Blazing the Trail of Content Creation
Before there were video iPods, HP understood that the old barriers were coming down. The definitions of who would create content and how it would be shared and enjoyed were changing. Those changes are now the backbone of a modern media and culture revolution. One that is seemingly without limits.

It is no longer possible to think of content creation as an isolated process. It is important to place creative people and their tools into a context that reaches out to collaborators and to the consumerand even back again.

To show users at a variety of budgets how they can participate in this all-important chain, HP's NAB booth (SL 3744) models the ideal of a totally interconnected media world. With the theme "Create, Manage, Distribute and Enjoy," HP continues to lay the infrastructure for where artists and audiences want to go.

The Next Step for a Trusted Platform
The HP xw8200 Workstation platform has earned its place as the standard for video editing and digital content creation. It represents years of HP's collaboration with content creators from Hollywood to Main Street, as well HP's tight integration and collaboration with hardware partners such as Intel and software partners such as Avid and Adobe.

HP's holistic approach to platform development has ensured that the present and future needs of content creators are represented in innovative details, as well as overarching accomplishments in performance and reliability. By serving as an integration point and facilitator among users and hardware and software partners, HP's workstation development has truly optimized technological progress for the specific needs of the content creation market.

This long-term commitment to DCC takes another big step forward in 2006, says Jim Zafarana, vice president and WW marketing manager for HP's Workstation Global Business Unit. Leveraging new development from Intel, the next generation of HP Workstations represent "substantial gains in productivity and cost-effectiveness -- something the market needs now more than ever," Zafarana says. "As the market has gone from SD to HD to many realtime streams, we've seen a dramatic increase in the size and speed demands."

HP addresses these demands in part through the power of the next generation dual-core Xeon processors. "As we've always done, we engage with Intel very, very early," Zafarana explains, "so the platform definition and development cycle is in sync."

Similarly, HP's next generation product benefi ts from direct input and collaboration with Avid. "The next generation of HP Workstations are based on dual processors, with this new two-by-two process that delivers four CPU cores capable of tackling multiple jobs, multi-threaded applications, and multiple streams. These upgrades double the number of cores, enabling this market to reach its next level. This year will be a dramatic step forward."

But progress is not just based on an isolated workstation, or even application performance. "The way we define the pipeline," Zafarana says, "will free content creators creatively because their system will be more interactive. Their train of thought and creative process will not be subjected to the hourglass. They'll be able to tackle bigger creative challenges, do more at once, mixing audio, video, and effects with greater interactivity."

"The creative process is entirely iterative," adds Molly Connolly, HP Workstations, DCC Segment Marketing Manager. "Having more creative time translates directly into a competitive edge for quality."

"You're going to see a lot more performance from the same company that built a trusted platform based on an intimate relationship with this community," Zafarana concludes. "We do not cut corners in terms of the core product nor in terms of the rigor of how we work with our partners. This is a community that can't sacrifice quality; understanding that has been fundamental to our success in supporting them."



Case Study: No Limits
Consider the challenge: You want to sell programming to the venerable National Geographic -- from half a world away.

For Natural History New Zealand (NHNZ), this was not just a self-imposed challenge, it was a business plan. NHNZ is now a world-leading producer of factual television, creating more than 60 hours of programming a year, much of it incorporating CGI to demonstrate the inaccessible and fascinating phenomena of the natural world -- from natural disasters to microscopic creatures.

From its base in Dunedin, New Zealand, NHNZ has ventured across every continent and above and below every ocean on the planet, working closely alongside National Geographic Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Health, TLC, PBS, NHK, France 5, and NDR. Their programs are seen in more than 200 countries by hundreds of millions of viewers.

So how does a company in a tiny New Zealand outpost compete as a world-class creator of documentary content? Good stories, good people, and good ideas, of course. But, also good infrastructure, says Wayne Poll, IT Systems Manager at NHNZ.

"Technology was crucial to our goals," Poll says simply. "We wanted to be on a level playing field with production houses that were next door to National Geo."

NHNZ is a working example of the modern content producer. They see themselves as part of a worldwide network; they manage assets from creative partners who are across the parking lot and across the globe; and they deliver their content to international clients for broadcast to audiences around the world. All this from a workstation platform.

"About three years ago, we had a major review of our systems," Poll says. "We had tried solutions from various vendors and it was time to commit to a single vendor. The Avid/HP platform was the right one for us, in part because of the performance of the individual technologies, but also the way all the systems worked together."

NHNZ runs six Avid Adrenalines on HP xw8200 Workstations (upgraded from the original xw8000 Workstations), as well as Xpress Pro and an Avid Unity network with 12 terabytes of storage. "We were very comfortable making that decision knowing the collaboration with HP. We were very pleased that HP had spent so much time with Avid."

NHNZ is an end-to-end business, responsible for everything from storyboards to masters, including animation elements (with frequent collaborator Animation Research), to cinematography, to their own in-house sound operations including Foley.

"The biggest change we've seen is the increase in DCC for factual documentaries -- we have up to 20 minutes of 3D now in many of our pieces," says Poll. "Without the tools behind us to do digital content we wouldn't be competitive. Some of the best TV being produced is being done on desk-based tools. In our case those have to be powerful, stable, and integrated tools if we are going to produce content that is competitive in today's market."

For Poll, whose expertise is a blend of broadcast and IT technology, being able to count on his platform and network is crucial to day-to-day operations, but also to envisioning the future. He notes, "We're starting to look very carefully at content management, streaming content among our Gigabit LANS, using streaming servers to move the directorial process away from the suites to give direct hands-on access to editorial suites to people anywhere in the building, town, or world."

"That will be the next competitive edge for us," he adds. "If we didn't have a stable infrastructure we wouldn't have the time or ability to consider this kind of icing on the cake. Because we have a solid base infrastructure working so well for us, we can look towards the next move for our business."