Thunder Valley Casino Resort Adds Hitachi Kokusai Pan/Tilt Box Camera Systems to Performance Venue

The Venue at Thunder Valley is now complete Hitachi Kokusai camera house, with perfect color matching between broadcast and PTZ cameras 

Southwick, MA, January 15, 2024 — Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai) continues to be the preferred camera supplier for Thunder Valley Casino Resort just outside Sacramento, California. The in-house audio-visual department has added four Hitachi Kokusai DK-H200 Pan/Tilt box camera packages for use alongside six existing Hitachi Kokusai KXWell pan/tilt and eight Hitachi broadcast camera systems inside The Venue at Thunder Valley, the property’s 4500-seat live entertainment theater. The purchase means that Thunder Valley Casino Resort now uses Hitachi Kokusai cameras for all video content acquisition needs for concerts and other live events.

Purchased through Hitachi dealer VMI, Thunder Valley technicians have installed all pan/tilt systems near the stage for close-up image capture. Two of the new DK-H200 systems are installed in the balcony at stage left and stage right for wide-angle shots. 

“The big advantage is that the DK-H200 cameras are very fluid in motion,” said Darren Scott, Audio Visual Manager, Thunder Valley Casino Resort. “The pan, tilt and zoom are smooth to the point where it gives your traditional camera operator more freedom to make these cameras more meaningful to the live production, versus being more reliant on robotics. They don’t even really look like PTZ cameras, and we move them around the stage without the PTZ elements taking away from the guest experience.”

That flexibility is applied for most of the live entertainment performances that take place in the venue. Darren says that most of the PTZ cameras are used on dollies and moved around the stage to capture different vantage points. Two are affixed with wide-angle lenses and are sometimes used in the pit based on artist preferences.

The biggest benefit has been the quality and consistency of image capture and presentation. “I have been here for about eight years, and we have always been a Hitachi Kokusai house for handheld and tripod cameras,” said Darren. “We have four 

Z-HD6500 broadcast cameras on tripods on the lower balcony and two hand-held Z-HD6500 with wireless transmitters. The challenge we always had was matching our old PTZ cameras to the Z-HD6500s. That’s not a problem anymore. I can now flip between our main cameras and our robos and you can’t tell the difference. The color, temperature, and everything else is a perfect match between the two.”

Darren and his production team project images acquired through his cameras to three Chauvet video walls with a 3.9 mm pitch, which says offers ideal presentation quality for concertgoers. He shares that they are an excellent companion to his Hitachi Kokusai cameras, which he says do an excellent job of capturing the mood of the performance.

“We have some performers come in and request very low lighting, which can be a challenge for many cameras,” said Darren. “These cameras perfectly pick up the darkest lighting conditions. “The iris compensation is excellent, there is no grain in the image, and there is no loss of definition on the LED screens. Likewise, when coming out of a dark scene to something very bright, the cameras compensate very well. Everything comes out crystal clear as you enjoy the playback.”

Dennis Dunrud, Government Sales Manager at VMI, said that Thunder Valley first started using their Hitachi Kokusai pan/tilt camera systems at an outdoor concert theater for image magnification on dual big screen monitors. He adds that Thunder Valley has had a long-standing relationship with both Hitatchi Kokusai and VMI, and that the DK-H200s simply sold themselves based on their performance during a recent demonstration. 

The Thunder Valley Resort team also loved the detail of Hitachi Kokusai cameras and how they performed in the challenging lighting environment of the outdoor theatre,” he said. “Thunder Valley Resort has now carried that performance over to their new, state-of-the-art indoor theater.”

About Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc. 

Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a company that manufactures broadcasting systems, security and surveillance systems, wireless communications, and information systems. For more information on Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc., please visit the company’s website at https://www.hitachi-kokusai.co.jp/global/en/index.html. 

Press Contact:
Brian Galante
Dimension PR
(570) 898-2224
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Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd.
(833) 227-1658
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