Production Switcher Platform Offers Big Market Look at a Mid-Market Price

Amsterdam, The Netherlands (IBC — Stand 1.D11), September 08, 2011 — Grass Valley™, the inventors of the modern day production switcher, and a company known for the highest-quality production switchers available today, has leveraged its extensive engineering expertise with the Kayenne™ Video Production Center and Kayak™ switchers, along with its field-proven experience, to introduce a new, lower-cost switcher platform called the Karrera™ Video Production Center – bringing top of the line production capabilities to more applications and more users.

At IBC, Grass Valley will demonstrate the Karrera's suite of flexible features and its intuitive user interface, which ensure that operating the Karrera will feel very familiar to experienced Grass Valley switcher operators as well as novices.

A wide variety of system options provides both an affordable Karrera entry price along with the ability to grow the system as needs expand. The Karrera family features two frame sizes (4 RU and 8 RU) with frame configurations from 1 to 4.5 M/Es. Either frame can be combined with a choice of 2 or 3 M/E control panels as well as a 1 M/E soft-panel GUI.

In addition to the hardware possibilities, Karrera can be expanded with a variety of software options to create the system configuration that is customized for a specific application. Karrera also features Grass Valley's DoubleTake™ split M/E mode, which effectively increases the maximum number of M/Es (including an optional half-M/E) to a total of up to 10 channels. Included with the DoubleTake option is FlexiKey programmable clean feed, allowing assignment of keyers to any of four outputs per M/E in any combination, in any order.

Karrera is a fully digital 10-bit 4:2:2 video switcher with up to 96 inputs and 48 outputs. It features HD/SD SDI signal support with (optional) up/down/cross converters on selected inputs and outputs, and six keyers in every full M/E—four full-function keyers plus two linear/ luminance keyers. Each full-function keyer has two pages (frames) of video and key storage to free up Image Store outputs and reduce the number of external graphics sources.

"The Karrera brings a new level of performance to more productions with innovative features and all the signal processing capability you would expect from the global leader in video production switchers," said Scott Murray, Senior Vice President of Live Production Solutions at Grass Valley. "With Karrera, we're enabling customers to take advantage of all of the powerful 'high-end' features that Grass Valley has become famous for, at a price point that makes them available to a much wider audience. We expect Karrera to be the latest in Grass Valley's long line of successful production switchers."

A newly designed control panel makes operators more efficient by accentuating the most-used functions while providing quick access to more in-depth features through an instinctive menu structure and panel shift levels. The panel incorporates bright OLED displays for source and function names, and all buttons have RGB LEDs that dynamically change for color-coding functions and source grouping.

"Since its introduction, we've called our Kayenne Video Production Center 'the world's most powerful switcher,' and that's still true today," added Murray. "But our new Karrera Video Production Center is absolutely 'the world's second most powerful production switcher'."

The new switcher also features up to four internal DPMs (iDPMs) per M/E for a total of 16 DPMs, which float to any full-function keyer in the switcher. Kurl™ and Spektra are standard on all DPMs. In addition, Karrera supports four independent channels of eDPM with independent timelines and primary and secondary combiner outputs, available in the 8 RU frame.

Pre-production time and resources are reduced with Karrera's fast-access configuration and set up. Karrera's optional high-resolution, 1280x768 pixel touchscreen menu features a shallow menu structure with the "History" and "Favorites" features that existing Grass Valley switcher users have come to embrace, and context sensitive pull-down menus that put everything at the user's fingertips.

Availability
The new Karrera Video Production Center will be available to order in September with first shipments planned to begin in December.

###

About Grass Valley – the Premier Video Technology Solutions Company

With a rich history serving the broadcast and professional video industries, the Grass Valley name is synonymous with innovation, leadership, and performance. With a full range of products and services supporting many of the world's most high-profile television events, Grass Valley offers the most comprehensive portfolio of flexible and cost-effective digital technologies and systems available. Customers deploying Grass Valley solutions include most of the world's leading broadcast and teleproduction facilities, independent video professionals, as well as emerging content creators and distributors providing broadband, telecommunications, and transmission services. When you're watching news, sports, or entertainment programming, whether on a TV, the Web, or a mobile phone, you're watching Grass Valley at work.

For information about Grass Valley products, please visit: www.grassvalley.com