Riverside TV automates its coverage with JVC IP robotic cameras and Blackmagic mixers

The Californian broadcaster has acquired ten KY-PZ100 robotic IP cameras that operate directly with the Blackmagic Design ATEM production switcher.

Riverside TV, a Californian broadcaster that mainly covers official acts and events, has acquired ten units of KY-PZ100 PTZ robotic IP camera of JVC to expand and automate the coverage of said type of act. The KY-PZ100 allows integrated solutions to be configured and controlled remotely for streaming and delivery of HD content over IP.

JVC's robotic IP cameras represent a new generation of compact professional PTZ cameras for automated production that are changing the way traditional TV program production, sports production, training content, scientific content, corporate and institutional production, among others, are approached.

Its innovative features such as IP control, live streaming, production-quality video for TV, in-camera recording and the ability to transfer files via FTP make it extremely easy to capture, transmit, edit and view HD video in multiple production and broadcast environments.

Riverside TV also recently purchased cameras 4K GY-LSS300 Super 35 y GY-HM200SP for coverage of sporting events for other projects. With a structure of just four permanent professionals, Riverside TV bases its workflow to cover these types of events in small teams so that the production staff can even attend to the simultaneous or chained coverage of several events.

Riverside TV's regular programming is broadcast on cable, web and social media. Prior to this purchase of 10 KY-PZ100 robotic IP camera units, Riverside TV had begun field testing and fielding 3 units controlled by a RM-LP100 CCU dedicated to producing town hall meetings held outside the official premises.

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Scott Brosious, head of communications at RiversideTV, “PTZ cameras are also used to produce other programs in a multi-camera configuration, such as college sports matches or cooking shows recorded in a restaurant.” A team of 3 people controls the filming with 3 cameras, one of them directs, the second controls the audio and the third controls the RM-LP100 remote control to control the cameras mounted on tripods.

In September 2017, he also purchased 2 additional KY-PZ100 cameras, in this case for production in his own studios with the powerful and affordable RM-LP100 remote control panel. Brosious has explained "using a crane is not practical for us due to the small dimensions of the set, so we opted to use robotic IP cameras for shots from multiple positions and angles. Precisely, one of those 2 cameras is permanently recording a local cooking show. At first, the program was recorded in the chef's own kitchen, but it ended up moving due to production demands inside the fire station temporarily and currently this camera has remained permanently as a camera “zenithal in its new facilities.”

Another 5 cameras from the latest purchase have been permanently installed in different meeting rooms of the town hall. Brosious has stated that they chose JVC IP robotic cameras for their image quality, price and SDI outputs, as this allows them to work directly with their production switcher Blackmagic Design ATEM.

Aside from the concept of automated production that Riverside TV applies to the production of many of its programs, they also use other JVC cameras with different characteristics for other types of projects. In the field of sports production, Riverside TV uses 2 GY-HM200SP cameras with integrated graphics to cover events without the need for a heavy mobile unit. And as Brosious explains, the cameras are also used regularly to cover press conferences.

“The last one we covered for the city fire department for a conference on the flu virus this past January,” Brosious continues. A single person was able to produce live coverage of the event, also incorporating all text and graphics on screen. The live streaming stream generated for this case was sent with its graphics already inserted to the Switchboard Live streaming platform, which broadcast the press conference on YouTube and Facebook.

Riverside TV also features 2 JVC GY-LS300 Super 35 4K cameras mounted on Zacuto rigs for news production and other projects. When they are dedicated to covering interviews, one of them is installed on a slider for moving camera shots and the other as a handheld 4K camera. “The JVC cameras allow us to arrive and be ready to record in a few minutes, and the result instead looks like the production took a whole day,” Brosious continued.

Equipped with a 30x optical zoom, the KY-PZ100 is capable of capturing objects at long distances. Even if it is installed in a large auditorium, the camera will capture in detail the speaker's facial expressions or what they write on the board. And it also has a 12x digital zoom. It incorporates a beltless direct drive H/V motor and turning mechanism that responds quickly and accurately to movement commands with complete silence. It provides simultaneous 3G-SDI/HDMI/IP video output up to 1920x1080/60p and its streaming engine creates a stable and reliable stream thanks to powerful error correction compatible with the SMPTE 2022-1 protocol and the built-in Zixi system, which uses adaptive bit rate streaming and automatic packet repeat request. The KY-PZ100 is powered by the cable itself with PoE+ power and can also be controlled using the RM-LP100 local remote control, an advanced remote control panel that connects to the network and provides full control via IP of multiple KY-PZ100 cameras on the local or external network over the Internet.