BYU’s New HD Facility Complete with 12 Fujifilm Lenses

Starting this December, Brigham Young University’s BYU Television and KBYU Eleven will switch to an HDTV broadcast format at its new 100,000 square-foot media production and distribution facility, using an array of new Fujifilm Optical Devices lenses on Sony HDC1400R cameras. Lenses purchased for the new HD studio include: one Fujinon XA88x8ESMDSS telephoto field lens, three XA72x9.3ESM DIGIDSS telephoto HD lenses, two HA27x6.5BESM studio lenses, two ZA12x4.5BERM wide angle ENG/EFP lenses, two ZA17x7.6BERM ENG-style HD lenses, and two HA26x6.7BESM HD studio lenses.

“We purchased the wide angle lenses to support jib camera shots for sports, concerts and other theatrical events,” says Brandon Smith, CTO, BYU Broadcasting. “This has improved the quality of production on those events dramatically. The versatility of the servo zoom system is particularly useful to us, since we produce a wide variety of shows from sports to performances to lectures.”

At BYU Broadcasting, some of the most frequent productions in 2011 will be football and basketball games. Smith plans to produce up to 140 sporting events next year from the HD truck and fixed facilities. The new BYU Broadcasting HD facility will be connected via fiber optic links to production locations on campus, such as the basketball arena and performance halls so that events can be produced from the HD studio. “We often do simultaneous productions on and off campus, which requires a remote unit in addition to the fixed facility,” says Smith. “We produce just about every genre of content – from lectures to sports out of our facilities.”

BYU Broadcasting’s 51-foot, expanding HD production truck was commissioned in early 2010 – with the full complement of gear including Fujifilm lenses – and features slo-mo/replay capability for sports.  BYU Broadcasting partnered with Diversified Systems for the design and systems integration in the truck. Beck Associates is the systems integrator for the BYU Broadcasting fixed facility.