ArrowData and TVU Networks, have announced the launch of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) service that provides news broadcasters with the ability to transmit unique live aerial views from ArrowData’s drones in full HD with sub-second latency using TVU’s portable cellular transmitters. Arrowdata is an aerial data services company that specialises in the use of UAVs for electronic newsgathering.
ArrowData has received a special waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate drones for electronic newsgathering or aerjournalism – the first and only such FAA 333 waver provided to a private company. The solution allows broadcasters to deliver news coverage from unique vantage points not possible from traditional ground level camera views. In addition, broadcasters can easily incorporate the aerojournalism service into their current video acquisition workflow since the drone flying and live video transmission is handled together.
“This partnership gives us a tremendous advantage in this emerging industry,” said James Fleitz, vice president of ArrowData in Las Vegas. “We provide the dynamic shots from drones, and TVU is the perfect answer for transmitting that video.”
An ArrowData drone was used recently for live reporting and weather shots for a news broadcast. “This is a game changer for those in the news business. There are many questions in the industry right now about how best to use drones. This partnership allows us to answer those questions and begin implementing aerojournalism in newsrooms right away,” added Ron Futrell, sales and marketing director for ArrowData and veteran TV newscaster.
Paul Shen, CEO, TVU Networks, commented: “We’re delighted to partner with ArrowData to bring their drone piloting services together with TVU’s live uplink transmission capabilities. It’s a true win/win for broadcasters. They can leave the capturing of aerial views in the capable hands of ArrowData personnel while receiving live, low-latency HD video from a TVU mobile cellular uplink transmitter.”
