HDTV Solutions, Inc., a provider of consumer and professional digital
television-related products and services, recently announced their official
launch at the high-profile “Herring on Hollywood” event in Los Angeles. In the
months ahead, the company intends to roll-out its own products as well as
others it licenses for the corporate and professional markets, along with a
consumer retail service to offer mainstream consumers a more affordable means
for acquiring HDTV sets.
HDTV Solutions was established based on President and CEO Ted Schilowitz’s
own experience as a commercial producer and director. On assignment to
direct a shoot with a high-definition (HD) camera in 1998, Schilowitz was
told that a field monitor for viewing the signal from the HD camera was not
available, leaving him to devise his own solution. In the time since,
Schilowitz has used that experience to develop his own lightweight, portable
HD field monitor for production professionals, approaching award-winning
portable device maker, Sunnyvale, California-based Frogdesigns (designer of
the Sony Trinitron and the Apple computer) to move his product toward the
finish line in the months ahead. “Before moving into final bid-stage on
HDTV Solutions’ products, we reviewed their proof of concept extensively,”
said Frogdesigns’ Managing Director of Product Development, Tylor Garland.
“From our perspective, this is a company we want to be in business
with.”
“HDTV Solutions’ HD field monitors are still in the prototype phase,”
Schilowitz made clear. “Our original models have allowed us to view the
signal from a Sony HDcam on a standard high-resolution computer display
during production. The latest prototype was on display at the
Herring on Hollywood event. We hope to ship the first test models to field
testers before the end of the year, and to have our first products in the
hands of paying customers before next year’s National Association of
Broadcasters conference in April.”
The company’s Services division is set to open the first post- production
facilities designed exclusively for HD from the ground up, Schilowitz also
announced. Along with significant networking efforts to develop synergy
with other niche production and post companies across the country,
commercial spaces have been readied for “HDTV LA” and “HDTV NY” in New York
City, and final technology and vendor evaluations are underway.
“We currently have spaces in the ‘media
corridor’ of Santa Monica (7th and
Wilshire) and in New York City (below Canal Street near the Tribeca Film
Center),” Schilowitz said. “We hope to open the doors of ‘HDTV LA’ within
90 days, and ‘HDTV NY’ before year’s end.”
For its most ambitious undertaking, the company is preparing to launch their
consumer e-commerce site to allow mainstream consumers to shop for and
acquire HDTV systems under terms that will make these systems much more
easily affordable than current pricing plans being offered from retailers.
“Within the next 12 months we hope to launch our beta or market-test
consumer site,” Schilowitz commented. “Before another 12 months has passed
after our online launch, we expect to launch home theater boutiques in
high-traffic shopping areas in the U.S., like Santa Monica’s Third Street
Promenade and New York City’s Times Square.”
Asked about the current status of the company’s development, Schilowitz
remarked that HDTV Solutions is “continuing to close financing arrangements
with private equity investors. We’re opening dialogues with venture
capitalists, while also continuing to explore corporate/ partnership funding
possibilities. Through these approaches, we hope to move into startup mode
on at least one division very soon.”
Other early developments that should help the company achieve profitability
soon include their licensing of a technology solution from San Jose’s 2netFX
that allows HD signals to be streamed over the Internet. “Today, streaming
media is characterized by frustratingly low-quality content,” Schilowitz
said on this topic. “This multicast video broadcasting technology from
2netFX represents the future, and we’re very excited to offer our clients
the ability to share high-resolution data and video in real-time with a vast
number of viewers over switched broadband networks, satellites and the
Internet.” Applications for this technology include broadband internet
advertising, broadcasting, conferencing, distance learning, corporate and
educational training, one-to-many conferencing, remote surveillance, and
telemedicine.
