Vortechs provides the latest in equipment, streamlined workflow consultations, and personalized support, among other things, to clients throughout the Hollywood region and beyond. To support its high-profile projects—which ranger from Always Sunny in Philadelphia to A Man Called Otto—Vortechs relies on broadcast monitors from JVC Professional Video, which can be found in nearly every one of the company’s editing bays. This includes the brand’s current DT-N24F ProHD Broadcast Studio LCD Monitor, along with its legacy DT-V24G1Z Verité Series Studio Monitor. Vortechs also often deploys the brand’s DLA-RS4500K Projector in screening rooms for VFX-heavy projects.
The company manages close to 100 suites between Silverlake and Santa Monica, California, with support for productions in New York and London. Vortechs has taken part in various notable projects, providing on-location, hands-on support during filming. This includes Chris Nolan’s Oppenheimer shot in New Mexico, the film adaptation of Wicked in London and the forthcoming Gladiator II production in Malta and Morocco. Among the other recent projects are TV series like HBO’s Righteous Gemstones, Apple+’s Physical and Amazon Prime’s Peripheral. Vortechs has also worked on various films, such as My Spy 2, Strays, Champions, Amsterdam, and Napoleon.
“JVC monitors have been our go-to solution from the very beginning,” said Steven S. Friedman, CTO of Vortechs. “There are many LCD monitor brands to choose from, but JVC is evidently the leader among all editing rental houses in the LA region. I think this is because JVC hits a lot of marks—it has great brand recognition, but also its products’ standout features combined with an unmatched price point make it the clear choice.”
According to Friedman, one of the major factors in turning to JVC monitors is the SDI capability. “This provided us with the correct IO necessary to set up our editing bays,” he says. “The DT-N24F supports up to 3G-SDI (SMPTE 425M), including Level-A and Level-B, which are capable of transferring 1080p uncompressed digital video data at a max rate of 60fps at 3Gbit/s. 2K-SDI (2048x1080p) is also supported to down sample to full HD display. This, combined with the price were both huge selling points for us.
“Additionally, the DT-N24F is compatible with ITU-709 standard color for HDTV, so the contrast and color reproduction are very good right out of the box and has always been reliable,” he continues. “The JVCs also have built-in waveform, vector scope and histogram, along with a 16-channel audio level meter with alerts and output selections, so you can just hit a button and quickly pull up all the necessary information.”
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Another favorite aspect of the JVC gear for Friedman is its simplicity. “As a rental company, it’s important for us to provide equipment that is straightforward and easy for our customers to use, especially when they are on their own. I would say 95-percent of our clients expect us to supply gear that they can just simply turn on/off and switch between inputs without having to know the intricacies of the product,” he explains. “The JVC monitors definitely deliver on these needs as the inputs are all located directly on the front.”
“JVC has been a great partner to us in terms of recommending equipment and providing us with the support we need,” adds Friedman. “We have been pleased not only with JVC’s products, but with the white glove type of service the company provides.”
