IU, Sony form partnership to conduct research

After a year of talks, IU and Sony have entered into an agreement that will allow IU to buy Sony products at a discount and help IU researchers work with the Japanese electronics giant.\nUnder the terms of this non-exclusive alliance, IU will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the purchase of Sony products, and faculty will have a greater opportunity to conduct research in partnership with Sony, said Brad Wheeler, IU vice president for information technology. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni will also receive a discount of 10 percent on select Sony consumer products, he said.\nThe first purchases under the alliance were five high-definition studio cameras at WTIU, the local PBS affiliate, for about $500,000, said Perry Metz, executive director of Radio and Television Services at IU. The station saved about $100,000 through the agreement. While WTIU is already broadcasting digitally, this purchase will allow the station to produce original HD programming instead of only broadcasting HD programs acquired from outside sources, Metz said.\n“We hope that (these discounted purchases) will be ongoing because the transition of the TV station to HD includes more than just cameras,” Metz said. “We’re talking about the entire infrastructure.”\nTim Rice, director of purchasing administration at IU, said many University departments including the Jacobs School of Music, the Department of Kinesiology and the School of Journalism are considering Sony products, which can be bought at considerable discounts.\n“We can see savings from 17 to 20 percent, even as high as 40 percent, depending on the product group,” Rice said. “Overall, it’s better than anything we’ve had.”\nThe alliance with Sony was developed by the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology and the IU Purchasing Department. \nWheeler said there are many components to the agreement. \nHe emphasized that the agreement “links a world class (information technology) university with a world class (information technology) company.”\nThe alliance promotes the collaboration of IU professors with Sony, and the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology is developing student internships with Sony, Wheeler said.\nJay Kincaid, a staff director at WTIU, came up with the original idea of creating a partnership with Sony when he was working with NBC during the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.\n“Sony is a large contractor for NBC, and they come out every few years and set up their studios,” he said. “I was thinking after Torino, some of their studio applications would be useful for the University.”\nJohn Scarcella, president of Sony Electronics’ Broadcast and Business Solutions Company, agreed that the alliance is beneficial to both Sony and the University. \n“Their expertise in higher education and technology implementation is a perfect complement to our resources,” Scarcella said in a press release.