Category Archives: Business Development

Digital drives investment and expansion at JCA

Posted on June 18, 2012 by | 2 Comments

The way content is distributed, stored and managed is evolving. At JCA we have seen a sharp rise in demand for our digital media services, particularly digital distribution. To ensure we meet this increase in need from the market, we have embarked on a staged expansion plan.

The first phase is a £600k+ investment, which will increase capacity across all service areas. The expansion of bandwidth provision, an increase in storage, and the addition of extra transcoding farms for automated versioning and delivery, will allow us to ensure we continue to grow as a company alongside the rise of digital. JCA, digital services, digital distribution, encoding services, transcoding services, film restoration, digital services london, jca expansion, digital asset management

However, that is not to say that tape solutions are redundant within the media industries. Despite the rise of digital workflows, we have ironically seen a considerable increase in demand for file to tape services. It is true that there has been considerable uptake of digital workflows by new entrants to the market, but there are still a lot of companies whose infrastructure is not geared towards file delivery. Therefore, additional capabilities have been developed in this area too.

The new kit we have invested in includes HDCam SR Decks, additional standards conversion capacity via an Alchemist Platinum HD, XDCAM, further PF Clean licenses and Mac workstations. We have also expanded our quality control facilities and now offer HD/SD Harding (Photosensitive epilepsy check) in the file and tape domain.

To ensure we maintain a hands-on service for clients, we have expanded our technical and operations teams with 8 new recruits already this year. Watch this space to find out more about the new JCA team members.

So what’s next? We will be looking to invest in additional shared storage along with establishing premises. We are also continuing to develop international strategic partnerships in order to provide a more global service to clients. The second half of 2012 is set to be as successful and busy as the first.

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Posted in Digital, Business Development, Company News, Tape Storage

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JCA restores classic British films for Film4

Posted on October 21, 2011 by | Leave a comment

One of the benefits of digitisation is that it provides content/rights owners with the opportunity to restore and re-master classic content which it can then sell to broadcasters for new audiences to enjoy.

Our recent partnership with Film4 to re-master the 1986 British comedy classic Rita, Sue and Bob Too, along with other titles including Brassed Off in true High Definition is a core reflection of this.

We have worked with Film4 on many HD restoration projects in the past, which include removing all dirt, scratches and occasionally continuity errors. We were thrilled to be an integral part of these new film projects for Film4’s international distribution channel.

During this process the film elements are scanned at 2k via our Arriscan Scanner into a DPX file sequence. The DPX files are then graded to the clients’ specification  and then rendered into the file. The restoration artists utilise a vast array of restorative tools ranging from automated passes through to frame by frame hand painting – whatever the project requires, before the grain and sharpness treatments are applied.

For Rita Sue and Bob Too we were able to access the original negative. Whilst this made the grading process more challenging it did allow us to deliver the film, as it has never been seen before.

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Posted in Business Development, Company News, Media Management, Online, Television

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JCA drives Intercontinental Le Mans Cup around the world

Posted on October 19, 2011 by | Leave a comment


As the demand for original digital content intensifies from both broadcasters and viewers around the world the requirement to deliver content 24/7 in rapid time is becoming more and more important.

Our recent partnership with sports distribution specialists, Cotterill & Associates Ltd., to deliver the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup to broadcasters around the world is a key indication of this.

This partnership allowed us to handle the worldwide physical and digital transmission deliverables for the ILMC series, which includes seven high profile races including the Le Mans 24 Hours. Other venues in the series include Serbing (USA), Imola (Italy), and the Zhuhai International Circuit (China).

We were delighted to be involved in this prestigious project and continue our long-standing relationship with Cotterill & Associates Ltd. By using our media window we were able to distribute race highlights to broadcasters quickly, efficiently, and economically.

This project has also highlighted many of the benefits of digital convergence. Many sceptical networks have historically wanted to receive tapes, but now more and more are prepared to try this method, which is very exciting as we move ever closer to fully digitised systems.

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Posted in Business Development, Company News, Digital, Media Management

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Tape: past, present and future

Posted on September 2, 2011 by | 1 Comment

The Sony tape shortage, which was a result of the devastating tsunami that hit Japan earlier this year, brought the ‘the status of tape’ into the limelight. Luckily, here in Acton in west London we had tape aplenty. But that was not the case for many companies. So here at JCA we decided to carry out a survey to find out how it affected the UK production industry. The crisis forced many production companies to review their distribution methods, and the study revealed that there was a great deal of concern surrounding the tape shortage. How can we get hold of tape? Are there other alternatives? Should we think about digital distribution methods? These questions were suddenly at the forefront of people’s minds.

We discovered that although the production industry still uses tape, there is an increasing demand for digital alternatives. Obviously there are technical obstacles to overcome when migrating distribution to digital methods, but this does not need to be a scary prospect. At the ERA event in July, we announced that we have adopted the LT05/LTFS format combination, as a contribution to an industry-wide campaign to standardise data archive tape formats.

As more and more companies shift to ‘file workflows’, we wanted to find a common file based distribution medium to make our clients’ lives easier and cheaper. After all, clients come to us to take care of the technicalities, so they can focus on the distribution. Our survey found that 50% of respondents do not yet employ digital distribution methods. However, if we can standardise data archive tape formatting, it will certainly be an even more attractive option for companies. The benefits of digital delivery methods are obvious. In terms of archiving, transportation and cost, the advantages are big, and can seriously transform the way a company functions.

Currently we are in transition. Yes, digital is the future, but historic formats may never be obsolete. They are often irreplaceable, and there is nothing more rewarding than discovering a reel of film or an old format video tape, digitising it, restoring it, and delivering it in high definition, better than ever before. At JCA we pride ourselves on bridging the gap betweenmedias’ legacy formats and digital’s exciting commercial opportunities.

Matt Bowman, Commercial Director – JCA

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Posted in Television Production, Digital, Television, Media Management, Business Development, Tape Storage

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JCA welcomes Sarah Wallis to company business development team

Posted on September 1, 2011 by | Leave a comment

We are delighted to announce that former BBC executive, Sarah Wallis, has joined our expanding business development team as we look to consolidate and extend our offering to clients, existing and new.

Sarah, who joins JCA with 11 years commercial and operational experience in the media industry, will be tasked with guiding our clients through the decision making process to ensure that all of the available options available to them have been properly evaluated so that they can make the best choices with regards to preservation, digitisation and restoration of content.

As the industry continues to embrace the digital revolution, we are expanding our team to support clients’ growing needs. At JCA we are committed to sourcing candidates attuned to our service ethic and “listen first” approach, so we are delighted to be further strengthening our first class team.

Matt Bowman, Commercial Director – JCA

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Posted in Appointments, Business Development, Company News, Digital, Media Management

JCA launches JCA In Conversation

Posted on August 31, 2011 by | Leave a comment

JCA, the media management company, have launched a brand new interactive blog – “JCA In Conversation”.

Our blog, which will be updated every fortnight is designed to highlight developments within the company, including personnel announcements and client projects as well as an insight into what happens inside a digital, media company. We will also be providing regular advice, top tips and insights into the work we do.

JCA In Conversation is designed to be a key way for us to engage with people interested in digitising, formatting, creating and delivering content across digital, video and film.

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Posted in Business Development, Company News, Digital, Media Management