Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS), the worldwide leader in video solutions, today announced that its latest high-speed, super slow-motion (slo-mo) camera – the Thomson Grass Valley LDK 8300 – has been working flawlessly and delivering great image quality during the UEFA EURO 2008™ football group playoffs and quarter finals. In use on air since June 8 with outside broadcast (OB) specialist Studio Berlin Adlershof, the LDK 8300 also will be used this week in Thursday’s semi-final and the final match Sunday.
Thomson is the leading choice among producers, editors, directors, and production companies that create and distribute high-quality sports entertainment programming around the world. For major sporting events, Thomson continues its leadership role as the production equipment and systems provider of choice for major US sports leagues’ playoff and series finals, as well as the World Cup Soccer Championships, and the Summer and Winter Olympics Games, all of which have been and continue to be produced with Thomson Grass Valley multi-format equipment and systems.
“Planning for UEFA EURO 2008 started many months ago,” said Werner Reese, CTO of Studio Berlin Adlershof. “We knew the many millions of viewers around Europe and the world would expect excellent image quality and high production values including super slo-mo. The LDK 8300 cameras were delivered on time and we had every confidence in using them for one of the most prestigious of games: the first of the championships to be held in Austria, and featuring the home country.”
Studio Berlin Adlershof’s OB truck, U6, is equipped with seven LDK 8300 cameras and a further 26 LDK 6000 and LDK 8000 cameras for its coverage of the UEFA EURO 2008. Thomson Grass Valley HD sports production equipment will also be used by OB truck company VCF during the championships.
“No company has made a greater technical contribution to the way that sports is covered on television than Thomson,” said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Thomson’s Broadcast & Professional Solutions within the Systems division. “We maintain our technological leadership by listening to our customers and continuing to innovate with production equipment like the LDK 8300.”
Studio Berlin Adlershof is responsible for coverage of all the UEFA EURO 2008 games to be held in Vienna and Salzburg, which includes the final on June 29.
Thomson created the concept and set the standard for the high-speed, super slo-mo camera — a camera which shoots and outputs in multiples of real-time, enabling the video to be slowed smoothly and cleanly — with the standard-definition Thomson Grass Valley LDK 23.
It brought the concept to the high-definition (HD) world with the LDK 6200, and more recently with the new LDK 8000 SportCam version, which enables broadcasters to have both an HD super slo-mo camera and a traditional HD camera all in one body.
The new Thomson Grass Valley LDK 8300 super slo-mo camera captures video at 150 HD fields per second — three times the 50 fields per second rate of traditional HD cameras, combined with a remarkably high HD signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio resulting in the high quality slo-mo replays. A new revolutionary fiber interface delivers the extremely high data rate produced by the LDK 8300 back to the servers in the OB truck. The camera also incorporates Thomson’s Anylight™ high-quality anti-flicker system which completely eliminates any perceived changes in light levels due to any differences in the mains power frequency and the synchronization with artificial lights. The games of the UEFA EURO 2008 championships are all played under a variety of floodlight types, and LDK 8300 super slo-mo pictures with Anylight have set a new standard in flicker-free HD super slo-mo.
For more information about Thomson Grass Valley HD sports and live production equipment from Thomson, please visit http://hdsportsproduction.thomsongrassvalley.com
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Certain statements in this press release, including any discussion of management expectations for future periods, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements due to changes in global economic and business conditions, “media and entertainment” markets, and regulatory factors. More detailed information on the potential factors that could affect the financial results of Thomson is contained in Thomson’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Thomson — World leader in video solutions
Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) is the world leading provider of solutions for the creation, management, delivery and access of video, for the Communication, Media & Entertainment (CME) industries. Our clients are studios, broadcasters, network operators (telcos, broadband, satellite and cable operators) and an increasing range of professional users of videos. We deliver superior value to our customers through a unique combination of industry leading technologies, systems and services, enabling us to offer differentiated and innovative end-to-end solutions based on a broad portfolio of Intellectual Property. At the cross-roads of the CME industries, leveraging our core competencies in video but also audio, data and voice, we enable our customers to take advantage of the growth opportunities brought on by the digital convergence revolution. For more information: http://www.thomson.net
