Dirk Van Dall has been named to lead the new unit which operates out of Broadway Video's Times Square headquarters.

BVES enables clients to seamlessly merge conventional materials acquisition, editing and broadcast functions with the creation of video data files. Data files are rapidly replacing videotape in a wide array of important production and distribution roles. Chief among the potential encoding applications: linear transmission files; video-on-demand (VOD) files; high definition files, off-line and high-resolution editorial files; desktop screeners; DVDs; and archival quality files.

Van Dall joins BVES after a 10-year association with Showtime that began as a consultant with the challenge of containing the network's multi-million-dollar linear editing expenses. For the next decade he shaped an enterprise-wide digital production environment, including the implementation of Showtime's storage area network (SAN). In 2000 he was named VP of digital video for the network, and began connecting Showtime's streamlined production pipeline in New York directly to the Viacom Network Operations Center in Long Island. He most recently led Showtime's digital origination initiative, which moved Showtime's 12 channels to server playout with graphics branding.