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New Quasar Ph.C Delivers Twice the Resolution Of Any HDTV Upconverter

First HDTV Upconverter to Employ Motion Estimation Technology Combines Four Emmy Award-Winning Technologies to Deliver Breakthrough Price/Performance

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AMSTERDAM (IBC) -- Sept. 7, 2006 -- Visitors to the Snell & Wilcox exhibit at IBC 2006 (Stand 8.271) will have an opportunity to see Quasar Ph.C, the world's finest-ever HDTV upconverter and the first to integrate motion estimation technology. Quasar Ph.C utilizes motion estimation techniques based on the company's flagship Ph.C technology to produce dazzlingly clear and sharp high-definition outputs from a variety of standard-definition inputs.

Developed from the ground up to deliver the ultimate conversion to high-definition formats, Quasar Ph.C combines four industry-leading, Emmy award-winning Snell & Wilcox technologies in a single compact, 1-RU package. These include Ph.C motion estimation, DEFT 3:2 cadence correction, Prefix compression pre-processing, and FormatFusion HDTV conversion. This level of technology has never before been available at such an affordable price and compact form factor. The resulting images are truly stunning.

Twice the Resolution of Other Upconverters

Because it incorporates powerful motion estimation technology, Quasar Ph.C delivers twice the resolution of other upconverters.

SD video has an interlaced scanning structure. This means that each video frame is comprised of two separate fields, each of which is one-half the resolution of the full image. Conventional HD upconverters work by using pixel-adaptive techniques that can look at all the information in a video frame only when there is no motion in a scene, but fall back or "adapt" to half-resolution when movement occurs. When this happens, the upconverter produces its HD output from the information in a single video field. This motion adaptive bandwidth reduction technique results in a lower-quality output.

Quasar Ph.C does not have this limitation. It uses Ph.C, the most powerful and accurate form of video motion estimation, to analyze incoming images and shift the pixels in each video field so that they line up perfectly, even for complex scenes where there is fast motion, fine graphics or mixed film and video material. The use of motion estimation technology enables Quasar Ph.C to seamlessly combine all the information in each video field into a full resolution frame, from which it produces its upconverted output.

"Quasar Ph.C is the product broadcasters have been looking for to produce eye-catching pictures for HD-savvy viewers while gradually upgrading their SD plant," said Joe Zaller, vice president of marketing at Snell & Wilcox. "It is the first HD upconverter to incorporate motion estimation technology. As a result, Quasar Ph.C is able to deliver twice the resolution of other available HD upconverters."

Quasar Ph.C delivers the sharpest possible HD outputs, regardless of the complexity of the input. For example, it is equally adept both at preserving high-frequency detail in action-packed images from sporting events and at converting the fine detail in scrolling text and captions -- even when signals contain a mixture of film and video-originated material.

Designed with easy-to-use, intuitive controls, Quasar Ph.C handles video, film, graphics, and mixed-media sources with equal ease, upconverting interlaced SD 525 and 625 material to 720p and 1080i HDTV formats. Captions, graphics, logos, and branding are converted seamlessly, while an integrated clipper and legalizer guarantees correct display and failure-free operation. A versatile, on-board aspect ratio converter comes with a series of fixed pre-sets for the most common conversions. Quasar Ph.C also supports widescreen signaling to allow for easy integration into a transmission playout environment.

As with all Snell & Wilcox "smart" infrastructure products, Quasar is "self aware" and plug-and-play ready for centralized set-up and monitoring through RollCall. It joins more than 300 IQ Modular products and dozens of stand-alone system components that instantly integrate into the industry's most advanced, flexible, and scalable broadcast infrastructure.

Snell & Wilcox designs and builds the world's most advanced systems for video playout, mastering, repurposing, infrastructure, and live production switching. Providing solutions that deliver immediate value while enabling a controlled and cost-effective transition to HD and file-based systems, the company serves a worldwide base of customers in the broadcast, postproduction, cable, satellite, mobile TV, and IPTV markets. 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: Susan Warren, Wall Street Communications, Phone: +1 631 261 1013. Email: susan@wallstreetcom.tv.

EMEA Press Contact: Becky Smith, on behalf of Wall Street Communications, Phone: +44 1622 684 592. Email: becky@ella-beck.co.uk.

Asia Pacific Press Contact: Dave Netz, Wall Street Communications, Phone +1 303 329 0359.

Snell & Wilcox, Quasar, Ph.C, DEFT, Prefix and FormatFusion, RollCall and IQ Modular are all trademarks of the Snell & Wilcox Group. All other trademarks mentioned herein are acknowledged as the property of their respective owners.