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Hitachi Kokusai Electric America Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai) has taken a leadership stance on High Dynamic Range (HDR) by adding this innovative capability to its high-quality Ultra High Definition (UHD) 4K and HDTV broadcast cameras. As part of a special, limited-time promotion, any new Hitachi camera purchase made before September 30, 2016 will include the HDR feature at no additional charge.
Hitachi's HDR-upgraded cameras were unveiled last week at the Telemundo Cine Video Television Expo—an annual international video equipment trade show—that took place June 28-July 1 at the Mexico City World Trade Center. Attendees saw demonstrations of select HDR-upgraded Hitachi cameras from the Z-Series, SK-Series and DK-Series product lines at two Telemundo Cine Video Show booths run by Hitachi's Mexican distribution partners, Escape Audio Video and Comtelsat.
“We're excited to offer High Dynamic Range capability on our UHD and HDTV broadcast cameras, and we're confident that TV viewers will appreciate the increased contrast, richer color and dynamic lighting of the video it captures,” says Sean Moran, COO, Hitachi Kokusai. “With the way we've designed and implemented HDR in our cameras, broadcasters and other video professionals will be able to produce significantly superior HDR imagery without having to upgrade their existing infrastructure or transmission systems,” Moran adds. “HDR—which will be part of the emerging ATSC 3.0 standard—produces brighter, crisper, more luminous imagery, including UHD 4K video, resulting in a more immersive and engaging viewer experience.”
"HDR—which will be part of the emerging ATSC 3.0 standard—produces brighter, crisper, more luminous imagery, including UHD 4K video, resulting in a more immersive and engaging viewer experience."
Sean Moran
COO, Hitachi Kokusai.
At the high end of the product line, HDR has been added to the Hitachi Kokusai's SK-UHD4000 UHD studio/field camera. With its industry standard B4 2/3-inch bayonet mount and 2/3-inch sensors, operators can still make use of their existing HDTV lenses. The camera delivers the depth of field and high sensitivity needed for traditional TV studio and sports production with UHD quality.
HDR has also been added to the Hitachi Kokusai's Z-HD6000 HDTV studio/field production camera system, which captures 1920x1080 resolution video. This native 2K camera utilizes 2.6 megapixels and 2/3-inch MOS sensors and offers F12 standard sensitivity with >60 dB of video headroom and real-time lens aberration correction (RLAC).
At the Telemundo Cine Video Television Expo, Escape Audio Video showed several Hitachi Kokusai cameras, upgraded with the HDR feature, including the Z-HD5000 and SK-HD1000, as part of its product demos. The Z-HD5000 HDTV studio/field production camera has long-been a popular acquisition tool due to its high price performance. With 2/3-inch IT-CCDs, this lightweight unit offers high-resolution imagery and low noise.
“With its support for HDR, Hitachi Kokusai has once again solidified its position at the vanguard of broadcast camera technology,” says Fernando Riestra, marketing director for Escape Audio Video.
As a multi-standard, low-noise portable HD Studio and EFP camera, SK-HD1000 acquires outstanding images with its three (R,G,B) 2.3 megapixel UAIT (Ultra-Advanced) CCD sensors and now enhanced by HDR.
Also shown, the SK-HD1300, Hitachi Kokusai's new, top-of-the-line progressive scan HD studio and EFP camera, which captures outstanding 1080P images with its three 2/3-inch, 2.3 megapixel progressive scan MOS imagers, also upgraded with the HDR feature. According to Israel Gomez, Comtelsat general manager, “The Mexican broadcast market is one that demands uncompromised quality at affordable prices. With its current HDR promotion, Hitachi cameras will be especially hard to beat.”
