Somoy Television, a news–based 24-hour television channel broadcasting nationwide in the Bengali language, has chosen Ikegami HD cameras and monitors for use at its studio headquarters in Dhaka. The investment forms part of the network’s transition from 576i SD to 1080i HD production and transmission.

Somoy TV (literally ‘Time TV’) has operated successfully with Ikegami technology from the commencement of test transmissions ahead of its April 17th 2011 launch. An HL-65W SD camera became a core element of the studio’s production resources. Impressed by the quality and robustness of the equipment, plus the high standard of support provided by Ikegami and local distributor For-A India, the channel was fully confident in selecting Ikegami HD cameras and monitors.

The new purchase includes 10 Ikegami HDK-73 HD camera systems, 14 HLM1760WR HD monitors and two sets of HLM2460W HD monitors. Somoy TV’s new HD facilities are scheduled to go live from Q4 2022.

Ikegami’s HDK-73 is a dockable multi-role high-definition camera designed for standard-dynamic-range and high-dynamic-range broadcast production. It is available as complete system including CCU, connecting fibre, viewfinder and remote control. Image capture is to 2/3-inch 2.6 megapixel CMOS sensors, each capable of capturing full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution images with an extremely wide dynamic range of more than 600%, high sensitivity (F13 at 50 Hz) and high signal-to-noise ratio.

The HDK-73’s sensors natively support 1080i/59.94 and 1080i/50, as well as 720p/59.94 and 720p/50 scan formats. Major features include full digital signal processing, advanced digital detail correction with independent horizontal and vertical correction of red, green and blue signals, and optional anti-moiré filtering. Hybrid log gamma processing is operator-selectable for HDR picture origination, enabling high-contrast scenes to be televised with full picture detail across the entire brightness range from highlights to shaded areas. Full digital signal handling is performed by a processor operating at up to 38 bit depth.

The HDK-73’s dockable structure allows studio configuration with fibre base stations as well as self-contained operation with a camera adapter for wireless or onsite recording applications. A fibre adapter can be attached directly to the camera head without need for external cables. External devices such as wireless transmission or a solid state recorder can be attached for stand-alone operation, making the camera suitable for live sports, news gathering or field production.

The Ikegami HLM-1760WR is a 17-inch Full-HD video monitor with very narrow front-to-back dimensions, light weight and low power consumption. It incorporates an LED-backlit 1920 x 1080 pixel LCD 450 candela per square metre high-brightness display panel with 10 bit processing depth, 1500:1 contrast ratio, wide viewing angle, fast motion response, and high quality colour reproduction. The monitor is equipped with a range of tools for use in broadcast production. Multi-format SDI, 3G-SDI, HDMI, Ethernet and VBS inputs are provided as standard.

The HLM-2460W incorporates a full 1920 x 1080 pixel high brightness and high contrast LCD panel. This has a wide viewing angle, fast motion response, and high-quality colour reproduction, achieving real pixel allocation without resizing.