ITV News boosts news gathering operations with Sony camcorders and audio kits

Basingstoke, UK, 16^th December 2019: ITV News invested in 180 Sony PXW-Z280 4K professional handheld camcorders and 180 URX-P03D UWP-D wireless audio kits and Sony is pleased to announce that it has completed its full product roll out across UK regional news teams.

The new product line-up provides news gathering teams with greater operational flexibility and 4K production capability. The products were integrated into the ITV News production workflow and the TV broadcaster is now seeing the benefits.

Paul Stevenson, Director of Technology for ITV News explains how the new Sony products have been easy to use, required minimal set up time, and offer advanced features like auto focus and face detection, “We have trusted Sony with our electronic news gathering operations for years; the introduction of the original PXW-X200 into our workflows was transformative for us.

“After six years of using the Z200, we chose the Z280 to strengthen our operations further, building on the strengths of the Z200, offering new features like face detection and auto focus as well as improved performance. We look forward to trialling the camera’s XDCAM Air features too.”

Mark Smith, freelance cameraman and the lead tester and trainer on this project added, “Working with some experienced ITV reporters, we did comprehensive research to explore the options for the camera upgrade. There are some great products on the market, but some of them were too complicated for self-shooting journalists. Others were smaller and cost effective but lacked the important ability to control functions with ease.

“When the Z280 was launched, it ticked all the boxes. The easy manual control was key for us. Even details like having a customisable menu saves lots of valuable time during shoots.

“We were impressed with the network functions and MI shoe, both very useful in news production. The MI shoe has given reporters much more flexibility with two transmitters, four useable audio channels and less need for AA batteries. The field teams benefit a lot from being able to wirelessly capture audio from multiple journalists and interviewees at the same time.” added Mark Smith

The Sony PXW-Z280 camcorder includes the world’s first 3CMOS 1/2-type sensor delivering a deep depth of field with superb image quality, contributing to high resolution, high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. With fast precision auto focus, face detection AF and Electronic Variable ND, the enhanced operational efficiency made the Z280 a perfect fit for ITV News’ teams.

The PXW-Z280 is also the world’s first camcorder with Dual Link Cellular capability, which provides a superior uplink performance and reliability to deliver content faster, no matter where ITV News freelancers might be located across the UK.

ITV News journalists have been able to set up and record news stories almost instantaneously thanks to a user-friendly production solution that is ergonomically familiar and integrates with existing workflows without the need for extensive training.

“Modern broadcasters expect three things from the media production solutions they deploy. They need to seamlessly integrate with existing workflows. They need to be deployed with minimal setup time. And they need to be future proof to meet constantly changing production needs.

“At Sony, we work closely with our customers, partners and the wider industry to ensure our solutions meet these expectations from broadcasters like ITV News. The introduction of our advanced Z280 camcorders paired with the UWP-D audio will enable ITV News to continue producing high-quality news content in the years to come,” concludes James Leach, Product Manager, Sony Professional Solutions Europe.