Crash incident proves DV editor's robust design

In a robust test of their equipment's design, Pinnacle Systems have revealed that a Liquid FIELD mobile DV editor survived a helicopter crash in the African bush.
The DV editor was part of the kit carried by Vaughan Smith, a reporter with news agency Frontline, who was in Angola to report on the war for the BBC. The crash happened at a UNITA base in the African bush when a tail rotor hit a tree. Everyone involved walked away from the crash unscathed and the Liquid FIELD carried on working as if nothing had happened.
Mr Smith, who specialises in stories from war zones, said that Liquid FIELD has become a vital part of his equipment. He first used it in Afghanistan and since then he has taken it to Kashmir as well as Angola. Liquid FIELD is ideal for television reporters as it lets them record, edit and send video clips directly to the broadcast studio from the field, even under difficult circumstances.
Speaking about his experience with the Liquid FIELD, Mr Smith said: “It is a tough powerful system that is ideal for this work as it gives us enormous flexibility and mobility under difficult conditions. It is also extremely reliable as the helicopter incident proved.
“I was very impressed with the way it performed in Afghanistan,” he continued. “It drove everything including the ISDN router, satellite phone and the cameras - no other system can do that from just one box. It also let us use normal cameras so we weren’t restricted to DVD and we could takes feeds from other sources and edit it all using the Liquid Purple NLE. It is also very light and easy to carry”.
In Afghanistan, Mr Smith sent one report from Bamian, where the statues of Buddha were blown up, to BBC TV. Five of the items that were recorded by Vaughan Smith in Afghanistan were used in the BBC’s flagship news analysis programme 'NewsNight'.
In Angola, Smith’s team were the first journalists to see a UNITA base in 10 years. This story, which was recorded and edited on the Liquid FIELD, also included in 'NewsNight'.
Founded in 1986, Pinnacle Systems supplies the most comprehensive choice of digital video tools for broadcasters, video professionals, and home-users. The broadcast and professional solutions are targeted at applications that span live production, high-definition editing, content delivery, news production and sports analysis.
Pinnacle Systems, www.pinnaclesys.com
(GMcG)