News

New Grass Valley REV PRO Storage Technology Brings IT Benefits to Broadcasters and Video Professionals (29/9/2005)

Grass Valley, a business within Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) today announced the new Grass Valley(tm) brand REV(tm) PRO storage disk, an extension of the proven Iomega(r) REV format designed specifically for professional media use. Developed in conjunction with Iomega, the REV PRO(tm) is a cornerstone of Grass Valley's Infinity Series line of IT-centric acquisition and workflow products.

REV and REV PRO disks deliver the portability and cost-effectiveness of a video tape with the speed, flexibility, and ease of use of nonlinear, random access media. Both have a native capacity of 35 GB -equivalent to about 45 minutes of high-quality high-definition (HD) video or more than two hours of standard-definition (SD) video-with a sustained video data transfer rate of 110 Mb/s. These characteristics enable users to pair a REV disk with the Infinity Digital Media Camcorder (See press release entitled "Grass Valley Announces Breakthrough Infinity Digital Media Camcorder with Choice of Recording Options") to capture at uncompromised HD rates.

REV and REV PRO media are an integral part of the new Infinity family of products (see press releases entitled "Grass Valley Announces Breakthrough Infinity Digital Camcorder with Choice of Recording Options" and "Grass Valley Introduces New Infinity Digital Media Recorder with Advanced Storage and Playback Capabilities"). Both the Infinity Camcorder and Infinity DMR are IT-centric recording devices for broadcast and video professionals. They offer user-selectable video formats, choice of compression schemes, and IT-based connectivity and recording options.

The REV technology is unique in incorporating the disk and motor in a sealed cartridge, with the heads and all associated electronics in the drive. The REV PRO disk itself is highly rugged, operating in temperatures from -10¡C to +60¡C. Accelerated ageing tests show a longterm archival life of more than 30 years, and a single disk can perform over one million record/erase cycles.

Grass Valley REV PRO disks are compatible with all REV drives, so disks can be taken direct from the Infinity Digital Media Camcorder or Infinity Digital Media Recorder and loaded into an inexpensive drive connected to, for example, a Macintosh or PC-based nonlinear editor. The content on the REV PRO media will appear as a drive or bin in the editor.

"Our collaboration with Iomega to create the Grass Valley REV PRO disk has achieved one of the great goals of our industry-a completely open and extremely affordable recording medium for acquisition," said Marc Valentin, president of the Grass Valley business within Thomson. "We know that users want access to content very quickly but are reluctant to be trapped into a proprietary format which uses expensive and perhaps less than perfectly efficient media. With REV PRO we can deliver the true random access while reading writing without losing portability or making the user pay a high price."

"Iomega's REV drive offers the professional audio/visual markets a cost-effective storage platform with remarkable capacity, throughput, and durability," said Werner Heid, president and CEO, Iomega Corporation. "In conjunction with Grass Valley's new, breakthrough products, we are excited to showcase the superior capabilities of REV technology for professional storage needs in this market."

Pricing and Availability

Pricing for the Grass Valley REVPro drive is under 500 Euros or US dollars. It is expected that orders can be taken and products delivered in the fourth quarter of 2005. REVPro media in 10-packs is priced at under 70 Euros or Dollars per disk.

About the Grass Valley Infinity Workflow

Infinity is a complete family of products from Grass Valley designed around the use of standard IT platforms and components to deliver a better workflow for broadcasters. First products in the family launched at IBC2005 include the HD/SD Infinity Digital Media Camcorder and the Infinity Digital Media Recorder, a VTR-like device capable of reading, writing and networking content on standard REV, REV PRO and Compact Flash media. Other products will be added to the Infinity workflow in the coming months.

The REV drive from Iomega delivers large-capacity storage, high bandwidth, and sustained data rates, primarily for desktop systems. Grass Valley has worked with Iomega to develop the REV PRO, an extension of the format to deliver the ruggedness and reliability required for professional use in applications such as a camcorder.

The Grass Valley REV PRO format is unique in that it incorporates the disk and motor in a sealed pack, with the heads and all associated electronics in the drive. This makes the exchangeable packs very cost effective (pricing for the REV PRO media in 10-packs is under 70 Euros or US dollars per disk) while maintaining very high data rates. REV PRO media offers sustained video rates of 110 Mb/s, allowing an Infinity Digital Media Camcorder to shoot and record, and at the same time be delivering either the same or different content by file transfer.

REV and REV PRO disks can be taken direct from the Infinity Camcorder and loaded into an inexpensive REV drive connected to, for example, a Mac or PC-based nonlinear editor. The content on the REV PRO drive will appear as another drive or bin in the editor.

www.thomsongrassvalley.com

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