SVG Sit-Down: Grass Valley CEO Andrew Cross Examines AMPP's Power, Evolution The long-time leader in hardware aims to be tops in software, too By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 - 11:14 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Grass Valley had its own hall at IBC, and one can see why. The suite of applications and software making up the Grass Valley Agile Media Processing Platform (AMPP) continues to expand, and that requires space to show them in action. And then there are the hardware-based solutions that continue to be a big part of the Grass Valley portfolio. All told, at IBC Grass Valley rolled out 11 new products, 24 new applications for AMPP, and 80 new features for the platform. Grass Valley CEO Dr. Andrew Cross sat down with SVG during the show to discuss what it all means and what lies ahead for Grass Valley customers and the industry.
Grass Valley's Dr. Andrew Cross: We are going to build AMPP as an infrastructure that we let everybody use.
It has been three years since IBC 2019, and a lot of companies have been transformed. Can you encapsulate all the changes at Grass Valley?
Cross: What is new about us is that we've become a leader in software technology. And nobody should take that for granted: Microsoft has gone from Windows to Azure. We've always been in hardware, but we are now an expert in software. And everything you've seen here at the show is doing real-time processing in software. We've got almost all our products in software, and that is a fundamental shift and one that is very hard for companies to make.
That's what is different. But here's what's not different: we understand that hardware still plays a role, and we are not looking to be a leader in software to replace hardware. We want to be a leader in software and hardware. And we are probably the only company that truly can be a leader in both. I think that that is important because it's like Apple: they represent 75% of all the money made in the cellphone market, but, if they had just made hardware, they would be 50% of the market, and, if they just made the software piece, they would be Android. It's the fact that they can combine to be the best of both.
I think that that's what Grass Valley is becoming and needs to become. We clearly have become experts in software. We also understand software is great where things like computers get commoditized, because it is just far easier to use GPUs and CPUs for certain things.
The Grass Valley LDX135 camera with global shutter debuted at IBC 2022.
But certain parts of broadcast hardware have not been commoditized and won't get commoditized because they're not just general-purpose markets. If you can be good at both, that can make you truly unique in the market. I think that that's something that only we can do.
If someone comes to you and asks, Which way should I go, hardware or software? Is there a delineation on what workflows work best one way or the other?
Cross: I don't think they're distinct; I think they help each other. There are certain things where you are in a facility, and you can't avoid having some kind of routing right now. It might be SDI routing now, but even then, if you are running a big show, you're going to do it on a control service, even if it's software doing some of the video processing. That is why there are two sides to it in just the same way I couldn't use a cellphone if wasn't running an OS. You need both pieces, and they need to come together.
What's new here at the show in terms of products?
Cross: I can give you an answer, but what we have here is more than the sum of the parts. We've got great new features in our switchers that combine multiple hardware switchers to generate up to 16 mix effects; we've got the LTX 135 camera that is amazing; and we have AMPP management, which now has NMOS integration. All of those are huge, but the fact that it's all built on one platform and all works together is the real story. Our platform now allows you to have your cameras in one part of the world and the production gallery in another with IT management in the cloud. That's the real story here.
How to do you introduce AMPP to someone unfamiliar with what it can mean to their operations?
Cross: We're talking with all the tier-one broadcasters, so I do think they get the concept. They are all asking about cloud-based workflows, and they get it. But what they're worrying about, legitimately so, is what this big change means for them. How does this change the technology? How do you do this without risking the business? How do you do it to grow the business and try new things without risking the old things? What kind of events is it worth doing it in? And what is it? Those are really good questions. A lot of [the broadcasters] are running POCs and tests.
Grass Valley AMPP Edge provides on-premises I/O and processing power.
But a lot of them are now going to air as well. It is kind of astounding that every customer meeting covers next-generation platforms and the next-generation workforce, how they interact with hardware, and how private cloud can be used to augment shows, capabilities, and allow people to work remotely.
You hear a lot of discussion about private vs. public cloud. How do you simplify those concepts?
Cross: I say cloud because then everybody understands what I mean. The real revolution is simple: affordable compute running software. Cloud is just affordable compute running software somewhere else. And here you can have an affordable compute running locally, and that has become cheap enough that you can do anything you need.
How are the conversations you are having different for European broadcasters from other broadcasters?
Cross: My instinctual answer i
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
19/11/2025
Sphere Sound Kicks Up Its Heels at Radio City Music HallUltra-immersive system from the singular Las Vegas venue is also ready for sportsBy Dan Daley, Audio Edi...
19/11/2025
The Future of Stadium and Arena Video Control Rooms: Tech Leaders Talk 4K, IP, a...
19/11/2025
One Year at Intuit Dome: Walking Through the Stunning Arena's Advanced Video...
19/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: IMG's Francois Westcombe Goes Inside IMG's Annual Digital ...
