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In 2002 JVC Professional Europe was established to facilitate the more
manageable globalisation of the growing continental European market.
The purpose was to create a more unified and more manageable
company that would offer greater opportunities for both the integration
of the organisation’s operational services and the sharing of knowledge.
Before its restructuring, JVC Professional had offices in a number
of countries throughout Europe, each working independently of each
other. In the UK, Germany and Italy there are offices that are solely
dedicated to the sales and marketing of JVC professional/industrial
products while separate offices manage consumer products.
Elsewhere in Europe, JVC offices combine both. Currently JVC
Professional Europe has its headquarters in West London and
administers and consolidates from here all activities of JVC
Professional throughout Europe. JVC Professional Europe (JPE) is
one of a number of companies that fall under the corporate
“umbrella” of JVC Europe Limited (JEL).
The parent company, Japan Victor Company (JVC) has a number of
factories based in Japan and other far eastern territories that design
and produce its latest products. The factories which play a
particularly important role as far as JVC Professional Europe is
concerned are the Professional Security and Creation complex,
which manufactures, among other products, broadcast and security
cameras and the manufacturing plant of the Special Products
Systems Division (SPSD) which produces plasmas, CRT screens
and HD products like the JY-HD10 camcorder. In addition, the ILA
Centre researches and produces the latest in projection systems.
Above all else, the safety and reliability of products and
manufacturing are fundamental issues to all of the JVC plants. This,
combined with the smoother operational and communications
interface that the restructured European organisation offers, ensures
that the beneficiaries will be the distribution channels and end users
of JVC products across all sectors of the business.
Throughout its history JVC has been instrumental in shaping the
way society gathers and views information. Breakthroughs such as
45/45 stereo record systems, 4-channel stereo systems, 2-head VTRs
and the invention of the VHS video format in 1976, have all had a
radical impact on our communications and entertainment standards,
spawning new industries around the world. Although the corporate
nucleus of JVC is centred around consumer electronics, the company
is also one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of
advanced audio, video and data products for broadcast, professional
and industrial use. Leadership in these areas has resulted from many
years of engineering collaboration and marketing know-how.
As an increasing number of countries are joining the European
Union, JVC recognises the importance of this expanding territory.
In Europe JVC’s coverage is widespread, with offices in ten countries
and distributors in many more across the continent. The company
takes pride in making seemingly unaffordable products affordable,
as well as smaller and more manageable. An example of this is
JVC’s development of the JY-HD10, the world’s first low-cost
professional High Definition camcorder.
Although the foundations of HD are firmly rooted in North America
and the Far East where it has made strong inroads, it is now
beginning to make its way into Europe. Considerable attention is
being given to HD by some of Europe’s major broadcasters, who
are keeping one eye on what their own customers may demand in
the FUTURE and the other on what their North American
counterparts are demanding NOW. Consequently, there seems little
doubt that HD has a very bright future over here – at
some stage! Already the JY-HD10 is used by
broadcasters in the UK to get images from some
of the most picturesque but at the same time
most remote parts of the world, where light
weight, compact shape and robustness are
essential. So, with the demand for High
Definition expected to increase
substantially, JVC’s compact, single CCD
JY-HD10 camcorder is just the forerunner of
a growing line-up of more sophisticated HD
acquisition and display products.
The legacy of improvements in image quality is the consumer-led
demand for a commensurate improvement in the quality of pictures
displayed on their TV screens and projectors at home. Certainly,
we are experiencing a steady growth in home cinema entertainment
systems with surround sound and large screen displays; and with
this comes the demand for 16:9 pictures and cinema quality images.
In this respect, both as one of the early manufacturers of televisions
in Japan and through its more recent development of D-ILA
projection technology, JVC has much to offer.
The company’s links with the large screen projection experience of
the American Hughes Corporation in America, coupled with its own
small screen presentation experience, has resulted in a range of D-
ILA projectors that are used in many broadcast and industrial locations
– in TV studios, simulation systems and post production studios –
worldwide. What makes the JVC projection systems so special is the
unique reflective D-ILA technology which provides tighter, more
closely spaced pixels which, in turn, translates into considerably
smoother images. This, combined with accurate reproduction of
natural colours and a film-like resolution means that JVC D-ILA
projectors are being selected both for playing out films in the home
as well as in preview theatres, where colourists and DOP’s assess
their final “rushes” before “going to print”. Taking the growing interest
in HD into account, JVC’s latest D-ILA projector has been designed
to accommodate uncompressed HD signals in order to maximise the
advantages of this higher resolution format.
Although large screen projection is
a relatively recent addition to its
portfolio of products, JVC has
become established as a leading
manufacturer of colour monitors
for use in both broadcast and
industrial applications. The
combination of colour fidelity,
operational reliability and product
JVC - doing business across
Europe
JVC is one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers
of sophisticated audio,video,data and related software products.
Jonathan Mason
of JVC Professional Europe explains how
JVC is marshalling its resources to create appealing, cost-
competitive products for the European market.
