The winners in the toughest ratings fight have one thing in
common: Thomson Grass Valley™ multiformat and HD digital news
production systems.
They're installed at leading station
groups in the top five U.S. markets -- and at leading news
outlets worldwide. With a complete workflow that spans
acquisition, production and playout, it's clear that when
you're watching the news, you're watching Grass Valley
technology at work.
For more information about Thomson Grass Valley products,
please visit
thomsongrassvalley.com.
Tom Butts is the Editor of TV Technology Magazine.
Grass Valley marked NAB2007 by formally introducing its new leader, Jacques Dunogué, to the broadcast industry.
Although this may have been the first NAB show for the Thomson executive, he was more than prepared for what he expected to be “a baptism by fire.”
As the senior executive vice president in charge of Thomson’s Systems division, Dunogué now oversees the entire Grass Valley professional video division of Thomson, which has transformed itself over the past decade from a consumer products company to a solutions provider for the media and entertainment industries. Dunogué plans to continue that evolution.
SIMPLE MISSION
“The mission of the systems division is simple: to be the market leader in the three interrelated markets — broadcast, networking and remote access,” he said at the company’s press conference.
Dunogué’s experience in Thomson’s telecommunications initiatives — including the development of IPTV technologies for the company — gives him a solid footing for leading Grass Valley into the networked video future.
“I’ve been in telecommunications all my life,” he said. “I lived through the convergence of communications and IT technology.”
Dunogué is also well aware of the importance HDTV plays in Grass Valley’s future, but he stressed that, “in order to be everywhere, HD must be affordable.”
HD news is a primary market for Grass Valley. From small to major U.S. markets, increasing numbers of broadcasters are integrating Grass Valley systems, including Aurora Edit, Edius editing systems, K2 media servers and Ignite news automation production systems.
IMPRESSIVE START
The LDK 8000 HD camera, which was introduced last year, is off to an impressive start, according to Jeff Rosica, senior vice president for Grass Valley Broadcast and Professional Solutions.
The camera, which supports the widely deployed 1080i and 720p formats, also acquires video in the emerging 1080p format as well. Since hitting the market last fall, Grass Valley has sold more than 300 units worldwide.
The camera targets a range of applications; for example, mobile production provider NEP Supershooters will deploy the LDK 8000 for sports and Discovery Communications plans to use the cameras for documentaries.
HD adoption is not restricted to the United States, however. For mobile production, Grass Valley announced that it is building a high-definition production truck for German sports outside production company TV-Unit GmbH.
The $4 million, 54-foot-long truck with an expanding side will be outfitted with 12 Grass Valley LDK 8000 HD cameras, two Kayak HD production switchers and a Trinix digital video routing switcher.
POWERED BY XENSIUM
Grass Valley has also been commissioned to design and build a new completely tapeless news production system for CET 21/TV Nova in the Czech Republic.
In addition to its Infinity tapeless production systems, due for delivery this summer, Grass Valley is debuting several other new products to promote HD adoption.
The Infinity cameras will sport the new Grass Valley Xensium imaging chip, a native high-definition CMOS sensor featuring an array of 2.4 million pixels. Xensium offers a wider dynamic range, lower power consumption and improved signal-to-noise performance when compared to current CCD and CMOS imagers, according to Grass Valley.
To enable efficient and higher processing of those hi-def video images across networks, the company is also debuting Mustang, an integrated chip that delivers MPEG-4 Part 10 AVC compressed material, saving up to half the bandwidth of existing encoders.
On the server side, the Grass Valley K2 Media Server and Media Client has posted sales of more than 1,000 units worldwide since its introduction in the fourth quarter of 2005.
In addition to new features for the storage system, Grass Valley is introducing a new version, the K2-SDA-22, a low-cost, SD K2 client workstation with analog audio and video capability.
A new version of the Edius nonlinear editing system features a new GUI design, added format support and the ability to import/export AAF and GXF, simple DVD authoring and support for VMF.
MOBILE TV
For mobile TV, Grass Valley offered the Kalypso Mobility Demonstration at its booth in the North Hall.
The demo showed how Kalypso can take a live broadcast and substitute larger images and graphics designed for cell phones and PDAs without adding any additional production switchers or requiring any additional staff.
A feature called “DoubleTake” can divide the four keyers in each M/E into two separate background transitions, and once programmed, the functionality will allow for shots on the main broadcast feed to be automatically substituted with alternative preprogrammed material.
To manage video and audio content, Grass Valley is rolling out ContentShare2, an open, service-oriented architecture designed to manage workflow across the entire production and business chain.
