14 May 2007 • Alfacam, the TV facilities provider, its sister-company Euro1080, the HDTV media company and the Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra “deFilharmonie” have agreed to work together on a series of concerts in an agreement lasting until at least 2010. Alfacam will record the concerts in HDTV and Euro1080 will broadcast the concerts via its pan European HDTV Culture Channel EXQI.DeFilharmonie has a reputation as one of the finest orchestras and is able to attract some of the very best musicians and conductors in the world. The concerts will feature the likes of Philippe Herreweghe and Jaap van Zweden as well as showcasing some of the very newest talent.
Gabriel Fehervari, CEO of Alfacam and Euro1080, said: “I am thrilled to have entered into an agreement with deFilharmonie. Alfacam and Euro1080 have co-operated with deFilharmonie in the past on several occasions, but a long-term contract like this one is a first.”
The two companies have already worked together on projects such as the recording of 9 Beethoven symphonies by deFilharmonie, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe. This series was subsequently successfully sold to NHK, the Japanese television broadcaster.
Gabriel Fehervri added: “The very first co-production project of this new agreement will be a series of Kids Concerts to be recorded in July 2007 in a new, especially acoustically designed TV studio at the Eurocam Media Center in Lint, where also Alfacam and Euro1080 are based. Gripping story telling from actors will dovetail with 75 of the finest musicians from the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra to bring to life Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and “Nutcracker” and Grieg’s “Peer Gynt”.This project will clearly illustrate that classical music is not just for adults”.
Euro1080 will utilise the latest technology in order to record all the concerts in High Definition accompanied by the very best quality surround sound. before making them available to a wider European audience on its culture channel EXQI.
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Alfacam, the Belgian TV facilities provider, is based in the Eurocam Media Center in Lint near Antwerp (Belgium). The company offers services to TV stations and production houses. Alfacam’s multi-camera television facilities trucks (OB vehicles) of which at present already 15 are capable of making HD recordings, are recording large music, sports and lifestyle events around the world. Yearly, Alfacam carries out more than 1200 jobs. 60% of the assignments are already done in HDTV.
www.alfacam.com
Euro1080 plays a pioneering role in the field of HDTV broadcasting in Europe and began transmitting on 1st January 2004. For a long time Euro1080’s HD1 was the first and the only TV station to broadcast in HD in Europe. Meanwhile the Belgium-based high definition media company launched additional HDTV stations such as HD2 and the EXQI Culture Channels.
www.euro1080.tv
HDTV (High Definition Television) guarantees superior image quality. Instead of the 625 lines (of which only 575 are visible) of the current European TV screen, the HDTV image consists of 1080 lines. HDTV can display at least 4 to 5 times more detail than analogue TV. The aspect ratio of HDTV is 16:9, instead of 4:3, which is common for standard television. This 16:9 ratio gives the image a panoramic effect. LCD and plasma flat-screens capable of displaying high definition signals carry the “HD ready” quality logo.
