IBC2011 Innovation Awards

Grass Valley™ and Dorna Sports have been shortlisted in the highly sought-after IBC2011 Innovation Awards. Recognized for its achievements in the Content Creation Category, the companies were shortlisted out of more than 130 submissions, for its involvement in the live production of the MotoGP World Championship with, Spanish-based production company, Dorna Sports.

Grass Valley developed a unique storage and asset management solution for Dorna Sports (the exclusive TV rights holder) for use during the racing events. Dorna Sports covers all 18 races in the MotoGP international motorcycle season, with more than 120 high-definition cameras at every event.

Approximately 2,000 clips a day are created and Grass Valley developed its innovative solution, based on touchscreen controllers, which allowed a small team of operators to mark, rate, and prepare clips for replay. The solution enabled the Grass Valley K2 Dyno™ Replay Controller and K2 Summit™ production client to interface seamlessly to an Apple XSan and 25 seats of Final Cut Pro for editing. The entire system was readily portable so Dorna could take easily transport it around the various race tracks.

“Dorna has been involved in the MotoGP World Championship live production since 1992, working hard to develop and refine innovative technologies to serve the live broadcasting requirements of a unique sport, said Manel Arroyo, Media Area Managing Director of Dorna Sports. “While we believe that we have the best workflow for the type of sports coverage we produce, being shortlisted for the IBC Innovation Awards just confirms this, and we couldn’t be more pleased.”

Grass Valley and Dorna Sports are one of just three shortlisted in the Content Creation category for the most innovative projects. The IBC2011 Innovation Awards are unique in the sense that they recognize how suppliers and customers work together to create something truly innovative — celebrating the application of technology in bringing creative, commercial, or operational benefits to the end user.

“This really is an outstanding year for the IBC2011 Innovation Awards, with a very strong shortlist,” said Michael Lumley, chair of the judging panel. “We have flying monsters and business graphics, news production and transmission networks, motorbikes and online delivery. All show a real partnership to identify the real issues and create an innovative, practical and effective solution.”

“We are thrilled to be nominated for this prestigious award alongside our partner Dorna”, said Charlie Dunn, Senior Vice President of Editing, Servers and Storage at Grass Valley. “Dorna was looking for a highly automated, tapeless workflow after its move to HD sparked a rethink of the way its production workflow is handled. We came up with a tailor-made solution which enabled them to work seamlessly and we are delighted that this innovation has been recognized at this high profile awards event.”

* Disclaimer: Grass Valley is not an official sponsor of the MotoGP World Championship, nor is it affiliated in any way with the MotoGP World Championship. Information supplied in this media alert does not imply endorsement from the MotoGP World Championship. As well, MotoGP and MotoGP World Championship are registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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