Siemens is already well established as a world leader in digital recording technology and with the announcement of an acquisition which will see Siemens responsible for the transition of the BBC from analogue to digital production in a €2.7 billion project, this expertise is set to be even further enhanced.

The scope of Siemens investment, including its focus on digital competencies, is aptly demonstrated by the company's commitment to R&D.  As a business, Siemens operates some 150 R&D centres located throughout Europe, Asia and the US, all feeding into a pool of development - some 62,000 active patents, 30,000 software engineers operating in 30 counties.

Central to the ongoing digital recording research is SISTORE CX, an intelligent digital video Codec for video transmission and recording, with additional functional enhancements already available, including Enhanced Detection Solution (EDS) and Object Detection & Removal (ODR).

An example of Siemens commitment to digital systems and future-proofing of recording technology is the contract for the BBC which has seen Siemens acquire the BBC's own IT subsidiary - BBC Technology - with some 1,400 employees.

Siemens is installing integrated digital production systems at the BBC in a ten and a half year project, with a contract also in place to install digital systems for ITV.  This will enable editors to edit their reports on a PC, plus access the archives to research, cut and provide the finished report to production, all from the same place.  The result will be more current reports and more flexible program production.