| Industry | ICT - Broadcast and Media segment |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder(s) | John Ross |
| Headquarters | Iroquois, Ontario, Canada |
| Key people | David Ross (CEO, CTO) Joe Lalonde (CFO) Yvonne Holland (CIO, VP R&D) |
| Employees | 200 [1] |
| Website | http://www.rossvideo.com/ |
Ross Video Ltd is a privately held Canadian company that designs and manufactures equipment for live video production. The major products of the company are video production switchers or vision mixers, which were the basis for the founding of the company. The company’s products are used daily in over 100 countries by broadcast television networks, cable TV networks, sports stadiums, live production companies, government agencie and houses of worship[2]. Ross Video headquarters and manufacturing operations are located in Iroquois, Ontario, Canada and research and development are carried out in Ross’ Ottawa, Ontario, Canada R&D labs.[3][4][5][6]
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Ross Video was founded in 1974 by John Ross who provided the initial seed money by selling his refurbished World War II trainer aircraft. From the basement of his house he developed the 10-4 analogue switcher which would be a commercial success for the company as well as a groundbreaking technolgy for that time. John Ross, the time that fit 1 MLE (multi-level effects) switcher into a 2 RU chassis. John Ross, a pioneer in Canadian broadcast technology development [7] then developed he next series of switchers, launched in 1978, introduced the now industry standard "Next Transition Operation" concepts including the first patent for "Transition Preview" now used by almost all higher end switchers made in the industry. Ross Video continued to grow from the success of various switchers that include the RVS-210A, which sold for 25 years and the CDK-104,which became a fixture in most telecine suites around the world.
In 1998 Ross Video made the change from composite analog switchers to component digital switchers. Their first digital switcher called Synergy sold over 3000 units by being smaller than traditional switchers, doubling the available inputs and increasing the amount of effects operators could add to their programs. Ross Video entered the HD market in 2004 as well as introduced OverDrive, a product designed to automate live video production environments. Ross Video is the creator of the openGear terminal equipment standard, a standard terminal equipment platform for broadcast and production distribution and conversion equipment.[8]
In 2010, Ross Video completed its acquisition of Norpak Corporation.[9] and in September of the same year acquired Codan Broadcast, leading to the company broadening its influence in the Asia-Pacific region with the establishment of Ross Video Australia.