Hitachi Kokusai Announces Firmware Upgrades for High-Performance 1080p and 1080i Compact Box Cameras

Hitachi Kokusai Announces Firmware Upgrades for High-Performance 1080p and 1080i Compact Box Cameras posted: 01/03/2019

DK-H200 adds High Dynamic Range support, while DK-Z50 gains quality advances

Hitachi Kokusai Electric America Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai) is heading to the upcoming 2019 NAB Show with powerful updates for two of the most popular models in its line of high-definition, compact box cameras for point-of-view (POV) and remote observation applications. New firmware for the DK-H200 1080p camera adds High Dynamic Range (HDR) support, while an update to the 1080i DK-Z50 further enhances its exceptional quality.

The DK-H200 delivers native, full frame-rate 1080p video acquisition in a space-efficient form factor, making high-performance, progressive capture affordable and accessible for more applications than ever before. The DK-H200s 2.6 million pixel, 2/3-inch MOS sensors deliver sharp, clear images and combine with advanced digital signal processing to provide superior picture quality with low noise, faithful color reproduction and remarkable sensitivity. Meanwhile, the multi-purpose DK-Z50 combines 2/3-inch CCDs with 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion to provide outstanding performance and quality for 1080i and standard-definition workflows at an economical price point. The small and lightweight nature of the two cameras also makes them ideal for robotic operation and discreet installations.

Hitachi Kokusai has been a vanguard in evangelizing the visual advantages of High Dynamic Range video and implementing HDR support in its broadcast camera line. The new DK-H200 update brings the benefits of HDR to the box camera format, enabling visibly superior HDTV productions with increased contrast, expanded mid-tones and greater detail in dark and bright picture regions - improving viewing experiences without the higher costs and workflow overhead of Ultra HD. The new firmware supports HDR specifications including HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) and HPQ, which is compatible with the HDR10 open standard for consumer TVs.

The DK-Z50 also gets a significant upgrade of its own. While the DK-Z50 is already known for its outstanding visual reproduction, the update improves its image quality even further, enabling closer picture matching with Hitachi Kokusai's popular Z-HD5000 broadcast studio and field production camera. The new firmware increases the DK-Z50's signal-to-noise ratio to greater than 60dB while also enhancing its detail functions and characteristics.

While our broadcast camera line often gets most of the attention for its use in glamorous entertainment and newsgathering environments, our compact box cameras continue to be extremely popular for POV and remote acquisition applications ranging from broadcast and sports production to government and house of worship uses, said John J. Humphrey, Vice President of Business Development, Hitachi Kokusai Electric America Ltd. We also have many customers using our broadcast and box cameras together to capture a combination of angles in multi-camera productions. The new updates to the DK-H200 and DK-Z50 deliver significant enhancements on their own, but are particularly noteworthy when used alongside their SK-HD1300 and Z-HD5000 broadcast counterparts by enabling producers to switch between signals from the two camera types while maintaining a similar look.

The new DK-H200 and DK-Z50 firmware updates are slated to be released in Q2.

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.

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