ITV NEWS REGIONS ROLLS OUT PIXEL POWER'S CLARITY 500

Stand 7.138, IBC2005, Amsterdam, 9 September 2005: ITV News Regions is rolling out Pixel Power’s Clarity 500 graphics solution across its regional UK news stations. The leading independent commercial broadcaster is to replace its various legacy systems with Clarity 500 to unify its on-air look as it migrates to an all-digital environment.

Following a successful pilot at South-East England’s Meridian station, ITV News Regions now uses Clarity 500 for news graphics at ITV Central Birmingham, Granada TV, Tyne-Tees and Yorkshire TV, plus ITV affiliate Scottish TV. ITV Anglia and ITV Central Abingdon are set to go live with Clarity 500 by the end of the year.

In addition Clarity 500 provides master control and end-credit ’squeeze and tease’ promotion graphics play-out at Scottish TV, Ulster TV and the London-based Southern Transmission Centre.

Clarity 500’s advanced functionality and simple user-interface allows journalists to adapt various prepared templates for their own news reports. Interfacing directly with ITV News Regions’ Avid iNews, Clarity 500 enables users to add text to lower-third straps and drag-and-drop logos, stills and other graphics simply and quickly.

“To compete in today’s multi-channel environment, all ITV News Regions stations must pull in the same direction, and Clarity 500 cost-effectively delivers a consistent on-air look,” says ITV News Regions’ creative director Neville Booth. “Pixel Power provides a win-win solution for both our graphics and editorial teams: the graphics creatives are freed from the nuts and bolts of graphics transmission while journalists can now easily add graphics to their reports themselves.”

“There is no reason for professional graphics solutions to cost the Earth, particularly when the need for them has never been greater,” says Pixel Power’s MD James Gilbert. “ITV News Regions is demonstrating the power of its nationwide presence through its unified approach to its on-air graphics across all broadcast its areas.”

Notes to editor

Pixel Power is a leader in the development and production of SD and HD broadcast graphics systems, news production workflow tools and live interactive content with more than 2,000 installations worldwide. With a local presence around the world the company’s award-winning solutions suit broadcasters, post-production houses and outside broadcast (OB) trucks of all sizes for distinctive, professional, reliable and cost-effective on-air graphics.

Established in Cambridge, UK, in 1987, the company also has a wholly owned subsidiary office in Florida, USA, and a dedicated network of distributors and support offices around the world.