Thomson unveiled its new corporate image at a press conference at IBC2007 in Amsterdam. The company also announced a new HDTV products and major customer wins. Reporters got a detailed look at Thomson’s multilayered strategy for its continued success.
Jacques Dunogue, senior executive vice president of the systems division of Thomson, explained the company’s new solutions approach, in which many of Thomson’s advanced technologies are being integrated across the Grass Valley product line. He also unveiled the new company logo, in which Grass Valley and Thomson are combined into a single, shared identity.
Dunague also described how Thomson’s technology would help customers get video content to consumers anywhere, in a variety of ways, including HDTV, IPTV and mobile video. The company’s Infinity Digital Media Camcorder is being used to shoot real-world projects, such as a new SD special on the Mayan Indians for the Discovery Channel and HD coverage of a space shuttle launch in August. The camera will begin shipping by the end of the year.
Some of the new products introduced at IBC2007 included the LDK 8000 SportCam, an HDTV SloMo camera; a new version of Aurora, the company’s digital news production platform; version 4.5 of Edius, the craft edit system; and the Ignite HD integrated production system, which is being shown for the first time to European broadcasters (and includes a number of features tailored to international users).
The company announced a new agreement with Alfacam, a production company in Belgium, that has ordered 120 LDK 8000 HD cameras (including some LDK 8000 SportCam Slo-Mo cameras) and 10 Kayak HD production switchers. Alfacam is building 10 mobile production trucks and some studios for next summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing.
Thomsons overall message IBC2007 was that it is enabling video everywhere, anytime, on any platform. This includes at the convention itself, where multiple Grass Valley Edius edit systems and Infinity HD cameras were used to produce this year’s IBCTV channel, which was produced and broadcast in HDTV for the first time.
