News teams at the BBC and CNN are being equipped with new cameras as the broadcasters continue to move towards a tapeless workflow.

The BBC has ordered up to 250 Sony PMW-350 and PMW-500 camcorders, and CNN has ordered 177 JVC GY-HM100 camcorders.

Peter Coles, the BBC’s journalism technology controller, toldBroadcast the new cameras will replace the company’s existing fleet of 250 Sony DSR 450 and 500 DV cameras.

“The primary difference is that [the new cameras] use solid-state removable media instead of tape, so we can increase the speed and movement of material by file,” he said.

“The cameras will be able to use commodity storage; they take SD cards as well as professional cards, and that will help in the move to consumerisation and driving value – something BBC chief technology officer John Linwood has made a central part of our strategy.”

The BBC expects to receive the cameras from Creative Video Productions at the start of next year.

JVC said the GY-HM100s, which record HD video in MPEG-2 format, are compatible with the XDCAM file-based workflow used throughout CNN’s global operations.

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