Thomson's LDK 6000 mk II WorldCam HD camera features Thomson's award winning DPM technology.
Thomson met with the press last week to outline its strategy for 2004 and beyond. At this year’s NAB convention the company will introduce a new 1 M/E HD switcher, fiber-optic support for its LDK 6000 mkII camera, new master control system and 40 new modular products. It has also begun a new initiative, called C2MD, that facilitates IT-based remote monitoring, diagnostics and control and will be extended across all of its production and transmission products.
Marc Valentin, president of Thomson Broadcast & Media Solutions, explained that the idea is to increase sales by keeping the cost of digital production equipment affordable. He said that the company’s overall revenue is currently being supported up to 30 percent by the significant amount of HD production gear it has sold over the past year. Part of that success is due to the fact that Thomson’s gear--like the Grass Valley LDK 6000 mkII WorldCam camera, Profile video servers, Trinix routing switchers and Kameleon modular products--are all capable of producing projects in both SD and HD formats. This is a big advantage for mobile production companies that have to work with a variety of clients who want different formats for their productions.
The new hybrid fiber transmission system for the LDK 6000 mkII WorldCam HD camera will help settle the quality debate about whether to use triax or fiber cabling when distributing HD signals between the camera and a remote production truck. Thomson is now the only manufacturer to support both triax and fiber on the same camera. The fiber adapter will allow broadcasters and production companies to send signals over a longer distance (up to 4,000 meters) than they currently can over triax. And because fiber is inherently digital (whereas triax is analog based) signal quality is assured throughout the production chain.
In the area of low-cost master control, Thomson will show its new Maestro master control switcher and a branding engine, that complement its existing high-end MC switchers. At NAB, the company will demonstrate the Maestro MC switcher, which includes A/B mixing of multiple program feeds; automated branding with up to four key layers; pre-programmed digital video effects and support for eight channels of audio. The Maestro is based on Thomson’s Grass Valley Kameleon signal processing frame, allowing customers to pick the module that suits their application and plug it into an existing Kameleon modular frame.
For more information visit www.thomsongrassvalley.com.
