
Hitachi Cameras Boost Quality, Reliability and Setup Ease for Collaborative Technology Services Unit at Iowa State University posted: 11/01/2019
Z-HD5500s provide superior results while helping audiovisual services group confidently take on increasingly high-profile video production projects
The Collaborative Technology Services (CTS) unit at Iowa State University provides on-location video production, recording, conferencing and streaming services for departments, colleges, research centers and administrative units across the institution's 1900-acre campus. When group's projects began to outgrow the capabilities of its original equipment, it purchased Z-HD5500 studio and field production cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai) to achieve the ease of setup, consistent performance and visual quality they needed.
Iowa State University is known worldwide for excellence in science and technology, discovery and innovation, and a culture dedicated to the success of roughly 36,000 graduate and undergraduate students. The fee-for-service CTS unit was formed six years ago with a mission of supporting its customers' audiovisual needs through technologies and environments that connect people.
Our group's original primary goal was to deliver classes online, so we started with some lower-end technology and made the best of what we had available, explained Roger Suski, Collaborative Technology Services manager at Iowa State University. That often meant cobbling together disparate products as best we could. We were able to deliver on our promises with that equipment for a while, but we realized we had been lucky. As the profile of the events we took on grew to include convocations, Presidential Addresses, special events and more, we couldn't risk having a key production fail because our equipment wasn't up to the task.
With the CTS team moving their equipment between venues for each project, ease and reliability of setup were key considerations, as were the cameras' technical specifications. I wanted a turnkey camera system from one manufacturer so our productions could be set up in a standardized way, said Suski. Having a native 1080p image sensor was also important to me. Some cameras had only 720p sensors that they up-converted for 1080p output. Others had 4K sensors that could be licensed to just do 1080p, but then you're paying more for something you're not going to use, which isn't a prudent use of university budget. The Z-HD5500 cameras from Hitachi Kokusai had the native 1080p support we were looking for and were priced correctly for our needs, so I had no reservations about including them in the bidding process.
The Z-HD5500's exceptional sensitivity also proved ideal for the lighting challenges often faced by the CTS team. In a lot of locations we go into, the lighting can be the last thing people think about, and our requirements can change dynamically, said Suski. For example, in one project we expected the presenter to stay at a well-lit podium, but he went out into the audience where we had just basic house lighting. The Hitachi cameras enabled us to follow the presenter with just a minor gain adjustment while still producing a good picture. Even when subjects go from lit to darkness and back, we know the cameras can handle it.
The new cameras' ease of setup and fiber connectivity have also enabled the reduced setup time and increased agility that Suski sought. We used to need to block large amounts of time in anticipation of configuration and setup problems, but now I can be confident we'll have a base level of operation set up in a very short time, he said. Being able to put power, intercom and tally all on one fiber cable and interface it all through the camera is very convenient and saves time, while letting me quickly react to setup changes. For example, if I need to send another signal back to the camera, I don't have to run another cable; I just plug it into the base station and it goes out over fiber.
Comparing the visual quality and image control capabilities of the Z-HD5500s to CTS' previous cameras, Suski again finds clear improvements. The units we had before were decent industrial cameras with basic adjustments, he said. With the new Hitachi cameras, wow, the image really pops.' The color rendition is a lot better, and I have a lot more control of how I can make the picture look. The difference in sharpness and color richness is plain as day.
Ultimately, the Z-HD5500s have enabled the CTS unit to meet their goal of elevating their services to the university. The Hitachi cameras have been great, and have enabled us to do any project that has come in our door, Suski concluded. I can say yes' to every request, because I know the technology is going to work without question.
About Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc.
Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a company that manufactures broadcasting systems, security and surveillance systems, wireless communications and information systems. Fiscal 2017 (ended March 31, 2018) sales totaled 171,791 million Yen.
Most recent headlines
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
21/12/2025
John Shortt named Young Sportsperson of the Year Kerry are the Team of the Year
...
20/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking ProRes RAW recording from the...
20/12/2025
CJP Broadcast has completed the digitisation of the European Gymnastics tape archive, converting 328 tapes containing more than forty years of recorded material...
20/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced the launch of the Stream Lab MCP Server, to give AI agents and large language model...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...