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The HD LAB's encoding operation, is an area of the business that has grown rapidly thanks to an explosion in the range of different media formats – from Standard Definition TV to HD and Blu-ray, as well as for mobile and web-based video applications.

“People come to us because encoding requires specialist equipment and the technical experience to achieve high quality results, and our SAN has capture cards which give us the capacity to do encoding with large files,” says On Sight facilities manager Tony Maher.

For Maher, finding the best encoding route for files is a constant pre-occupation. “Now we are are in a world of 360-degree commissioning, distributors and production companies are expected to deliver in file formats of all descriptions,” says Maher.

“There’s Windows media files for online TV service Joost, MPEG-4 for web-streaming services and uncompressed AVI files ready for Blu-ray encoding.”

Clients range from distributors, who require high-definition files to use for their presentations, to retailers who require special encoding of content for point-of-sale, in-store HD plasma displays.

On Sight's HD LAB also produces uncompressed HD AVI files using encoders operating at 8 bits or 10 bits for Blu-ray encoding. “We are always doing R&D work to find the best way of providing the optimum encoding service.”