SDR and HDR broadcast production. Image capture is to ? inch 2.6 megapixel CMOS sensors which deliver 1920 x 1080 resolution images with more than 600% dynamic range, high sensitivity (F13 at 50 Hz) and high signal-to-noise ratio. The sensors natively support 1080i/59.94 and 1080i/50. Hybrid log gamma processing is operator-selectable for HDR picture origination, enabling high-contrast scenes to be televised with full picture detail across the entire brightness range from highlights, mid-range to shaded areas.

The HDK-73's dockable structure allows studio configuration with fiber base stations as well as self-contained operation with a camera adapter for wireless or onsite recording applications. All critical creative functions can be accessed easily on the camera itself. Quick EZ Focus assist and chromatic aberration correction allow fast adjustment when shooting live. The Quick EZ Fo-cus Assist function provides enhancement to the viewfinder feed for critical focus adjustment. Area size, area color, edge color and display time are adjustable in the camera menu.

The BSF-300L base station transmits ultra-low latency video up to 10 km in single fiber mode or up to 350 metres via hybrid fiber/cable. HDTV (1080 i 50/60, 720 p50/60, 1080 psF25) and SDTV (625 i 50, 575 i 60) formats are supported simultaneously in both, digital and analogue domain.

The OCP-500 camera control unit has the slimmest panel surface of any Ikegami operation con-trol panel to date. Its 82 mm width allows up to five panels to fit into the same desktop footprint as four OCP-300 remote camera controllers. Vertical depth is 83 mm. A joystick on the front panel allows simultaneous rotary adjustment of camera pedestal settings and front-to-back con-trol of the iris. Among other control elements are 10 function-specific including camera power, viewfinder power, lens cap, color bars, calibration, auto white balance and auto black balance. Maximum controller-to-camera cable distance is 60 metres (serial control over CP cable) or 100 metres using Power-over-Ethernet cable.

Ikegami’s VFL-P700A viewfinder incorporates a 1920 x 1080 native 7 inch HD LCD panel and is designed for studio and outdoor operation. Features include vectorscope and waveform displays, an embedded-audio level meter, display markers, multiformat support, HD-SDI and HDMI con-nectivity and a wide viewing angle.