360 Systems was founded in 1972 by Robert Easton, a USC cinema department graduate working in the Hollywood film industry. The firm's original business plan focused on applying new semiconductor technology to products for the music and recording industries. Many of these "firsts" from the 1970's have since become industry standards, including today's popular digital keyboards with sounds stored in ROM, programmable equalizers, polyphonic and single-line guitar synthesizers, and the Compumix™ automated mixing console, marketed by Quad Eight Electronics. During the 1980's, 360 Systems introduced its Permanent Playback™ digital audio message players, a standard in theme parks throughout the world. Permanent Playback replaces recording tape by storing high quality audio on EPROM memory chips. The revolutionary design removes all moving parts and delivers a virtually maintenance free system. Nearly twenty years later, original units are still in service. 360 Systems entered the broadcast equipment business with the introduction of the DigiCart® recorder in 1990. Providing the first real option to analog cart machines, DigiCart offers a level of reliability never before achieved with tape recorders. Newer models continue to provide solutions for today's broadcast needs—including internal hard disk storage, the convenience of removable media, and one of the longest-lived standards in the broadcast industry. DigiCart recorders are found throughout television, and radio networks around the world. As the advantages of digital audio became clear, 360 Systems designed products that emphasized reliability and ease-of-use. 360 Systems Instant Replay®, introduced in the mid-90’s, offers instant access to 1,000 audio clips of almost any length. A favorite among DJs and talk show hosts, Instant Replay has become an essential tool in popular radio and television shows. 360 Systems' Short/cut™ Editor is designed for fast, on-air editing of audio source materials. Short/cut provides a completely self-contained portable solution to waveform editing, and includes features usually found in full-blown workstations: scrub-editing, cut-copy-paste, DSP-generated cross-fades, and instant retrieval of audio clips. The Short/cut editor has found service in radio and television production, remote broadcast trucks, and voice-over facilities. 360 Systems’ TCR-8 multi-track recorders are used in television broadcasting, motion picture sound, and as premium quality audio master recorders. They deliver 24-bit audio quality, time-code synchronization, 9-pin serial control for VTR emulation, internal hard disk storage, plus DVD-RAM. 360 Systems introduced audio networking for television broadcast with the “Ethernet Audio™” network, which provides shared-access to centrally-stored audio files. The DigiCart-E® recorder can be used either on the Ethernet Audio network, or as a self-contained recorder-editor. First shown at the April 2003 NAB Convention, the new Image Server video server sets new standards for performance and features, at a low price. The mission of 360 System’s Video Division is to deliver high-value DTV products that have significantly greater capabilities, and much lower costs. 360 Systems designs, manufactures and markets innovative audio and video solutions from its headquarters in Westlake Village, California. In 2004, 360 Systems celebrated its 33rd year serving the broadcast industry.   ©2003 by 360 Systems