The Associated Press (AP) has moved its news operations to HD using video acquisition and delivery systems from Ericsson. In what is claimed to be the largest rollout of HD by any news agency globally, AP completed the transition to HD ahead of the London Olympics and the US presidential election in November. AP supplies world news, entertainment, sport and lifestyle video to broadcasters (with more than half of the world’s population seeing its content every day), and as viewers are increasingly moving to HD, AP has had to respond. “Our customers expect us to be responsive to the way the news world is changing, which means reacting to the increase in demand for video news, providing it in better quality,” said David Hoad, AP’s director of global video technology. “In the case of HD, we have invested ahead of the market need, making it easier for broadcasters and digital publishers around the world to make the move to HD. Our existing relationship with Ericsson left us in no doubt that it had the newsgathering solutions we needed to meet AP’s needs and in the future.” AP has installed Ericsson’s AVP 3000 Voyager Digital Satellite News Gathering system and RX8200 modular professional receiver, to deliver the high-quality pictures with rapid turnaround times. The AVP 3000 Voyager is equipped for multiplatform, multiscreen use, and is claimed to offer “greater usability, flexibility and future-proofing” compared to rival products. Besides enabling HD newsgathering, it offers AP the potential to repurpose the equipment for future news services. – David Foxwww.ap.orgwww.ericsson.com
