Vitec Group buys SmallHD

Vitec Group buys SmallHD

The Vitec Group which owns most of the major brands in the photography and filming world like OConnor, Sachtler, Vinten, Manfrotto, Gitzo, Anton/Bauer, Litepanels, Katta, Petrol Bags, Teradek etc has announced that it has acquired SmallHD, a company which was well known by videographers and filmmakers for its high quality on-camera monitors.

SmallHD became an instant hit when they made available field-monitors which were of high quality as well as rugged to withstand the rigours of professional use in the field. The company was well appreciate for its collaborative approach with filmmakers and was open to their suggestions. Its customer support was excellent.

With the rapid increase of independent filmmakers and videographers, the need for quality, high-performing, end-to-end solutions has never been stronger,” said Vitec Videocom CEO Matt Danilowicz. “There is definite synergy between SmallHD and Vitec Videocom, especially given that their pioneering drive matches our own. The acquisition enables us to offer another set of professional and innovative solutions for the production workflow, and takes us a step closer to fully addressing the needs of this expanding and exciting market.”

“We are looking forward to joining the Vitec Group of companies,” said Wes Phillips, founder and CEO of SmallHD. “It’s exciting for SmallHD to be included among the great brands that they represent. We have aspirations to continue to build outstanding monitors, and Vitec not only encourages that entrepreneurial spirit but offers the support and expertise we need to move forward.”

Whereas it may have been good story on the part of the founders of SmallHD to sell off and encash on their investment, filmmakers mourn this as a loss because being a part of a large conglomerate often leads to loss of their strongpoints like round the clock responsiveness and also more focus on bottomlines resulting in slowing down of innovations.
The success of SmallHD can also be used as a case study for manufacturing. The founders of SmallHD Wes Phillips and Dale Backus. They created a spot advt. and entered the “Crash The Super Bowl” contest and won it. This helped them get many jobs for which they felt the need for better monitors. They started interacting with suppliers to get such a monitor based on their specifications and the SmallHD line of monitors was born. Needing more money, they decided to enter the Super bowl challenge again and won a second time in 2010. The prize money helped them expand their business. SmallHD has also tried to raise money through Kickstarter for creating a hdmi /usb port protector for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera. So if one has the ideas, then sourcing the parts from China and Taiwan and creating a product for the local needs can help boost up the electronic manufacturing here in India.