HD AND TAPELESS

Long-term, recurrent, econometric patterns associated with the roll-out of basic technologies have been measured from water-powered cotton mills in the eighteenth century to the latest in information and computer technology today. The turning point at the center of each of these patterns marks the key point at which the basic technology of the age has matured to become an almost invisible part of everyday life and the infrastructure of business operations. In recovery from the NASDAQ crash of 2000 Computer and Information Technology is now at this point. The Broadcast Industry is at a turning point of its own as it transitions from standard definition, tape-based acquisition to high definition file-based workflows. This paper examines the implications of this coincidence of turning points and describes Grass Valley's response to it in the form of its Infinity file-based, tapeless solutions.