Hotcam: providing the HD factor

Broadcast

Three major shows took the leap into high-definition and tapeless production this year: EastEnders, Deal Or No Deal and The X Factor.
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/production-feature/hotcam-providing-the-hd-factor/5021530.article

The current series of Talkback Thames blockbuster The X Factor is the first to make the move and transmit in HD. The project is built around a major new equipment package supplied by broadcast rental and crewing company HotCam, which facilitates the kit and crewing for all the UK auditions, boot camps and judges’ worldwide location shoots, all of which were previously shot on DigiBeta.

With ITV’s requirement that the show transition to HD, and given that these auditions take place in some of the largest venues in the country, HotCam devised a flyaway package centred on 10 Sony XDCam camcorders with additional EX3 kits, Evertz multiviewers and fibre cabling, which permits the transport of signals over longer distances than traditional copper.

“At certain venues in London you can’t park a truck or leave one overnight so you need to roll in and roll out the equipment,” says HotCam managing director Trevor Hotz.

“We can have a 10 camera shoot rigged in three hours.”