As the most expensive part of any mixer is the control surface being able to re-use an existing panel was a popular move. This was a brave move, as it enabled Ross to produce a very price competitive switcher. Later a separate company, Ross, designed and built an SDI (digital TV) mixer crate that again connected to the same control panel and used the same protocol. The control panel was able to drive either version.
The crate first appeared as a small 3U unit that could mix composite video and was followed later by a larger crate that brought component mixing to the party.
The two units were linked by a small cable carrying RS422 serial commands. The unit was in two halves, a crate which was rack mounted and an extremely attractive control surface housed in a desk top case. They then added a whole range of production switchers from the small to the very grand, but the small GVG-100 is the one that captured everyone’s imagination.
In 1968 they introduced their first vision mixer, or production switcher as they are better known in the USA. Back in 1959, Grass Valley was born, a company that produced equipment for the television broadcast industry.
