DUNSTABLE REAPING REWARDS THANKS TO JVC TECHNOLOGY
GY-HM200ESB camera boosts Blues’ profile
JVC are boosting the coffers of Evo-Stik Southern side Dunstable Town thanks to their cutting edge GYHM200ESB camera – and Blues chairman Alex Alexandrou says the top-ofthe-range equipment is helping the club make strides on and off the pitch.
The Blues have had a hard time of late; after their glorious unbeaten 201213 season, the financial pressures of life in Step 3 have taken their toll, with fans having to step in and keep the club afloat.
With little investment, plus a squad now playing for love, not money, the club searched for a way of securing alternative income streams.
Interim chairman Alex Alexandrou looked to Barton Rovers for inspiration, discovering their Bedfordshire neighbours were using a JVC camera with built-in web streaming and graphics to live stream matches. Alexandrou realised this would be a great chance to increase the profile of the club and attract sponsors, as well as provide advertising revenue via the live stream. So the Blues invested in a JVC GY-HM200ESB camera – an innovative, affordable live streaming camera, featuring overlaid sports scores and broadcast information. “Like many clubs, we film games for analysis, but often the quality isn’t very good,” Alexandrou explains. “The first time we saw the GY-HM200ESB from JVC, we were amazed by the quality; once we’d seen the graphics overlay, we were sold. It is very easy to use and allows us to stream professional-looking video with the score shown in the corner, just as you’d see on TV.”
JVC sales manager Paddy Taylor has been recently working with a number of sports clubs. “Most people are scared to try something different but it’s so simple with this camera,” he comments.
“You load the graphics before the match, connect using wireless, Ethernet or cellular, and start streaming. Changing the score or displaying a graphic as an advert during a break in play is all controlled from a web browser, so you can use a computer, tablet or mobile phone. We knew clubs at this level wanted to record matches for analysis but the GY-HM200ESB camera also delivers a new stream of income.”
Alexandrou adds, “The live stream has been a real hit with sponsors and fans alike and has helped us to increase our profile within the local community, as well as providing a service to supporters who can’t make a game.
“Although JVC’s video camera lets you stream to Facebook or YouTube, we use their cloud platform JVC VIDEOCLOUD, so we can have a dedicated page to share as a link or embed on our website, or use privately back to our bar. We look forward to using the new GY-HM250ESB model next year to stream our games too!”