Sony DADC Continues Major Investment In London-Based Blu-ray Disc Authoring Facility

Sony DADC, a leading disc and digital solution provider, announced the completion of its latest investment round in Blu-ray Disc authoring and mastering facilities at its London office.
A global player in the media creation industry with creative facilities on every continent, Sony DADC has now created Europe's best resourced and most advanced Blu-ray Disc authoring and mastering cluster comprising of the London facility working closely with its Salzburg Blu-ray Disc authoring centre.
Alongside the format's stunning High Definition video and audio capabilities, Sony DADC continues to invest in the evolution of its BD-Live authoring resources. This sophisticated interactivity palette blends Blu-ray seamlessly with internet connectivity and transforms the home entertainment experience from passive viewing to totally immersive interactivity.
It enables movie fans to access a rich diversity of added value content and communicate with the movie's makers, the studio and other committed fans through specially developed web-based portals.
Neil Bottrill, Head of DigitalWorks Authoring & Post-Production at Sony DADC's London office, said: "With its unprecedented picture and sound quality together with the rapidly developing BD-Live, Blu-ray is revolutionising the European home entertainment industry. Already, Blu-ray accounts for more of our revenue than DVD projects. In just 12 months, we have seen our Blu-ray authoring business grow by more than ten times in both volume and value."
Delivering a fast-track Blu-ray Disc production facility for its clients, Sony DADC has invested heavily in HD production equipment, which covers the entire creative process from HDCAM-SR format High Definition tape decks to specialist encoding systems and authoring software.
As a result of this investment, Sony DADC has all the necessary BD production facilities in-house and can turn around projects faster than any other facility operating in Europe.
Bottrill added: "Thanks to all the facilities mentioned, Sony DADC can offer a seamless One-Stop-Shop service for Blu-ray customers: from content creation, through authoring, mastering and production through to direct-to-retail shipments. So our clients just need to focus on sales and marketing and do not have to worry about handing the title over from one supplier to the other."
Sony DADC's rapidly growing Blu-ray client list includes 2Entertain, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Icon, Entertainment Film, ITV DVD, Optimum, Showbox Media Group Limited, Metrodome, Artificial Eye, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Music and Eagle Vision.
2008 is the year when Blu-ray moved significantly into the interactive space through the implementation of its unique BD-Live system and when BD-Live capacities were simultaneously rolled out at Sony DADC facilities in US, Europe and China. With a wide range of consumer electronics manufacturers - such as Sony, Panasonic, Sharp and Pioneer launching BD-Live players this autumn, the movie studios are looking at this facility with interest.
Neil Bottrill explained: "Today it is the format's exceptional picture and sound quality that turn consumers on to Blu-ray but in the future we will see BD-Live becoming an increasingly important element in the entertainment proposition.
"Already we can offer the European market's most advanced BD-Live production facility. In the future, our plan is to stay ahead of the market by bringing more of these facilities, resources and people in-house within the London team."
(KMcA)