San Diego’s KUSI Goes HD with JVC Camcorders

KUSI, an independent station serving San Diego (DMA #28) has purchased 11 JVC GY-HM700 ProHD camcorders for HD ENG work. After more than two years of planning, the McKinnon Broadcasting Company station launched its local news in HD on April 1.

KUSI is an independent station with a truly local focus. The station broadcasts six and a half hours of live news on weekdays and weekends, plus live newsbreaks every hour between newscasts. According to Richard Large, KUSI chief engineer, some of the station’s local news competitors have HD studios, but still shoot SD in the field.

“We wanted a full HD newscast, so we needed to find a cost-effective ENG camera that would deliver excellent images and a file-based workflow,” Large says. “JVC was able to provide the cameras we needed and keep us on budget. Our GY-HM700 ENG camcorders deliver an excellent balance of image quality, reliability, workflow, and value.”

Tapeless acquisition was a requirement for KUSI’s transition to HD. Large said the GY-HM700’s use of non-proprietary SDHC cards was ideal for the station’s workflow plans. The ProHD camcorders can also record native .MOV files, so personnel do not have to waste time transcoding footage to edit packages using the station’s Apple Final Cut Pro workstations.

“Our shooters really like the new JVC camcorders,” Large says. “Even though they are considerably lighter than the camcorders they replaced, the shoulder-mount GY-HM700s still look and feel like traditional ENG cameras. We are shooting 720p in the field, and the image quality from these JVC camcorders is very good.”

JVC ProHD cameras are also a part of the new KUSI studio setup, which features five JVC GY-HD250 cameras. “Since our HD makeover, we have received a lot of comments from viewers on how good our newscast looks,” says Large. “We’ve even received some compliments from other broadcasters in the area.”