ARRI Rental Group Purchases Its 50th SRW-1 Recorder From Sony

Sony's SRW-1 video tape recorder has been such a popular rental for ARRI Rental Group that it has already purchased its 50th in only three and a half years - an investment totalling over £2m.
The HDCAM SR format recorders are being rented in conjunction with the ARRIFLEX D-21 Film Style Digital Camera and have been embraced by production companies worldwide for feature films, TV dramas and commercials.
Bill Lovell, Head of the Digital Department at ARRI Media, said: "The SRW-1 has been very widely accepted by our rental clients. It has been extremely popular because of its reliability and the market acceptance of the HDCAM SR format - which is widely used around the world. Furthermore, Sony has been particularly good at listening to our needs and adding features to meet our requirements."
ARRI Media, which is part of the ARRI Rental
Group, has rented out the SRW-1 together with the D-21 (and its predecessor the D-20) for a number of highly successful projects.
These include two series of 'Silent Witness' for the BBC, 'Hogfather' and 'The Color Of Magic' - both adaptations of Terry Pratchett novels - for Sky TV, as well as many feature films including Guy Ritchie's 'Rocknrolla' and Roger Donaldson's 'The Bank Job'.
In the US hit TV series', including 'The Company', 'Andromeda Strain' and 'Tin Man' have been shot with D-20/21 cameras and SRW-1 recorders.
Mark Harrison, Account Manager for ARRI Media at Sony UK, said: "It is a privilege to work closely with ARRI and great to reach this symbolic sale with a company that has such a strong heritage in the film business.
"This is not an indication of the usability and performance of our technology but also a great example of the level of commitment and support that Sony provides to companies we work with."
ARRI celebrated its 90th birthday last year. Over the last three and a half years, ARRI Rental Group has purchased 50 SRW-1 recorders. The SRW-1 portable recorder is capable of recording in the HDCAM SR format, with 1920x1080 RGB 4:4:4, 1-60fps and is widely adopted as a no compromise high quality solution for acquisition and mastering.
(KMcA)