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Snell & Wilcox Kahuna Adds to 2005 Honors, Winning Best Product Award at Broadcast Madrid Show

Producci0n Profesional names multiformat SD/HD Kahuna production switcher best product for live production and transmission

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The Snell & Wilcox multiformat SD/HD Kahuna production switcher has been recognized with one of Europe’s most prestigious broadcast industry awards, garnering Producción Profesional magazine’s award for the best product for live production and transmission at the recent Broadcast Madrid show. Broadcast Madrid is the largest trade show dedicated to broadcast, post-production, and related audio-video equipment in Spain.

“We’re honored by Producción Profesional’s recognition of the Kahuna at Broadcast Madrid,” said Joe Zaller, Snell & Wilcox vice president of marketing and product management. “The Kahuna redefines the live production workflow with its ability to integrate SD graphics into HD productions and enable broadcasters to make a controlled and cost-effective transition to HD operations. As one of the industry’s smallest, lightest, and most power-efficient production switchers, it also helps users reduce operational costs in both fixed and mobile installations.”

Kahuna is the first production switcher on the market to enable simultaneous SD and HD operations on the same control surface and in the same mainframe. A proprietary Snell & Wilcox technology called FormatFusion allows operators to integrate any SD video into HD productions seamlessly or to output HD material as an SD feed, both without the need for upconversion or downconversion.

Kahuna operators can allocate mix/effects banks (M/Es) to either SD or HD sources, or to mix the two together on a single M/E. This operational flexibility makes maximum use of all available M/Es by networking multiple control surfaces to different mainframes, allocating one mainframe to separate control panels, or operating in SD or HD as required. This capability not only makes Kahuna the most versatile production switcher available on the market, it also eliminates the expense of additional upconverters, graphics systems, and other peripheral equipment.

The range of clients placing orders for Kahuna testifies to the system’s versatility. They include national TV networks such as Denmark Radio, FR3, and Korea’s MBC; mobile truck operators such as Neon Broadcast in London and Betanews in Italy; American call-letter television stations; A/V specialists such as U.S.-based LMG; and even professional sports teams such as the Real Madrid European football club.

The 2005 show took place from Nov. 15-18 at the Feria de Madrid in Madrid, Spain.

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, U.K. 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.

Americas Press Contact: Laura Schoeggl, Wall Street Communications, Phone: +1 253 404 0020. Email: laura@wallstreetcom.tv.

EMEA Press Contact: Karen David, Wall Street Communications Europe, Phone: +44 (0) 1865 310422. Email: karen@wallstreetcom.tv.

Snell & Wilcox, Engineering with Vision, Alchemist, Ph.C, Kudos, Magic Dave, IQ Modular, RollCall, RollTrack, Mosalina, Niagra, and Kahuna are all trademarks of the Snell & Wilcox Group.