TRW puts technology in ``Tinseltown''

LOS ANGELES -- Continuing its commercialization of key technologies, TRW has formed Picture PipeLine LLC to bring technology derived from its space and defense business to the entertainment industry.

The new company offers full media-management services that improve productivity and reduce costs in film and video production.

A weekly prime-time television show has contracted to use Picture PipeLine, following successful beta testing on a feature film.

Picture PipeLine provides a broadband conduit to stream digital film dailies among entertainment industry professionals at remote locations, allowing for real-time viewing and collaboration. The system streamlines conventional production methods, which require film to be shipped back and forth between the various stages of the production process.

At the heart of Picture PipeLine is TRW's expertise in handling very large, high-quality, high-value data streams on fiber and wireless networks with the highest levels of security and reliability. It's what we do for our government customers; now, it's what Picture PipeLine does,'' said Picture PipeLine chief executive officer Gerard "Rocky" Roccanova.

Through spin-outs and equity participation, TRW has launched several ventures similar to Picture PipeLine over the past few years, including RF Micro Devices, Endwave Corp., WildBlue, Astrolink, E-Sync Networks, E-Certify and Multilink, that transfer its government-funded technology to commercial applications.

"One of TRW's greatest assets is our ability to leverage our impressive repertoire of technology intellectual property and capabilities,'' said Dr. Donald C. Winter, executive vice president and general manager of TRW Systems & Information Technology Group, the operational unit responsible for the development of Picture PipeLine. ``The performance of this program, and others like it, directly reflect TRW's commitment to creating value for our shareholders.''

TRW said it learned the industry's primary concerns are speed, image quality, efficiency and security.

``Recognizing that security would be a major concern for our clients,'' Roccanova said, ``we also integrated stand-alone security elements -- like encryption, firewalls and intrusion detection -- into a self-monitoring system. The result is a system that achieves a maximum level of security across its entire network, more effective than each of its independent parts combined.''

Roccanova said more TRW technologies would be added to the Picture PipeLine service, as they become available, including broadband-on-demand, advanced data-rights protection, and high-speed archive and retrieval.