I was at a video conference the other day and the Sony rep said TV stations around the country were embracing the HDV format by purchasing HDV cameras.

Does anyone know which TV stations have purchased HDV equipment?

all of them. *smile*

serious.

Particularly I wanted to know which TV stations has purchased the Z-1 and related HDV equipment. I was at at small video conference about 3 weeks ago and a Sony rep said that TV stations were embracing the HDV format.
I just wanted to know which stations were they ????

all of them. *smile*

serious.

I would also like to know, Augusto, since most stations in the country aren't broadcasting in HD, so why bother with HDV cameras?

I think that Sony rep may be guilty of what is called "hyperbole," at least, and maybe BS at worst. That's not to say that he won't be correct at some time in the future. But today?

Wayne Orr

There are many stations who have embraced the HDV format and all I want to know which ones they are. I dont care if there are or not stations broadcasting in HD.

I would also like to know, Augusto, since most stations in the country aren't broadcasting in HD, so why bother with HDV cameras?

I think that Sony rep may be guilty of what is called "hyperbole," at least, and maybe BS at worst. That's not to say that he won't be correct at some time in the future. But today?

Wayne Orr

Contact Val Reynolds, one of the top Sony sales execs.

Wayne I found your comment very relevant.

The company I work for now sells content to HDNet who has approved HDV for insert shots though not for use full time on a show. (have to keeps using the HD-CAM's for that. But that's satallite, not over the air broadcast so I'm not sure if it's entirely relevant or not either.

Most stations do broadcast digitally now (or, at least, digital broadcasts are available throughout the country). Digital does not necessarily mean high-def... I don't know how many stations may be originating their own high-def broadcasts, I'm sure that's a very much smaller number than the number of stations that are relaying network high-def boradcasts.

What do you gain with that? {remainder edited by moderator}

There are about 1400 US TV stations that are now doing some digital programming http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/issues/digitaltv/DTVStations.asp

About 840 US stations are "HD capable"

Here is a list of active broadcasters http://www.hdtv.net/stations.htm

Here is another http://www.hdpictures.com/stations.htm

Take a deep breath, back away from the keyboard, follow the links Mr. Wiley has graciously provided you and then give us an update on what you've found.

so if stations now have HDV cameras are they brodcasting HDV signal? if so using what decks?

Thanks Peter.
There are about 1400 US TV stations that are now doing some digital programming http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/issues/digitaltv/DTVStations.asp

About 840 US stations are "HD capable"

Here is a list of active broadcasters http://www.hdtv.net/stations.htm

Here is another http://www.hdpictures.com/stations.htm

It bears repeating that digitial TV and HDTV are not the same thing. There is some confusion on this point. The FCC has required that all U.S. TV station use digital transmissions by 2006 (I think). SD TV can be broadcast digitally and the bulk of digital transmission at the moment is SD. HDTV is one digital format that comes in two flavors (720p and 1080i).

TV stations do not have to have HDTV camera equipment to broadcast digitally. Many cable systems do not yet support digitial TV (not to be confused with "digital cable").

Here is a typical FAQ (http://www.wzzm13.com/hdtv.asp) from a TV station dealing with these issues that might be helpful.

There is quite a lot to be sorted out re HDTV services as viable commerical (as opposed to merely technical) medium/format.

I would also like to know, Augusto, since most stations in the country aren't broadcasting in HD, so why bother with HDV cameras?
Well, over here in the UK the BBC have moved over to Z1's from PD-150's (or at least are in the process of doing so), and they don't broadcast a single frame of HD.

Don't forget, the Z1 is a damn nice DVCam camera too - true 16:9, wide latitude, PAL/NTSC switchable, B+W EVF - a big improvement over the PD-150 except in the lowest of light... I would guess their thinking is to future-proof their purchasing "in case" HDV takes off.

People here are super friendly and more often than not little sidebars that spring from questions contain very valuable information.
I know that locally to me WFAA has bought some Z1s, but I don't know what they're doing with them at this point.

You've probably noticed I've edited part of this thread. Let's keep things from going astray?

I can tell you that WFAA bought the cams, I'm the one who originally demo'd them there. Same with MTV, ABC/Washington, KUTV in SLC, and many other stations. You'll likely see WFAA's LaVida and/or Metro quickly being delivered in HD.
Why buy them when they're not broadcasting HD? Lotsa reasons, but one BIG one is that it gets a great SD picture at a low cost (shooting HDV, delivering SD) and can be archived for future broadcasts.
And, if the cameraman falls and trips with the camera, it's a 5K loss, not a 55K loss.

Douglas, with this are you implying that the Z1 in standard mode (downconverting HDV > DV) is as good as a $55,000 SD camera in terms of picture quality ?

Just curious about what you say because you are one of the experts in this forum.



Why buy them when they're not broadcasting HD? Lotsa reasons, but one BIG one is that it gets a great SD picture at a low cost (shooting HDV, delivering SD) and can be archived for future broadcasts.
And, if the cameraman falls and trips with the camera, it's a 5K loss, not a 55K loss.

I'm not implying anything. The point is, the image on the HDV cam when properly brought to SD "looks" as good as what most mid grade Betacams shoot for ENG, even if it doesn't process quite the same. The station's investment in the HDV camera is basically insignificant at that point, so it's a very attractive proposition for the station.
Since the camera is low cost, and very little to maintain on it, they save money in a lot of areas, and budget for ENG and news magazines isn't all that high in most of the regional shows. In the case of MTV, they can either buy 10 Z1's, or one/two Betacams with lenses, plus they need an in-house maintenance guy to keep the cam at top shelf functioning. (even though they rarely are) Plus, the cams are small, and more appropriate for the type of their "live show" production.
I suspect that if the format keeps going the way it's going, if a shoulder mount that looks good on a screen comes out, we'll see a huge shift in the lower size station camera use. XDCam will be the next shift, but not everyone can afford a truckload of 530's.