Quantel is introducing “Pay as you go HD,” a business model designed to ease customers into HD while increasing the company’s HD revenue. Customers buy an eQ system initially limited to SD input and output, at roughly 40 percent less than the HD version. Full HD capability can then be unlocked by password when required. Quantel therefore assumes part of the customer’s HD business risk. Activation is available by the week or month, with the first two HD weeks included at launch. The offer is intended as an entry solution: beyond approximately 26 weeks of use, purchasing the HD equipment outright becomes less expensive.
Quantel’s NAB presentation also covers Eiger, its new Effects, Imaging, Grading and Editing Release software for the eQ system, which handles editing, effects, colour correction and mastering, and the iQ digital-intermediate system. New functions including process-tree ergonomics are described in DP 03:05.
