Australian, New Zealand Media Leaders Equip OB Fleets With Grass Valley Group Gear
Global TV makes major switcher purchases; On Site Broadcast purchases switcher, router, modular systems
Together, the two media leaders reach many millions of viewers in the region with programming ranging from sporting events such as Wimbledon, PGA, Grand Prix racing, and horse racing to documentaries, dramas, and other programming. The two deals include the Grass Valley™ Kalypso™ Video Production Center, compact Concerto™ Series routing matrix, Encore™ facility control system, and modular equipment.
This recent announcement follows the recent announcement of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to equip its eight new large OB trucks with Kalypso systems.
"Providing superior sports programming requires equipment that can keep pace with demanding sports production environments. That means enabling the most creative and well-branded on-air presence, rock-solid reliability, and the ability to scale to the physical requirements of state-of-the-art, digital OB fleets," said Tim Thorsteinson, president and CEO of the Grass Valley Group.
"Both Global Television and On Site Broadcast are staking a leadership role in the Pacific market with the rollout of their digital fleets—and the Grass Valley Group will provide the infrastructure which will help make them technologically and operationally superior," said Thorsteinson. "This latest success demonstrates the wide acceptance of the Kalypso system in this region—Grass Valley switchers have been very popular in Australia and New Zealand for decades."
Global TV Australia Equips New OB Fleet With Kalypso
Following an extensive evaluation process, GlobalTV Australia has purchased the first of three 4 mix/effects (M/E) Kalypso Video Production Center systems to equip the media leader's new digital OB vehicles in Australia. GlobalTV will use the Kalypso systems to bring programs such as AFL football to the millions of AFL fans in the region.
"In the end, we were unanimous in our selection of Kalypso," said Peter Bedford, Global's Head of Engineering. "It's a very powerful machine and we have been kept informed of the product's development for some time. We feel that the Kalypso will give us many years of excellent performance as we embrace digital initially and then proceed onto high definition."
The first Kalypso system installation for Global is in progress now, and Global's Engineering Department will complete the latest digital OB van before the end of calendar year 2001. Global TV will complete two additional OB units thereafter.
On Site Broadcast Chooses Grass Valley To Outfit New OB Fleet
Following on the great success of the Kalypso Video Production Center in outside broadcast use, and given the high level of comfort OSB engineers felt with the level of integration in the Grasss Valley Group's production solution, New Zealand's largest sports production company has agreed to a large contract for the purchase of additional Kalypso Video Production Center systems, as well as Grass Valley modular products and the company's new, compact Grass Valley Concerto Series routing, matrix and Encore facility control system for installation into OSB's new OB fleet.
"There is no doubting the power of the Kalypso Video Production Centre " said Paul Eglinton, broadcast services manager for osb. "When you see its capabilities and future development path and then also consider the levels of integration with the Concerto routing system, it all makes for a very compelling package."
These new OSB vans will be built in New Zealand and integrated by the Grass Valley Group's New Zealand distributor, Gencom Technology.
"This whole project is a very large undertaking for us," said Murray Roberts, Director of On Site Broadcast New Zealand. "We are on a very tight schedule for the construction of these vehicles and they have to be technologically and operationally superior. We felt that we could be assured that with Grass Valley and look forward to working together with Grass Valley and Gencom to provide a superior product to our clients."
About The Products
As the hub of a teleproduction environment, the Kalypso Video Production Center family combines industry-leading switching and M/E capabilities with an open, networked architecture that offers a precedent-setting degree of operational integration. With up to 80 inputs (video or key) it offers fingertip control of a number of previously off-board functions to streamline workflow, a 100-frame still store capability, greater M/E capabilities, and a programmable clean-feed system. All from a familiar Grass Valley interface.
The Grass Valley Concerto Series routing matrix features the Grass Valley Group's FlexFrame™ technology to enable users to mix formats within a single frame with unparalleled flexibility. Using a series of optional cards, it supports standard- or high-definition (SD or HD) digital video signals, AES/EBU digital audio and their analog counterparts. With just one card, for example, a user can add 32 inputs by 32 outputs of video, audio, and/or data to a Concerto frame.
The Encore system is the first open, scalable solution for enterprise-wide facility control and provides broadcasters and other content creators centralized and distributed router and machine control, remote monitoring and diagnostic capabilities, and signal-integrity analysis to expand the capabilities of their LANs, WANs, and video networks and to maximize their signal-management infrastructure investments.
Grass Valley modular products offer a full range of signal-processing capabilities and provide a smooth upgrade path from analog to SD to HD signal processing. Their support for the Grass Valley NetCentral™ software for SNMP-based remote monitoring further streamlines workflows and maximizes the return on signal-management investments.
About The Companies
Global Television was established in 1987 and since that time has developed into the largest, most comprehensive independent television production facility in Australia, providing a wide range of facilities to the industry, including:
- 16 outside broadcast units, including two digital "super trucks"
- 10 studios located in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
- Broadcast microwave links — including mini link systems
- Sophisticated post production including digital linear and nonlinear product edit suites and graphics
- Outside broadcast facilities telecasting thoroughbred horse racing in Sydney and Brisbane nationally
Global Television permanently employs more than 180 full-time staff and complements these from a large group of freelance production personnel for specific projects.
Designed to service production of the finest television and film product, the Global Television Group is well placed to accommodate all forms of local and international production.
The resources of Global Television Group are comprehensive and forward planning and upgrading of equipment is an integral part of the company's strategy in order to continually offer facilities at the forefront of available technology.
For further information, refer to www.globaltv.com.au
On Site Broadcast NZ Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia's Becker Group Ltd established 40 years ago. Becker currently produces all PGA golf tournaments in Australia and New Zealand and has a formidable international reputation as a leading supplier of all types of programming — from live sports telecasts to game shows, documentaries and drama.
Internationally OSB provides a turnkey outside broadcast facilities on events such as Wimbledon Tennis for the Nine network and the South East Asian Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit being Australia, Malaysia and Japan for ITV England.
Becker's are delighted to further their business interests in New Zealand and securing the SkyNetwork outside broadcast contract, provided the ability to place "state of the art" facilities at the disposal of the programme makers.
For further information, refer to www.osb.com.au
About The Grass Valley Group
The Grass Valley Group knows more about high-quality video than anybody else—especially as video goes digital. The Internet. Digital cinema. Data-enhanced broadcasting. Interactive television. It's a world of Digicasting—one that demands Media Without Bounds™ solutions. Whether online or on the air, the Emmy® award-winning Grass Valley Group, a privately held digital media leader, has the hardware, software, and new media technologies to get content wherever it needs to go.
For the latest Grass Valley Group product information, visit www.grassvalleygroup.com.
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