As CEO and founder of Leading Edge Multimedia, David Anderson utilizes state of the art and cost-effective production equipment to record and live stream sporting events, concerts, business conferences, house of worship applications, and much more for his clients’ various needs. Anderson was looking for an extremely small, easily transportable camera with superior image quality and reliable streaming capabilities and he found the solution he was looking for in the CV346 Compact HD Camera from Marshall Electronics.
Anderson first learned of Marshall cameras through an industry friend about four years ago and has been using Marshall ever since. “Today’s current situation has highlighted the importance of being able to successfully live stream productions from various locations for a multitude of applications,” says Anderson. “Marshall fits the bill really well because they are so small and yet their image quality is on par with much larger, more expensive cameras. The Marshall cameras shade so well that it is very tough for the untrained eye to tell the difference between many of the extremely expensive, large format broadcast cameras versus a Marshall camera.”
Two recent projects where Anderson found Marshall to be ideal was for Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Graham, North Carolina and Common Thread Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. “On very short notice we were able to bring in our mobile streaming platform featuring the Marshall CV346 mini cameras and get set up and running in less than an hour,” adds Anderson. “This allows both facilities to produce a quality live-stream on a weekly basis during and after the current COVID-19 pandemic, giving them a means to continue services online despite the inability of having members attend in person.”
Marshall’s CV346 Compact HD Camera offers performance, flexibility, and value in a compact form factor. Built around a next generation 2.5-Megapixel, 1/2.8-inch sensor, the CV346 delivers ultra-crisp, clear progressive Full-HD video up to 1920x1080p at 60/59/50fps as well as 1280x720p and interlaced 1920x1080i at 60/59/50fps. The CV346 utilizes a full-sized BNC (3G/HDSDI) and HDMI output connection on the rear panel and locking I/O connection for power, control, and stereo audio input (embedded on all available outputs). The CV346’s CS lens mount offers a wide range of prime and varifocal lens options from ultra-wide to telephoto.
Another recent project where Anderson relied heavily on Marshall was for The World Women’s Wholeness Summit (3W Summit). “The World Women’s Wholeness Summit featured more than 70 social, cultural, and economic leaders focused on personal development and wholeness for women,” says Anderson. “We did a full-scale production with a talk show type of set that featured five of the six cameras being Marshall. It was streamed online via Vimeo and Facebook and was a great success. The CV346’s did everything we asked of them.”
The CV346 can capture detailed shots while maintaining an ultra-discreet compact point-of-view perspective without sacrificing versatility or convenience. Remote adjustment and picture settings’ commands are delivered via common RS485 (Visca) or OSD menu joystick on locking breakout cable. A wide range of picture adjustment settings are available and adjustable from a distance including paint (red/blue), white balance, exposure, gain control, pedestal (blacks), white clip, gamma, and more.
“Before Marshall we were using consumer cameras in places that we needed a small form factor and to be able to just get a picture,” adds Anderson. “But when we went into different lighting or lower lighting situations, the weakness of that consumer camera was just glaring. Marshall’s CV346 is a balance of image quality and cost. The majority of what I do is streaming-based and with Marshall cameras, we are consistently getting big results that exceed the capabilities of most streaming environments. Our goal at Leading Edge Multimedia is to create a production that will grab the viewers’ attention and thanks in part to Marshall, we are doing just that.”