London kit reseller Root 6 has struck a deal with Sony to sell, deliver and support the manufacturer's range of workflow tools to the UK broadcast and post-production market, writes Sam Espensen.

London kit reseller Root 6 has struck a deal with Sony to sell, deliver and support the manufacturer's range of workflow tools to the UK broadcast and post-production market, writes Sam Espensen.

Root 6's Marcus Hume-Humphreys told Broadcast that Sony had previously "lived in a world of box-shifters, but products are far more sophisticated now. Root 6 has technological and consultancy experience to offer, and Sony was looking for a relationship which marries technology to operations."

Among the "workflow solutions" included in the deal are Sony's MXF-based (material exchange format) AV/IT network connectivity, along with metadata systemisation and HD production.

Root 6 and Sony spent 18 months examining economic and technological changes in the TV industry before deciding to work together. Root 6's John Harris explained that today's approach to production takes more of a "team approach, with many editors working simultaneously on common material over a network. Facilities which create a more efficient and productive workflow environment will be best placed to gain commercial advantage."

Meanwhile, Sony has revealed it is working on a system that will allow personal digital assistant-based news editing. Using low-res proxy content streamed from its new optical disk camcorder ( Broadcast, 11.4.03) edit decisions could be made on a hand-held device with the metadata fed back to the camcorder which would stream the edited program to a satellite or other delivery medium.

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