MONTREAL – December 19, 2019 – Grass Valley tops off a year of driving tighter industry collaboration and partnerships by winning the 2019 IABM Creative Collaboration Award. During 2019, Grass Valley cemented key projects and partnerships that have helped shape the industry. The company also demonstrated its commitment to driving innovation by establishing the Grass Valley Technology Alliance (GVTA).

Grass Valley’s president Tim Shoulders commented: “The broadcast industry is moving toward software-based solutions and pay-as-you-go environments, and our customers need partners that make this transition easier for them. A collaborative approach is central to extending our portfolio and facilitating pre-certified interoperable solutions that help our customers succeed in this new market landscape. We’ve made this is a strategic priority going forward, to work more with other vendors and deliver best-in-breed workflows.”

This commitment to collaboration is epitomized by the world’s largest remote/at-home production – the 2019 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, held in Åre, Sweden, which earned Grass Valley, along with partners Arista, ClearCom, Net Insight and Sveriges Television (SVT), the IABM Creative Collaboration Award. The Grass Valley-centric remote workflow deployed during the championship seamlessly handled 80 uncompressed HD camera signals and 100 feeds. Signals were delivered from the venue to SVT’s Stockholm headquarters – more than 372 miles away – via Grass Valley’s DirectIP connectivity. The remote production solution significantly reduced set-up time and generated cost savings of ten percent.

The launch of the GVTA in April 2019 laid down a clear marker for Grass Valley’s commitment to greater collaboration across the industry. The alliance, whose members now include ChyronHego, Frankly Media, Net Insight, RT Software and Telemetrics, drives integration at the development level to ensure seamless interoperability, helping customers simplify the purchasing process. The program also provides access to a wide range of systems and solutions that result from integrations with Grass Valley workflow components.

As a pioneer in the industry transition to open standards-based IP, Grass Valley is a strong advocate for standards and interoperability through organizations like SMPTE and AIMS. The company is at the forefront of remote/at-home IP live production, pushing the boundaries through partnerships with other innovators. 2019 saw a number successful ultra-high bandwidth tests with technology partners like IMG and CenturyLink. The trials show the robustness of Grass Valley’s unique DirectIP workflow, which is capable of delivering signals directly from cameras to remote production locations over distances of more than 12,000 miles.

Shoulders added: “Leading through collaboration is a key priority for Grass Valley. It’s something we’re passionate about and believe is good for the vendor community – and more importantly, for our customers.”