Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has spent nearly two decades helping clients across the globe achieve their production goals. The company manages various projects, from large-scale, multi-camera productions to engineering technical facilities and launching OTT networks from the ground up. Looking to add additional equipment to its inventory, BMG turned to JVC PTZ cameras for their versatility in providing the video quality necessary for live broadcast.
BMG founder and CEO Todd Mason and his team purchased a variety of JVC’s KY-PZ510BU Ultra-Wide-Angle, KY-PZ200BU Streaming and KY-PZ100BU PTZ Cameras, as well as the RM-LP100U and RM-LP5G Remote Camera Controllers. Since then, the video production company has installed several of these solutions for various clients’ facilities. The company’s production teams have also deployed them to produce live sporting events for several clients.
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For sports, the company often places JVC PTZs in the announcer booths as commentator cameras throughout the games, which are broadcasted live to major networks like ESPN and CBS. To do so, BMG depends on a remote production workflow or a traditional truck-on-site model with trucks deployed from BMG’s East Coast and West Coast hubs. With this, one favorite feature of the PTZs is the ability for the cameras to be operated remotely. “While we usually need to have six to 10 manned cameras covering the actual game itself, for the commentators we can use two or three PTZs with a remote operator, which is extremely helpful,” said Mason.
He also praises the cameras’ advanced streaming capabilities. “With all our other cameras, the feeds are coming through encoders back to BMG’s Cloud Control Center, and those encoders are very expensive,” said Mason. “Our shows keep getting bigger and bigger, which means increasingly more encoders and decoders are needed. Having SRT directly out of the PTZ camera is just another big way to cut costs. It essentially frees up channels and saves us from tying up primary encoders.”
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BMG also runs several client-owned studio facilities for corporations, including the Schwab Network, where JVC PTZs serve as an option for different news and entertainment productions. “We do not have to have manned cameras on client projects because we don’t have people walking around on set; they’re sitting at an anchor desk, not moving,” explains Mason. “We have talking heads and guests in the studio as well as remote guests, so we found these projects to be the perfect applications for the PTZs.”
For Schwab, BMG has deployed a JVC camera on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, which is used for bump shots coming in and out of shows on the floor of the NYSE. For that camera, BMG calls on the SRT functionality for remote camera control and to feed video to the show’s control room in Chicago.
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As for controllers, BMG has traditionally relied on two larger, traditional JVC RM-LP100Us and has recently expanded to using the new JVC RM-LP5G Compact Joystick Controller as well. “We first saw that controller at NAB and thought it was smart. We realized how cost-effective it was for us and now have it,” Mason added.
Mason feels that the versatility of JVC’s solutions sets them apart from the rest. “With such a wide variety of models, clients have many options and that’s essential."
