Thomson Cameras Help Euromedia/SFP Stay Ahead of the Pack at the Tour de France

Paris (France), Nevada City (USA) – Leading outside broadcast (OB production company Euromedia/SFP (Société Française de Production) is using Thomson Grass Valley™ LDK 8000 high definition cameras from Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS), the worldwide leader in video solutions, to capture pictures from this year’s Tour de France cycle race, from July 5-27 2008.

Using the Thomson Grass Valley cameras enables Euromedia/SFP to produce highdefinition (HD) images in multiple formats and frame rates for both France 2, the French public broadcasting channel, and Eurosport, Europe’s leading 24/7 sports network.

To cover the event, Euromedia/SFP is using six Thomson Grass Valley LDK 8000 cameras with wireless systems on motorcycles, which will follow the riders during the race.

“For us, the key benefit of the LDK 8000 is its flexibility,” said Luc Geoffroy, CTO of Euromedia Group. “It gives us a broad range of operational choices, which is critical at a fast-moving event like the Tour de France, and rich functionality, like the ability to mount the camera head and compact adaptor on our motorcycles to get in close to the action. Most important, of course, the LDK 8000 delivers extremely high-quality images, and it is also affordable and reliable, enabling us to offer an outstanding service to our customers”.

Underlining its confidence in Thomson HD solutions, Euromedia/SFP has just taken delivery of six of the new Thomson Grass Valley LDK 8300 3x HD super slo-mo cameras, which it will use first in its coverage of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August 2008.

Thomson is the leading choice among producers, editors, directors, and production companies that create and distribute high-quality sports entertainment programming around the world. For major sporting events, Thomson continues its leadership role as the production equipment and systems provider of choice for major US sports leagues’ playoff and series finals, as well as the World Cup Soccer Championships, and the Summer and Winter Olympics Games, all of which have been and continue to be produced with Thomson Grass Valley multi-format equipment and systems.