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London's 10th Planet Selects Snell & Wilcox Alchemist Ph.C Standards Conversion for DVD Authoring and Duplication

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10th Planet Digital Media, whose DVD authoring credits include the 2004 Music Vision Awards for Best Music DVD, has purchased a Snell & Wilcox Alchemist Ph.C for standards and aspect ratio conversion work at its London facilities.

Purchased to coincide with the opening of 10th Planet's new Wardour Street facility, the Alchemist Ph.C system supports both an expanding DVD authoring business as well as 10th Planet's diverse duplication and post services.

"Prior to acquiring the Alchemist Ph.C, we had frequently hired Snell & Wilcox gear for conversion projects," said Jonathan Moore, Technical Director of 10th Planet. "So when it came time to buy, Snell & Wilcox was really the only choice for us. We were aware of the reputation they have in the industry, it's a brand our customers request, so the Alchemist Ph.C is a distinct capability we're very happy to put forward for our clients."

Alchemist Ph.C is the only converter with Phase Correlation, the most powerful and accurate motion compensation technology in existence and only available from Snell & Wilcox. Alchemist Ph.C therefore delivers exceptional quality, producing clear and crisp outputs from the widest range of video input material. It accepts and outputs 525/625 line serial digital video with embedded audio, as well as composite analog video standards, which are processed by an advanced 12-bit video decoder featuring patented Snell & Wilcox "Golden Gate" technology.

"Besides doing real-time standards conversion, other major benefits of Alchemist Ph.C are the additional features it provides," Moore added. "For example, we can do aspect ratio conversion simultaneously with NTSC/PAL conversions, and audio embedding/de-embedding and delay lines are built in. This means jobs can be done faster with less operator effort. It's really an automated, one-stop solution."

As its DVD authoring business grows, 10th Planet is using Alchemist Ph.C daily for projects including music video compilations, sports DVDs, and corporate videos. Depending on the project, 10th Planet will use Alchemist Ph.C not only for converting content but also for converting the animated menus it designs, which are an increasing part of the DVD viewer experience.

One of the DVD authoring projects for which 10th Planet used Alchemist Ph.C was the creation of NTSC and PAL versions of the ZEN TV DVD from Ninja Tune, winner of the Best Music DVD in the 2004 CADS Music Vision Awards, which the BBC's online reviewer called "a truly wonderful DVD" with "truly cool visuals."

10th Planet Post Production is a London based full service Digital Media facility providing content to product project management. Award winning DVD and CDROM authoring combined with state of the art CD and DVD duplication ensures the shortest lead times in the industry. Established in 1996 the company also offers print and packaging expertise built on years of experience in the replication and duplication industries. More information at www.10.pdm.com or contact Richard Lamb on +44 20 7637 9500.

Snell & Wilcox, the leader in its field, delivers technologies and products that enable television and satellite broadcasters, post-production facilities, filmmakers, and communications professionals to move content seamlessly between analog, digital, high definition and file-based systems and to bridge the world's multiplicity of line/field and color standards. The company provides switchers and keyers, standards conversion systems, networked infrastructure components, and products for noise reduction, image enhancement, and restoration. In business since 1973, Snell & Wilcox maintains its U.S. headquarters in Burbank, Calif., and European headquarters in Hampshire, UK. Additional offices are located in New York, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Russia. Visit www.snellwilcox.com for more information.

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