HITACHI SK-UHD4000 Cameras Enable Stellar 4K IMAG Quality for Vista Productions posted: 26/09/2018
Picture clarity, low visual noise and multi-format versatility enable superior in-venue experiences for concert and corporate event audiences
Event production companies are increasingly embracing the visual clarity of 4K Ultra HD video for creating stunning in-venue displays. When Vista Productions equipped their first mobile truck to support their evolving needs at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (AMP) and other locations, they purchased six SK-UHD4000 4K UHD cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai) to enable the outstanding image quality and versatility they needed.
Founded in 1982 and headquartered just south of Kansas City, Missouri, Vista Productions provides live event and video production services nationwide for clients including Fortune 500 companies, private firms, non-pro t institutions and entertainment venues. Now in their fifth year of providing image magnification (IMAG) for the AMP in Rogers, Arkansas, Vista found themselves outgrowing their allocated production space within the 9000-seat outdoor theater. The company purchased and began outfitting a 53-foot production truck - ARIA - that would operate from the back lot of the venue for concerts and travel to corporate events between concert series.
At the same time, Vista began researching 4K cameras to support their expanding resolution goals. 4K is very practical for us, as our primary focus is not broadcasting, said Mick Warnock, founder of Vista Productions. Our goal is to present the most beautiful live images from a meeting or event onto a large local display. We wanted to design a purpose-built system that would stay in the 4K domain all the way through to those displays, while retaining the ability to downscale for alternate needs.
Vista's transition to 4K was further motivated by the AMP's new 14.5 foot wide by 26 foot high LED screens. The resolution advantages of 4K acquisition are ideal for supporting the displays' vertical orientation, allowing video to be center-cut for the screens while preserving visual fidelity. Warnock found the SK-UHD4000s to fit the bill perfectly.
The HITACHI 4K cameras had all of the features we wanted, and were also affordable, explained Warnock. The AMP's new displays support high dynamic range (HDR), so with the SK-UHD4000s we can have a 12G-SDI, 10-bit, 4K, HDR signal path all the way through the production and output chain. Besides their inherent 4K capabilities and 12G-SDI output, we were also attracted to the cameras' ability to simultaneously output HD signals, allowing us to switch IMAG in 4K while recording HD for other applications.
While the SK-UHD4000s are available as needed for corporate events, Vista typically deploys a trio of cameras for concerts at the AMP. Two fixed-position cameras with long lenses are stationed in the audience roughly 200 feet from the stage, providing coverage of the entire performance while enabling a variety of wide and close-up shots. The third camera is deployed hand-held on or in front of the stage, depending on the preferences of the entertainers. For events such as symphony performances, a fourth camera shoots from behind the orchestra towards the audience, capturing the conductor. Tight integration with the Dashboard open control and monitoring platform from Ross Video lets Vista adjust the cameras remotely through an intuitive graphical interface from the truck or front-of-house while viewing the results on the AMP's incredible 3.9 mil LED portrait screens.
Since first deploying the SK-UHD4000s in June, Vista Productions has used them for both 4K and HD events. The image quality of the cameras is amazing, even in HD mode, said Warnock.
Bolstering this stellar quality is the cameras' exceptionally low visual noise, which is particularly significant for the dramatic and varying lighting often used during concerts. At a corporate event, I can control the lighting and what the camera is going to see, Warnock elaborated. In a concert environment, the tour staff sets up the lighting, and it's often designed more for audience effect than to be camera-friendly. I need to create a great picture even when it's dark on stage, which may mean increasing the gain. Unlike our old cameras, I can now turn the gain up significantly without visible noise.
Warnock also lauds the focus-assist capabilities of the cameras' nine-inch studio viewfinders as being very beneficial - noting that focus is even more critical in 4K productions - along with features such as the SK-UHD4000's intercom integration support and remote motorized filter wheel control. It's obvious that Hitachi Kokusai has thought everything through, and understands the issues production crews face, he said.
Of course, the most important measure of the cameras is the resulting video, and again, the SK-UHD4000s deliver on their promises. With the combination of the HITACHI cameras and the new LED screens at the AMP, people 300 feet away at the back of the audience can see tight shots as vividly as if they were looking at a TV set in their living room, Warnock praised. It's that clean and clear. The SK-UHD4000s help us meet our goal of providing absolutely stunning video quality.
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
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
28/08/2025
IBC stand 5.F81
Wowza to Reveal Next-Gen Video Streaming Innovations at IBC 2025
Amsterdam, August 28, 2025 Wowza, a leader in video streaming infrastructur...
HITACHI SK-UHD4000 Cameras Enable Stellar 4K IMAG Quality for Vista Productions posted: 26/09/2018 