19/11/2025
Inside Brighton & Hove Albion's fan-first media machine By George Bevir
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
Brighton & Hove Albion'...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 1: Kansas Athletics Brings New Production Power to Rebu...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 2: A Pro's Guide to Kansas Athletics' New Video...
19/11/2025
MLB Media Rights Shakeup: NBC Inks Three-Year Deal for Sunday Night Baseball, Pe...
19/11/2025
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade attends the premiere of Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Pa...
19/11/2025
Awards season is heating up, and the International Documentary Association just ...
19/11/2025
Aerojet Rocketdyne President Ken Bedingfield and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders were joined by state and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking o...
19/11/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
19/11/2025
Calrec gives Phoenix Broadcast Solutions its full support in strategic multi-year enterprise partnership New Singapore OB company invests in Calrec technology f...
19/11/2025
October brings a larger audience in front of TV screens. The cooler autumn weather and the continuation of new programming schedules brought increases in both t...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Vitec has acquired Datapath, a developer of real-time video processing for large-scale video walls, AVoIP content distribution and KVM control in mission-critic...
19/11/2025
NEVADA CITY, Calif. Telestream has introduced ARGUS Version 2.3, which introduces Live Look, a feature that lets operators inspect live and on-demand streams vi...
19/11/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. and NEW YORK Charter Communications, Inc. has announced a major deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that establishes AWS as one of Charters stra...
19/11/2025
TOKYO Atomos has announced a major firmware update that brings integrated camera control to the Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX its new CFexpress-based monitor-recor...
19/11/2025
Berklee's Signature Series Reimagines the Musical and Visual Artistry of Col...
19/11/2025
PlayBox Neo departed the NAB Show New York 2025 on a high note. The company's all-new PlayBox Neo Suite made a splash on the show floor, drawing strong inte...
19/11/2025
AAVBR (American Audio Visual Baton Rouge), a leading full-service event production company serving Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region, has enhanced its product...
19/11/2025
In its mission to deliver live event services combining advanced engineering with a creative approach to captivating live sports and entertainment experiences, ...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK Short-form vertical video has exploded across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, but a new survey commissioned by Media.net, a provider of c...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, and CAMB.AI have struck a partnership they said will leverage ...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those fil...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK The popularity of NFL games is largely responsible for continued seasonal momentum in TV viewership into October (measured Sept. 29-Oct. 26), according...
19/11/2025
DirecTV has announced that its MyFree DirecTV streaming service has added seven new channels. Those include four sports services, NBA FAST, Red Bull TV, DAZN Ri...
19/11/2025
SURREY, U.K. Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has launched Flair Bridge, a compact device that transforms how operators control the company's motion-contr...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission, which is continuing to rapidly ramp up its operations after the end of the federal government shutdown, has se...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Martin Freeman, Jessie Buckley, Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, Eddie the Eagle and ...
19/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom to enable testing and validation of n...
19/11/2025
Back to All News
Innato, starring Imanol Arias and Elena Anaya, arrives on Netf...
19/11/2025
Back to All News
Guillermo del Toro Sits Down With Troll 2 Director Roar Uthaug...
19/11/2025
Some projects feel monumental from the moment the first phone call comes in. When BCE, the host broadcaster appointed to coordinate the national coverage, asked...
19/11/2025
November 19 2025, 08:00 (PST) BAY AREA HOST COMMITTEE AND DOLBY PARTNER TO DELIVER IMMERSIVE FAN EXPERIENCES
During the Week of Football's Biggest Game...
19/11/2025
Michael D. Higgins: Ireland's Ninth President features RT Archives footage and interviews across seven decades
Watch Wednesday 19 November at 9:35pm on RT...
19/11/2025
Scripps Research scientists receive $1.1 million to advance AI modeling for HIV vaccine development New AI system helps scientists rapidly pinpoint the most pro...
18/11/2025
Independent media across Central America are operating under intensifying financial pressure, yet there is a clear appetite for models that can sustain both ind...
18/11/2025
NBA Debuts New Comms Infrastructure and Systems for RefereesTwo-phase rollout is intended to improve game flow, enhance officiating accuracyBy Dan Daley, Audio ...
18/11/2025
Platinum White Paper: How Aggreko Delivers Certainty For Broadcasters On The Wor...
18/11/2025
Kiswe Extends DTC Products With Kiswe Core Cloud-Based Tool for Distributing Con...
18/11/2025
Spanish Basketball Federation partners with ScorePlay to power digital transform...
18/11/2025
HBS selects BBright encoders and decoders to connect ST 2110 live production wor...
18/11/2025
Ashes to Ashes: Inside TNT Sports' hybrid and maverick' production plan...
18/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Mimi Fotopoulos, Director, Talent and Production Operations, Tenn...
18/11/2025
SVG LIVE! Conference Explores the Tech Side of Sports and Entertainment ConvergenceLive sports and music productions increasingly share gear and infrastructureB...
SVG Sit-Down: Grass Valley CEO Andrew Cross Examines AMPP's Power, Evolution The long-time leader in hardware aims to be tops in software, too By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
