HD in Mecca and Medina

High definition Hitachi cameras were deployed at Mecca and Medina to broadcast prayers from the holy cities in HD. Vijaya Cherian brings you an exclusive report.

More than a whopping two million people gather annually at the Holy cities of Mecca and Medina in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj, which is thought to be one of the most important pilgrimages undertaken by Muslims all over the world.

Wanting to cover the prayers held at these two cities in the most befitting manner and in keeping with the desire to be fully HD-ready in the coming years, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) decided to upgrade the cameras at the two places to HD. Saudi Arabian systems integrator First Gulf Company (FGC) undertook the US $11million project.

A combination of 36 dedicated 720p/50 versions of Hitachi’s SK-3200 range, including studio, portable and robotic versions have been installed at the holy cities as part of this project.

26 HD cameras have been installed at Mecca while 10 SD cameras at Medina have been replaced thus far with new HD cams. The rest are slated to be replaced in the second phase of the project.

“The client’s requirement was to have cameras that could shoot in 720p/50,” says Walid AlMoukhtar, chairman and general manager, FGC. “The only camera that fit these specifications accurately came from Hitachi. None of the other competing brands had a product that was specific for this use and would have had to be modified. The Hitachi SK 32B was lower in weight and came with high-end studio specifications while also providing broadcast-quality imagery. It was the perfect fit.”

Paddy Roache, director and general manager of Hitachi Europe sheds light on the birth of the SK 32B camera.

“The Hitachi model which was chosen for the holy cities was the SK 32B. This camera was originally designed for a project for NHK in Japan, where there was a requirement for high-quality studio camera functionality but with the comfort of robotic control,” he says.

“Many newsrooms and TV stations today are reducing the manpower involved in production and looking for solutions that can enable one person to control and operate all the cameras in a production environment.

“The design requirements for the NHK project specified that no studio functionality and performance should be sacrificed. This camera was, therefore, developed from a full studio camera but with a completely new body shape that was stripped down, of course, with no viewfinder and no handles. It also has a lighter weight body construction. Our engineers dramatically reduced the power consumption for this camera. This proved very beneficial given the hot weather in Mecca. Everything you can do to reduce heat in the camera has operational benefits. It was just very good timing that our company had developed this camera when the tenders came through for Mecca and Medina. The SK 32 B was an instant winner for this project,” he adds.

One other big demand at Mecca, according to Roache, was the need for extremely long cable runs from the studios to the cameras and the ability to control them. “Our camera offered superb performance despite the long cable runs and that again made it a worthy investment for the MOCI,” he claims.

The HD cameras have mainly been placed in the same positions as the SD cameras they have replaced at Mecca and Medina. However, the mosque at Mecca has been extended with further extensions planned for the future. Cameras have also been installed at the extension.

“These cameras are basically in boxes. They weigh less than four kgs and are positioned on top of minarets on 31 Vinten Radamec robotic pan and tilt heads. These are very durable and high capacity heads, and can carry more weight than most such tripod systems,” explains Al Moukhtar.

A combination of wide angle and zoom lenses from Canon have been employed for this project.

Two engineers and six technicians from FGC were assigned to undertake the installation at each of the holy cities.

The control room at Mecca has been designed to accommodate 25 cameras or more in the future. Harris Solutions have been used through out the control room right from the Nexio server, its multi-viewing system, graphics, routers and glue equipment. Other essential kits include the Kahuna switcher from Snell and Wilcox as well as the Studer Vista 5 for audio.

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