Discreet deliver strong growth in HDTV sales

Discreet have announced that unit sales for high-definition television (HDTV) postproduction systems for the fiscal third quarter ended October 31 2003 were 162% higher than the comparable period of the previous year.
In addition, nearly two thirds (64%) of all Discreet systems sold in Q3 FY2004 were HD configurations of its visual effects systems inferno and flame, and editing/finishing systems fire and smoke.
Discreet’s leadership in HD, combined with a growing number of facilities standardising on all-Discreet workflows, led to significant growth in units shipped, and revenue compared to both the previous quarter in this year and the same period last year. The mounting prevalence of Discreet systems is also attributed to broadcasters’ accelerated rate of HD adoption, and an increase in end-user consumption of high-quality DVD programming.
“Discreet’s quarter-on-quarter sales growth reflects the continuing endorsement of our existing customers as they add new HD capabilities, enhancing their return on investment, as well as the growth in new customers who have chosen Discreet for our flexibility and superior ROI,” said Martin Vann, vice president of worldwide systems sales and marketing for Discreet. “Broadcasters and post facilities need creative, software-driven systems that deliver outstanding visual effects and uncompressed HD picture quality - not systems limited to simple online or finishing capabilities.”
End user demand for Discreet systems is being driven by technology trends such as the broadcast industry’s desire to work with higher quality RGB (4:4:4) HD and 2K media as opposed to traditional YUV (4:2:2).
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