Archive notice: This article was originally published on June 12, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Panasonic Professional Broadcast and IT Systems has signed an important strategic agreement with Italy’s Mediaset Group. The broadcaster will use Panasonic’s P2 format for all nationwide electronic news gathering in sports and for the transition to 16:9 production. Choosing P2 is an important step towards a system able to record and manage HD content, a requirement that will grow for the Milan television group in coming years. The agreement provides for an initial purchase of AG-HVX201E P2 handheld camcorders and P2 Gear AG-HPG20E portable recorders, enabling immediate P2 deployment in ENG sports production.
Mediaset selected Panasonic after extensive tests and analysis of available products. “After carefully comparing products from various suppliers, we concluded that Panasonic P2 technology is the best solution for our current and future requirements,” says Mauro Cassanmagnago, Deputy Managing Director and Director of Research and Projects at Videotime, the Mediaset company responsible for maintaining and developing production infrastructure including studios, post-production, graphics systems and mobile studios.
The first delivery will include AG-HVX201E handheld cameras able to record to DV tape and, using P2 cards, in SD and HD.
Antonio Vecchio, responsible for nationwide coordination of filming at Mediaset, says: “This was not a spontaneous decision. We tested P2 technology for two years, including its suitability for regularly broadcast programmes. Until now, we worked mainly with external production companies and freelancers. The move to Mediaset’s own P2 cameras has enthused us all!”
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Cassanmagnago adds: “Among Panasonic technology’s greatest strengths in this period of change are its suitability for 16:9 in both SD and HD and its choice of recording to tape or memory card. This flexibility precisely matches our present requirements while enabling a straightforward transition to a new file-based workflow using solid-state cards. This initial equipment is the first step in testing and implementing entirely new workflows.”
AG-HVX201E handheld cameras will be delivered to all regional Mediaset ENG sports production sites. Every regional studio will also receive a portable P2 Gear AG-HPG20E recorder for use in outside-broadcast vehicles and mobile production studios, allowing digital material to be recorded and played from P2 cards. The choice highlights the flexibility of the new AG-HPG20E, which can play and record formats from DVCPRO to AVC-Intra directly through an HD-SDI input.
Salvatore Palillo, Country Manager of Panasonic PBITS in Italy, says: “Mediaset’s decision is a major success for Panasonic. When a company such as Mediaset, which places great value on technological innovation and high-quality investment, selects P2, it is significant recognition of our sustainable product quality. It also shows that Panasonic’s strategic move towards solid-state technology more than five years ago was the right and future-oriented path.”
