Thomson Grass Valley Introduces Digital Wireless Camera System
(International Broadcasting Convention 2002 – Booth 8.151) Amsterdam, 12 September 2002 – Providing camera operators with a new level of mobility and producers with greater acquisition creativity, Thomson Grass Valley today introduced its Digital Wireless Camera System. Able to dock to the LDK100 and LDK200 camera heads, this wireless transmission system enables camera operators to reliably capture close-up images and unique point-of-view (POV) shots at live sporting and entertainment events, as well as in the studio, without any triax cable or antenna receiver assistant.
Think of getting that shot from right in the middle of the crowd at the rock concert. Swiftly following the action from close-by at the football match. Getting right onto the pit lanes at the grand prix. Moving around in studios as never before, whether mingling with the audience or following guests or presenters. Just imagine, camera operators who can roam through stadiums, concert halls, and venues such as golf courses or Formula 1 circuits.
"Mobility is critical for enhancing the creativity of broadcast productions, from football matches and grand prix racing studio to settings where hosts mingle with the audience," said Marc Valentin, vice president of the Thomson Grass Valley business. "Our Digital Wireless Camera System not only gives camera operators the freedom to move, it lets them move quickly, and without risk of losing their shots. With a system this flexible, the only constraint is one's imagination."
The new Digital Wireless Camera System offers sophisticated video compression technology with 4:2:2 10-bit signal processing and a DVB-T COFDM transmission that provides high-quality digital video images with very low latency. It also features a non-directional antenna and camera-located long-life battery supply.
On the receiving side, the Digital Wireless Camera System uses a single unit, which provides a generous shooting area. For more ambitious applications, such as capturing an uninterrupted shot from a stadium field to a team dressing room—users can deploy a distributed network of receiving antenna management units to provide wide coverage at low transmission power. The system switches automatically between multiple antennas to extend the respective shooting area. The connection between base station and antenna management units uses conventional 8-mm triax cable that can be extended out to a length of 400 meters.
Designed for fast, easy setup, the Digital Wireless Camera System integrates perfectly into any existing set-up. Its bi-directional transmission system makes for easy and reliable remote control. And users can mix, match, and genlock the wireless camera system with other wired triax cameras to ensure seamless operation alongside existing cameras.
About Thomson
With sales of 10.5 billion Euros (U.S. $ 9.3 billion) in 2001 and 73,000 employees in more than 30 countries, Thomson (Euronext: 18453) (NYSE: TMS), provides a wide range of video (and enabling) technologies, systems, finished products and services to consumers and professionals in the entertainment and media industries. To advance and enable the digital media transition, Thomson has five principal activities: Digital Media Solutions, Displays and Components, Consumer Products, Patents and Licensing and New Media Services. The company distributes its products and services under the THOMSON, RCA and TECHNICOLOR brand names. For more information: www.thomson-multimedia.com.
A business within Thomson Digital Media Solutions, Thomson Grass Valley delivers open, integrated digital products that work together along the entire digital video chain to support a variety of workflows, from content capture and acquisition through production, post production, and transmission. With a proven track record in broadcast, including 17 Emmy® and multiple industry awards, it offers an award-winning, robust product portfolio that touches more high-quality content than any other; product and systems expertise that has yielded hundreds of patents and a number of industry standards; and worldwide software engineering expertise and customer support teams that are second to none.
For information about Thomson Grass Valley products please visit www.thomsongrassvalley.com.
Grass Valley Group, 400 Providence Mine Road, Nevada City, CA 95959. Tel: 888-526-8554 ; Fax: 503-627-5224.