Written by:
Peter Abecassis, Senior Product Marketing Manager

Written by:
Diana Beshay, Communications Manager

Top 3 reasons why mobile production companies use GV cameras for live productions

As demand increases for quality personalized content, mobile production companies producing major live events need to do more with less.

Using cameras that can be set up in minutes and that facilitate remote production – all while producing breathtaking footage – allows mobile production companies to produce more events without adding resources, thereby maximizing their return on investment.

Here are the top three reasons why mobile production companies use GV cameras for their productions:

Reason #1: Set up in minutes and adapt on-the-fly

When you get paid per event produced, the time spent traveling to an event, setting up before, and tearing down after, is basically lost revenue.

With the LDX 100 series, the crew can quickly and easily take the camera from venue to venue and plug it directly into the network.

Reducing travel and setup time means production companies can produce more events and get a greater return on the investment they’ve made in their equipment.

During setup, Creative Grading control allows shading profiles to be quickly copied to multiple cameras. Setup now takes minutes rather than hours.

Because production formats change from one event to the next, à la carte option licensing on a temporary or permanent basis allows LDX 100 series cameras to operate in whatever format is required: HD, UHD, HDR, and High-speed. Using the LDX Scanner app, the crew can use their phone’s NFC capability to verify and change options in the field or at the shop without ever powering up the camera. This means the same group of cameras can be used for every production.

Reason #2: Exceptional performance in centralized and remote production

Transitioning to IP-based infrastructure and moving to a more centralized or remote production model is key to maximizing equipment usage.

Centralized and remote production help mobile productions companies save on time and on travel and transport costs. This means that more events can be produced simultaneously with the same personnel.

Sending large teams and lots of equipment on site for events is costly. The constant setup and tear-down of equipment becomes a waste of time and money. Extra cradles and conversion equipment to connect cameras to an IP network mean extra shipping costs, extra configuration and more time on-site.

With the LDX 100 series, the mobile production crew can connect the camera directly into an IP network and streams SMPTE 2110 without extra equipment.

Support of AMWA-NMOS protocols means the camera is instantly discovered and connected to a network control system. When production formats change or there are restricted local infrastructure requirements, an exchange in the field to a different bandwidth SFP or QSFP connector takes just seconds. With the on-board JPEG XS encoders, the production company can still bring back camera feeds when the IP connection to the venue isn’t as strong.

Connecting the LDX 100 series to his WAN makes the outputs available to the whole team with audio, video, and control. They can then begin to work on the content from any network connection without any delay.

Reason #3: Best image capture technology

As technology advances, viewers are increasingly demanding when it comes to image quality. Sports fans in particular want to see crisp detail and superb depth of focus, even in the most challenging lighting conditions.

With LDX 100 series, the camera operator captures all the amazing details of fast action under the most demanding lighting conditions, and yes, even when delivering images in 4k UHD HDR. The imagers require less light and therefore work well in both natural light and night-time lighting with a wide range of highlights and shadows.
The LDX series cameras capture and retain fine image details effortlessly and seamlessly. The images are captured at actual resolution for UHD, so no pixel interpolation is needed.

By providing the highest depth of field, the LDX 100 series makes it simple for camera operators to keep images in sharp focus even when the action is in fast motion across a large area. The global shutter ensures there are no artifacts in fast action sequences, even when played back in slow motion.

Learn more about Grass Valley cameras for live events.