Alfacam to Equip HD Trucks with Grass Valley Units, by Brian Smith

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.

From the Editors
Alfacam to Equip HD Trucks with Grass Valley Units


by Brian Smith, September 21, 2007
Reporter for TV Technology
Alfacam, a mobile TV production facilities provider, has placed an order for enough Grass Valley HD equipment to outfit nearly a dozen new HD outdoor broadcast (OB) trucks, furthering its ongoing commitment to Thomson. It is the largest camera order to date, reports Thomson. According to Jeff Rosica, Thomson’s senior vice president of the Broadcast & Professional Solutions business unit, this move is another step forward in the companies’ affiliation. “We have had a very long and fruitful relationship with Alfacam,” Rosica said. “There’s a long-term relationship in place with our camera center of excellence in Breda, [Netherlands,] and the engineers at Alfacam have been involved in new product initiatives; we are delighted that they see our latest developments as continuing to meet their needs as their fleet of trucks grows.” Grass Valley’s Kayak production switcher will be part of the standard equipment on each of the 10 OB facilities under construction, Alfacam said. The new camera and switcher delivery is underway, with plans for completion by the end of the year. Alfacam has already been using Grass Valley’s LDK 6000 WorldCam HD cameras. This new order will grow its fleet hardware by an additional 144 LDK 8000 multiformat HD cameras. Of these, 72 will be the new SportCam version, which was launched at IBC2007 in Amsterdam. “From our first truck we have used LDK cameras,” said Gabriel Fehervari, CEO of Alfacam Group, “They have proved themselves to be excellent performers, and are familiar to all the operators and engineers who work with us. The LDK 8000 family is another step forward for Thomson cameras while retaining the same, familiar ease of operation, and I am confident they will maintain the tradition for quality and reliability.” Based in Lint, Belgium, Alfacam said its current broadcast truck fleet is typically deployed throughout most of Europe and beyond — including having supplied HD facilities for the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. Alfacam’s sister firm, Euro1080, helped launch some of the first HD channels in Western Europe. In a separate project, Eurocam Media Center, part of Alfacam, is adding its own broadcast playout facility to expand the center’s scope of operations, which includes the installation of a Grass Valley 20-channel K2 media server from Thomson.