About a month after announcing a management buyout, Quantel-the Newbury-headquartered company which specializes in the design and manufacture of digital imaging technology-has unveiled a series of enhancements to existing products and launched its high definition (HD) initiative, iQ.
Headed by executive chairman Richard Taylor, the Quantel management team hopes the new developments will help clear up confusion and uncertainty in the marketplace over the company’s commitment and direction. As earlier reported (SHOOT, 7/28/00), Quantel’s executive group purchased the firm from U.K. media conglomerate Carlton Communications in a deal valued at a minimum of $76.7 million (translated into dollars from British pounds). Quantel’s management team consists of Taylor, research director Paul Kellar; operations director Dale Fry; marketing director Nigel Turner; commercial director Chris Whitely, sales director Martin Mulligan; and finance director Ian Cooper.
IQ employs Monty technology for the first time. Monty was the long-standing Quantel code name used to describe the development of a software and hardware platform that combines the openness and expandability of the PC with the reliability and performance possible with fast application specific hardware. The product line will be officially previewed at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), which is just getting underway (9/8-12) in Amsterdam.
Steve Owen, Quantel’s head of product management, explained that iQ is a platform for cooperative content creation born out of changes introduced by digital television, including HD, and the emergence of new media such as the Internet, DVD and E-cinema. These new media, he said, require different capabilities and a more flexible approach in editing and postproduction. "To meet these needs, a new editing platform has been designed in which multiple media projects can coexist within the same project. It uses a mix of software and fast hardware to achieve its initial goal of efficient resolution coexistent longform editing," related Owen. The platform architecture has been kept flexible to allow for additions of technology upgrades and new functions as well as changing the hardware/software system balance to create a range of equipment rather than a single hero product.
IQ will run off the Windows 2000 operating system, which has been adjusted to make it reliable for broadcast requirements. Expected to be used for content creation, film transfers and distribution, iQ has announced its initial series of applications, including a longform, multi-resolution editing application dubbed Qedit as well as Qpaint and Qscribe.
A number of software developers are currently working on applications and plug-ins for iQ ranging from effects plug-ins to paint, character generator and keying technology. Companies announcing support for iQ thus far include Photron, Toyko; Alias|Wavefront, Toronto; Boris FX, Boston; Inscriber Technology Corp., Waterloo, Ontario; Ultimatte Corp., Chatsworth, Calif.; and 5D, London.
At IBC, other software developers are expected to make announcements, which Quantel was not at liberty to discuss at press time. "I’m sure people will be surprised when they find out who they are," said Mark Horton, Quantel group product manager-editing. "When we say the iQ technology is open on development, we really mean it."
IQ will begin shipping in the first quarter of 2001. While Quantel will not be releasing prices until IBC, the iQ price point is believed to be around $500,000. Chaser, a component of the company’s step-by-step approach to HD, is available in the U.S, Japan and Canada. Employing Monty technology, Chaser can be upgraded to iQ.
During a press conference in Newbury, Taylor outlined what could be expected from the new Quantel. "What’s different about Quantel is that we are determined to combine the best of the past with the promise of the future. The MBO (management buyout) went on for a year and over that time we spent a lot of time looking at what our customer base is doing, the problems they are facing and spent a lot of time thinking, listening and communicating. The new Quantel will be a very open Quantel."
Taylor told SHOOT that he has no illusions that the company has a lot of work to do in turning around Quantel’s image in the marketplace. "A lot of people have been questioning what Quantel was doing and where they are going. I’d like to think our service back-up has been very highly regarded; it’s more to do with the fact that the market didn’t understand our product strategy, partly because we were in the process of evolution and I’d like to think all that is swept away with product line-up at IBC and the U.S launches. In many ways it’s going to be a watershed for Quantel and allow people to look at the company in a new light. At the end of the day the equipment will speak for itself, showing that the new Quantel is very dynamic and place it back where it belongs which is at the very cutting edge of technology."
Taylor added: "In a way, the iQ product line is aimed very much at the U.S.-which is going through a major transition with HD strategies and the debate over standards. The ability to handle all resolutions at the same time has been built into the heart of iQ."
Taylor declined to disclose the amount of money invested in R&D for the new offerings. He noted that while it was difficult to run a company during an MBO, the decision was made to protect R&D as much as possible during the process so that staffers could be "beavering away" at new products while the rest of the management team dealt with the bankers, lawyers and accountants.
In terms of how the product line-up will fit into the U.S market, Horton said the appetite for iQ in commercial production will depend on how quickly the demand for HD spots grows. While that is still a building process, longform needs in HD have increased significantly and that’s where Quantel’s initial iQ thrust will be aimed, said Horton.
Horton expects that iQ will accelerate user adoption of HD. "If you are producing any type of HD work today, you’ve got a number of different parts of the business model that need improving," he explained. "In fact, as is always the case with these things, one impacts on the other. The more people you have with viewing sets brings down the costs of sets; the more viewers you have, the more commercials you can attract; the more people buying HD equipment, the cheaper the HD equipment becomes and so on."
The major promise of iQ, claimed Horton, is that it offers the speed and interactivity that people are used to working with in postproduction for 601 work at HD levels without compromising the quality.
"At Quantel we are in favor of all the HD applications and formats on the market at the moment whether they are available on tape or film and are happy to support them all," continued Horton. "We believe it is up to customers to decide which of the formats on the acquisitions side is correct for them. Where we do have a view is we don’t believe that heavy compression in postproduction is appropriate for HD as the whole point of HD is to produce a better quality image. And with iQ technology, you’re not going to have to sacrifice any quality at all," he said.
In terms of upgrades to existing product lines, Quantel is now shipping Version 8 of online editing system, Editbox, to which has been added a keyframe controller and more effects tools. At IBC, Quantel will announce the addition of Playout to Paintbox FX, which will add more disk power.
