Grass Valley Says Now Is the Time to Embrace Remote, At-Home Production
Grass Valley has been speaking to SVG Europe about how remote and at-home production is set to be the most significant technology trend of 2020. Neil Maycock, SVP of strategic marketing and playout told SVG Europe that remote production is vital in today’s global health crisis.
He explained: “Amidst the current Coronavirus outbreak, the reality of at-home and remote production capabilities, in which only cameras need be deployed on-location, is significant.
“Grass Valley’s remote production workflows offer broadcasters and content owners greater freedom to cover live events regardless of their location and can be effectively leveraged from within quarantined areas to help reduce the level of risk to operators while ensuring consumers stay connected.”
He went on: “Our DirectIP camera functionality, for example, is field-proven and enables base stations to be located at distances of up to 20,000 kilometres (12,500 miles) from the camera. As a result, the majority of the production team – from camera shaders to the director and replay operators – can avoid the need for travel to the event venue.
“We’re now spearheading the next evolution with a raft of solutions and technologies being announced at our Spring Launch – some of which are already being used by customers – to leverage true distributed production. We’ll be unveiling technology innovations that deliver flexible workflows and allow creative teams to be based in any location. Beyond the current situation, customers increasingly want to leverage the best creative and on-screen talent, wherever in the world they are. Distributed production makes this possible,” he concluded.
On what is the most important message from Grass Valley to its customers and partners around Europe in light of the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, Maycock said: “First and foremost, everyone at Grass Valley shares their thoughts and prayers with those who are suffering from, or directly impacted by, this global health crisis.
“We also want to reassure our customers that amidst the many travel and commercial restrictions that have been implemented worldwide, Grass Valley has business continuity plans in place to mitigate the impact of any service and delivery disruptions that result from the Coronavirus outbreak,” he continued. “Our manufacturing facilities are located in areas that are currently free from major restrictions. Also, while a small number of components are typically sourced from impacted areas, we’ve made accommodations within our supply chain to source these materials locally.”