San Francisco, Calif. January 24, 2012 — AMS Pictures, a Texas-based, premiere, full-service video production company, has upgraded its production capabilities to full high-definition (HD) production with the purchase of a new Karrera™ Video Production Center switcher from Grass Valley™.

AMS Pictures is headquartered in Dallas (with a second location in Austin), where it maintains three production studios (the largest being 3,700 sq. ft), all supported by a single control room, which the staff of 75 uses to produce live-to-tape and live-to-air shows. There are two outbound fiber paths for distribution. The control room is now being renovated to accommodate the Karrera.

AMS Pictures is now one of the first production companies to offer full HD production and distribution services in the Dallas area and will use the new Karrera (2 M/E version in a 4 RU rack) switcher for all types of video projects – from corporate and educational productions to original programming (documentaries) for live broadcast and cable television distribution.

The Karrera's size is ideally suited to the dozens of multi-camera studio projects produced each year. Its feature set provides an array of capabilities to increase AMS Picture's business and offer new services, such as native HD production in the 720p and 1080i formats and full SD/HD simulcast functionality.

"I've used the Grass Valley Kayenne, so I know that the Karrera offers virtually all of the power of the Kayenne in a smaller package," said Bret Harrell, Director of Technology at AMS Pictures. "It's great that I can get the full functionality of a large system in a mid-sized switcher, and the price point is super. Grass Valley has really produced a real winner."

The company still produces SD work for its clients as well, and the Karrera allows it to produce simulcast SD/HD shows. Harrell points out that the Karrera's architecture and intuitive control panel makes this simple to do.

"The Karrera is finding a home with a wide variety of users that might not have been able to afford a larger Grass Valley switcher, but want all of the functionality and reliability of our higher end models," said Jeff Rosica, Executive Vice President of Grass Valley. "AMS Pictures is the first company in the Dallas area to order a Karrera and, once word gets out in the market, I'm sure they won't be the last."

AMS Pictures is working quickly to expand its multi-camera work by upgrading the quality of its equipment. The Karrera is the first step in what the company believes will be a very successful process to grow the company.

About the Karrera Video Production Center
Available in 1.5-2.5 M/E channels in a 4 RU frame and 2.5-4.5 M/Es in an 8 RU frame, the 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/crossconverters 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.

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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 live events, Grass Valley offers the most comprehensive portfolio of software, services and IT infrastructure. Customers deploying Grass Valley solutions include most of the world's leading broadcast and teleproduction IT facilities, independent video professionals, as well as emerging content creators and distributors providers of 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 in the connected world.

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