Sweetwater Productions Utilizes FFV’s Omega HD DVR

California-based video production equipment rental provider Sweetwater Digital Productions has selected Fast Forward Video’s Omega HD digital video recorder (DVR) as a central component in its mobile HD broadcast service offering. The Omega HD is now featured in all of Sweetwater’s production trucks and provides a cost-effective solution for dependable video playout and replay for mobile productions.

“Our clients require easy-to-use yet powerful solutions for HD video capture and playout, and the Omega HD is a perfect choice,” says Stephen Sharp of Sweetwater Digital Productions.  “We’ve been sold on FFV solutions ever since we purchased one of the first SD Omega decks 10 years ago. Not only is the Omega HD a compact unit that delivers top-quality HD services at a very attractive price point, but the fact that it handles SD as well as multiple HD formats is important since our trucks offer multi-format capabilities.”

Sweetwater’s Omega HD systems alternate between three mobile units. The DVR allows Sweetwater clients to ingest pre-recorded video segments at a moment’s notice. These segments, primarily for transition effects, are often too large to be stored in a switcher’s memory. The Omega HD then interacts with a controller to play the video clips out on cue as part of a live sports or entertainment production.

“Sweetwater is a great example of the growing role that the Omega HD is playing in mobile production for sports and other live events, as a powerful, lower-cost, and easy-to-use solution for video playout,” says Harry Glass, VP of sales for FFV. “Also, since so much pre-recorded content still exists in SD format, the Omega HD’s multiformat capabilities make it ideal for broadcasters who are in the midst of migrating their operations to HD.”