Discreet has announced accelerating momentum amongst broadcasters and post-production facilities around the world purchasing Discreet systems to deliver on their standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) requirements. From Madrid to Mumbai, and New York to Los Angeles, broadcasters are relying on Discreet's systems to create sophisticated programming, including graphics, promos, commercials and episodics.
While the demand for SD post-production work remains strong, key research verifies the HD growth opportunity: the number of television shows produced in HD is on the rise, driving sales and editing market penetration of Discreet's HD-configured systems. Analyst firm TrendWatch indicates that one in five US studios/facilities now use HD in their operations, and that 47% plan to use HD soon. Consumers are embracing HD as well, with The Consumer Electronics Assn. estimating that there are 9 million HD-ready television sets in American households. Further, The United States Federal Communications Commission states that as of March 24, 2004, 1,643 broadcast stations have been granted either permits or licenses for direct television (DTV), which includes HDTV -- the best video picture available in DTV.
"Discreet's SD systems continue to be widely used around the world, allowing broadcasters to realize the immediate benefits of an SD workflow," said Martin Vann, vp of worldwide sales and marketing for Discreet. "Discreet is also well-positioned to take advantage of the tremendous growth trend in HD -- in fact, we are seeing erosion in sales of competitive solutions as Discreet increasingly is the definitive solution of choice for HD. We have the optimized RGB (4:4:4) HD/2K solution for facilities requiring solutions that deliver high-fidelity, high-definition programming with the '100-year archival quality' suitable to realize long-term revenue streams including DVD release, on-demand programming and other outlets."
The following broadcasters have recently invested in Discreet's high-end, software-based systems to bring their digital art to a new level of creativity and productivity:
The Americas* Fox Digital, the digital post-production arm of Fox Studios, has purchased two of Discreet's flame HD visual effects systems on the SGI Tezro visual workstation.* MTV Networks has purchased Discreet's flame HD visual effects system. ABC has bought an upgrade for its Discreet inferno HD visual effects system.* NBC's post-production facility, The Magic Room, has added a second Discreet fire HD system to complement its existing Discreet inferno system and four Discreet flame visual effects systems.* CBS Digital, the post-production facility for CBS, has purchased a Discreet fire HD license for cutting and conforming high-definition on-air promos.* Brazil's TV Globo Ltda. has purchased Discreet's flint visual effects system.
Europe and the Middle East* Bloomberg Television in the U.K. has upgraded its Discreet flame HD and flint systems.* SKY Italia, the leading Italian broadcaster of sports, movies, entertainment and news has purchased Discreet's flame HD system.* Television Espanola Servicio (TVE) in Madrid has purchased Discreet's smoke editing and finishing system.* Dubai Radio and Television has bought three Discreet flint system and Discreet's wire networking application.* Dubai-based Rotana Television has invested in Discreet's flame HD system and smoke system.
Asia* Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation in Korea has invested in Discreet'sflame system, and upgrades to its existing smoke HD, inferno and fire systems.* Seoul Broadcasting Systems has purchased a Discreet flame HD system.* Zee TV in India has purchased two of Discreet's smoke systems.
"Zee Networks recently added two of Discreet's smoke systems to its facilities at Zee TV Mumbai and Zee News in Delhi," said Gajendra Singh, creative head for Zee TV. "At Zee TV we had been focused on taking promos and packaging to a challenging level. We were planning to change the station's packaging, so we brought in a smoke system. This technology has opened up an entire new world of possibilities for our creative team. I'm sure we'll set a new echelon of promos and packaging with this system." Seven national broadcasters in India now own Discreet smoke systems: Zee TV, Star TV, Sahara TV, New Delhi Television, Sony Ent. Television, B4U Television Network, SAB TV.
Discreet's (www.discreet.com) award-winning solutions are designed for digital media creation, management and delivery-across all disciplines from film and television visual effects, color grading and editing to animation, game development, Web/interactive and design visualization. Discreet is based in Montreal, Quebec and is a division of Autodesk Inc, a leading design and digital media creation, management and distribution company.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
