Promising to reset the course and pace of the digital transition by lowering capital cost barriers for small to mid-market broadcasters, consumer electronics giant Thomson has introduced several new Grass Valley digital acquisition and production products that form the foundation of a new digital affordability initiative. Thomson also announced contracts worth tens of millions of euros with media leaders worldwide.

Thomson has also addressed the growing demand for multi-format and high-definition programming -- detailing its full line of market-leading switchable standard- and high-definition (SD and HD) Grass Valley products. Taken together, all of today's announcements underscore Thomson's ability to address the digital needs of broadcast and professional video facilities of any size.

Thomson was joined at the pre IBC reception a few days ago by Visions, the largest independent TV facilities group in the UK. Visions shared its experience as a pioneer in HD and multi-format support in Europe. On the road since the end of last year the latest Visions truck is covering high-profile HD events, such as the French Open and Wimbledon, using Grass Valley digital acquisition and production products. IBC takes place in September.

Taking down digital cost-to-entry barriers: The new Grass Valley products announced as part of the Thomson digital affordability initiative include the LDK 300 digital camera, a 2 M/E version of the recently announced KayakDD vision mixer, the Acappella small multi-format router line, the Prelude router control system, key additions to the already broad Gecko and Kameleon modular products lines, and the Newton modular control system. These new products expand the affordable digital foundation established by the introduction earlier this year of the software-based version of the Grass Valley NewsEdit nonlinear editing system and the M-Series iVDR for VTR replacement applications.

Thomson has stated that with this initiative, the breadth of its product lines is unmatched. From HD and multi-format production to demanding news workflows to solutions for small-and mid-sized stations it now has a suite of Grass Valley products for every market and application. The company claims to have introduced more than 20 new products in the last six months alone.

Tens of millions of Euros in contracts announced: In addition to Visions, Thomson also highlighted tens of millions of Euros in major orders from media leaders worldwide. They include Prime Focus in Mumbai, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, ESPN, the Rainbow Network, Bloomberg Television, Turner Broadcasting, CNBC in the United States..

Visions MD Martin Anderson said:"The decision to work with Thomson to build and equip our latest OB truck was not a difficult one. Although Thomson has supplied all our cameras for the past five years, we would have changed suppliers, if there had been a good reason. We were delighted to find that the LDK 6000 mkII WorldCam, came out ahead of the competition on quality whether working in HD or SD. The cameras ability to switch between so many HD formats we considered a major benefit at a time when the market has not yet settled down.

"The ease with which we are able to work in HD or SD has been a significant economic advantage for Visions. We can use the equipment on any event, whether it's a BBC Classical Opera or a Sky Sports Premier League match," Anderson added.

With sales of 10.2 billion Euros (US $ 9.6 billion) in 2002, Thomson 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 the company has four principal divisions: Content and Networks, Consumer Products, Components, and Licensing. The company distributes its products under the Technicolor, Grass Valley, Thomson and RCA brand names.