Helinet Provides Live Aerial High-Def for NBA Eastern Conference Finals

Helinet Provides Live Aerial High-Def for NBA Eastern Conference Finals

TNT Extends Partnership With Helinet for HD Aerial Views From High Above the Palace of Auburn Hills and American Airlines Arena

LOS ANGELES, May 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Helinet Aviation Services, a best-in-class provider of helicopter flight services to a diversity of markets announced today that it is providing live, high-definition aerial shots from its Cineflex HiDEF camera platform to TNT for the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the Miami Heat. Beginning with last week's games and continuing through the rest of the series, Helinet will be broadcasting live, aerial HD from high above both The Palace of Auburn Hills and the American Airlines Arena.

Along with the Cineflex HiDEF and receive sites at both arenas, Helinet is providing TNT with a helicopter, pilot and camera operator for a complete, high-definition aerial solution. The lightest, most compact, fully digital aerial camera platform in the world, the Cineflex HiDEF has also been used during NASCAR's Daytona 500 and for the production of NFL games on FOX and CBS, including this year's Super Bowl.

The NBA Eastern Conference Finals caps a year in which Helinet provided TNT with live, aerial HD during 14 regular season NBA games. Helinet previously worked with TNT during last season's Western Conference Finals between the L.A. Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"Helinet has been an excellent partner in enabling us to offer dramatic, high-definition skyline shots during our NBA broadcasts," said Lenny Daniels, senior vice president and coordinating director, TNT Sports. "Not only does Helinet's solution mesh seamlessly with our own interior HD cameras, but the level of support they provide means we can rely on them to take care of everything."

"HD brings sports broadcasting to an entirely new level and we are pleased that TNT has asked us to work with them on the broadcast of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals," said Alan Purwin, CEO of Helinet Aviation Services. "The strength of our aerial HD system is that we can customize it to best match the needs of each broadcaster we work with and offer the most comprehensive service in the industry."

About Helinet Aviation Services

Helinet Aviation Services is an international provider of aviation services, to a diversity of markets. The company is recognized as one of the nation's top Electronic News Gathering (ENG) aerial solutions provider. In addition, Helinet regularly flies heads of state, celebrities and Fortune 500 executives, and transports patients in need of specialized care and life-saving organs to hospitals. Another facet of Helinet's business model is its entertainment division, Helinet Cinema Solutions, a turnkey provider for the most challenging aerial shots and stunts for Hollywood's top films and commercials.

About the HiDEF Camera System

Designed by Cineflex founder John Coyle, the Cineflex HiDEF camera system was developed using Sony's HDC-950 and the new HDC-F950 line of high definition cameras. It is Cineflex's latest line of gyro-stabilized aerial camera systems and the first to accommodate high-definition. This high performance camera system has been enhanced even further by employing long focal length HD lenses for amazing long-distance image capture. Its stability and zoom capabilities far surpass those of any other gyro-stabilized system.

Cineflex, LLC located in Grass Valley, California is an engineering, design and manufacturing company specializing in customized electro-mechanical motion control systems for aviation, broadcast television, motion picture production and other applications.

Cineflex HiDEF V14

Technical Specifications
The model HiDEF V14 is a flexible gyro-stabilized camera system offering
a wide range of key benefits:

Small (14.5" diameter)
Lightweight, at only 67 lbs.
5 axis gyro-stabilized
Fully stable in azimuth, elevation and roll
Fully Digital Servo Control System
Dual 32-bit proprietary DSP technology
The Cineflex(R) HiDEF camera system utilizes Sony's flagship HDC-F950
Camera, capable of uncompressed digital 4:4:4: RGB Output
Powerful zoom lenses to ultra wide zoom lenses, all with motorized 2x
extenders
Zeiss Digi-Primes available soon!
On-Screen annotation
Camera formats: 2/3" 3CCD color
Aspect Ratios: 16:9 and 4:3, switchable
Gain Settings: -3dB to + 12dB, switchable
Custom control panel features
Auto/manual rate adjustments
Camera set-up controls
VTR controls
Variable zoom speed
Available Lenses - Canon HJ40X10B, HJ40X14B, HJ11x4.7; Fujinon HA42x13.5,
HA42x9.7, HA22x7.3, HA13x4.5

Source: Helinet Aviation Services

CONTACT: Peter Epstein or Dan Spelling, both of Spelling Communications,
+1-310-477-9500, pepstein@spellcom.com, for Helinet Aviation Services

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