From a Canadian basement to the Super Bowl. How an Ottawa company makes TV you watch possible

CTV’s Peter Szperling has more on Ross Video, the Ottawa-based company making high-end video production equipment and software.

Chances are you’ve watched something created using a product from Ross Video.

The Ottawa-based company makes high-end video production equipment and software, used throughout the world by famous clients.

“You can say that all of our customers are famous because anybody who does video at that level is going to be really, really well known,” Ross Video CEO David Ross tells CTV News Ottawa.

Products are used by TV networks, sports teams, stadiums, and governments. Even Metallica and Taylor Swift concerts used Ross Video gear, according to Ross, “all sorts of really cool customers.”

“So, Parliament Hill - that’s a customer, but also the White House and also the European Concilium and the Vatican,” says Ross.

“You probably heard of Amazon and Meta and Microsoft and Google, all of those are our customers as well,” says Ross. “But also cool things like award shows. So, the Oscars and the Emmys and the Grammy Awards, they all use our products as well.”

The company makes high-tech equipment and software like video switchers that allow your favourite TV show to select from multiple camera angles. Ross provides a range of products and services that include robotic cameras, augmented/virtual reality studios, cameras that fly above stadiums using wires, motion graphics, servers and infrastructure.

And yes, CTV Ottawa uses equipment from Ross Video too.

The company, which was founded by John Ross, now employs about 1,400 people, according to Ross; including at a manufacturing facility in Iroquois, Ont.

“We’re one of the largest employers in eastern Ontario. We’ve got about 250 people in Iroquois, with some of the most high-tech manufacturing you’ll see anywhere,” says Ross.

“It definitely does feel good working at a Canadian company and kind of representing Canada, I guess, on a world stage. So, it’s pretty cool,” says Noah Roller, an employee at the Ottawa Campus.

“It’s fantastic to know that there’s a company like this that makes world class, video equipment and broadcast equipment like it’s sold all around the world,” says Zane Burtnyk, an employee working with Robotics.

“It’s a dream come true. It is so cool for our team to go all over the world and be involved in, like, the top events that are happening everywhere,” says Ross.