Manhattan-based Metrovision Production Group has now wrapped up work on Metro Seven, its latest vehicle in a growing fleet of mobile production units. Recently making its official debut at Gerling & Associates’ outdoor booth at NAB 2007, this new high-definition OB vehicle boasts ten HD cameras with an HD switcher, ten VTRs, and, at the helm of its audio suite, the first Studer Vista 5 digital console sold in North America.

Metro Seven, a 40-foot straight box truck primarily designed for city use, is an OB vehicle of many firsts. For example, the truck has a unique 33-foot sidewall that can expand out to either 40 or 60 inches. Another impressive feature is that the vehicle can provide seating for a practically unheard of 18 people. more

HP announced that the network that forms the backbone of its HP Halo studios now circumnavigates the globe via an alliance with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited, VSNL, a leading provider of international communication solutions.

The extension of the Halo Video Exchange Network (HVEN) enhances the natural, personal connection experience by further reducing the no-perceived latency standard of Halo. It also gives added business continuity protection to Halo customers by enabling automatic re-routing of Halo connections during earthquakes or other disasters that can disrupt all forms of network traffic. more

Ciprico, a leading storage solutions provider for content creation, management and delivery applications, will demonstrate a new class of Direct Attached Storage (DAS) using the new PCI Express external cabling standard at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas, April 16-19, 2007.

The new system, based on Ciprico‘s RAIDCore software RAID stack, allows end users to seamlessly add storage in a high-performance switched-DAS-like environment within a single storage cell, creating an extremely high performance storage pod of up to 64 TB based on current hard drive storage capacities. The combination of a performance switched DAS cell with a more scaleable SAN based network allows a cost effective two-tier scalable storage system that meets the demands of bandwidth hungry HD, 2K, and 4K resolution video applications. more

Continuing to redefine its premium display line, JVC is excited to introduce two professional broadcast monitors, the DT-V24L1DU, 24in. monitor and the DT-V20L1DU, 20in. monitor. Featuring 16:9 aspect ratio, wide viewing angle, high-speed LCD and precise color reproduction, these monitors are ideal for broadcast and post-production facilities where image accuracy is vital.

“These multi-format professional monitors were created to meet the demanding needs of broadcast applications where ultra-high resolution, advanced signal processing and color reproduction are extremely important,” says Edgar Shane, senior product engineering manager, JVC Professional Products Company. more

JVC Professional Products Company is introducing a high efficiency Full HD microwave equipped camera system that, for the first time, brings affordable HD microwave capabilities to the ENG/EFP market. The ProHD Libre system provides native 60P HD capture, recording and transmission through a compact, onboard camera-back transmitter developed for JVC by Broadcast Microwave Services (BMS). A fully equipped system, complete with camera, lens, microwave transmitter and receiver can be configured for under $30,000. Previous systems with this capability began at more than $100,000. more

Clean Up Crew is pleased to announce the release of Shrink & Tether after one year of development and in-house production use. Available for a 20-day free download at www.shrink.it.

Shrink & Tether are unique QuickTime encoding applications, geared for the VFX, and post-production industry, with direct access to clips on AutoDesk Stone FS.

To the VFX artist or team; Shrink & Tether are about easier workflow and elimating the artist from non-creative tasks. It‘s the hottest thing out there in VFX,” says marketing partner, Veronica Verve. more

Adobe Systems announced the immediate availability of the highly-anticipated Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Standard editions and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium and Standard editions. This revolutionary release of brand-new, tightly integrated, design and development software unites the best of Adobe and former Macromedia product innovation to provide designers and developers worldwide with a broad spectrum of creative options.

Also available for purchase today are new versions of the following stand alone Adobe creative applications: Adobe Photoshop CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, Adobe InDesign CS3, Adobe Illustrator CS3, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, Adobe Fireworks CS3, and Adobe Contribute CS3. These new Adobe CS3 applications and Adobe Creative Suite 3 editions are available as Universal applications for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs and support both Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista. more

Front Porch Digital’s industry-leading DIVArchive content storage management (CSM) solution, is expanding to include an Avid Interplay interface. Front Porch Digital’s products will be on display within the Avid Technology Developer Community booth SL1413 at NAB2007.

The new interface within DIVArchive is designed to allow easy and transparent SD and HD content storage expansion for Avid Interplay, the world’s first nonlinear workflow engine, while continuing to support the proven DET and DHM interfaces for systems that do not include this advanced collaborative tool. Front Porch Digital is under contract to deliver its first installation of the Avid Interplay interface to a major North American broadcaster this quarter. more

Echolab Corporation, which provides technologically advanced video production switchers and other broadcast tools, today announced it will introduce the Ovation MD video switcher at NAB2007. The Ovation MD multi-definition HD-ready series is powerful enough to handle fast-paced, live video production and flexible enough to adapt to customers’ growing and changing needs.

“The Ovation MD series of multi-definition video switchers is another example of Echolab matching customer responsiveness to superb technical competence,” says Nigel Spratling, who takes over as Echolab president May 1. “At Echolab, such a match continues to yield innovative product development. Indeed, we like to think of Ovation MD as a significant step forward in broadcast evolution.” more

ScheduALL has established a technology partnership with SintecMedia, a provider of management systems for the broadcasting, cable, and satellite industries, to enable seamless integration of operations management with airtime sales, traffic, programming, and promotion campaigns. The combination of ScheduALL software with SintecMedia’s OnAir software introduces dramatically improved efficiency to the production and airing of broadcast content, backed by comprehensive production and cost reporting. more