Barco and High End Systems Announce Strategic Alliance

Barco Projection

, a division of Barco n.v., Belgium, and High End Systems Inc., of Austin, Texas, announce a strategic alliance that will enable the two companies to cooperate in the marketing of their products to the entertainment and events markets.

Barco Events specializes in providing tailor-made visualization and show-control solutions and manufactures amongst others a range of professional large-event projectors, ranging in brightness from 5,000 to 17,000 ANSI lumens. High End Systems, a manufacturer of automated lighting products, has introduced Catalyst, a cross-cultural system that converts video projectors into automated lights. The Catalyst system, which incorporates a Media Server, can also be used in conjunction with Barco's range of Ilite and Dlite LED displays to create an extensive range of effects and imagery.

The newly formed agreement allows Barco to sell the Catalyst system to its partners, with or without projectors, and provides the basis for future cooperation on various levels between the two companies. Nevertheless, Catalyst will remain an open platform and may still be used on a wide range of other video projectors from other manufacturers in the field.

"Barco sees lighting and video technology moving toward a closer interaction," says Kristoff Henry, marketing manager of Barco Events. "The combined knowledge and driving forces of the two groups will enable the creation of a new generation of products that will span the two markets and thus deliver many new creative possibilities."

"We believe video is the future of entertainment lighting," says John Wiseman, global sales VP of High End Systems. "High End will be in the forefront of this development as the result of this cooperative agreement."

High End Systems developed Catalyst in conjunction with WWG.

For further information contact:

Barco Projection Systems at: www.barco.com/projection_systems/
High End Systems at: www.highend.com