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NBC Olympics Returns to Snell & Wilcox for Standards Conversion of Athens 2004 and Torino 2006 Olympic Games

Use of motion-compensated Alchemist Platinum and Mach1 standards converters to be expanded for greater production flexibility

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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, April 21, 2003 -- Snell & Wilcox today announced that NBC Olympics will expand its use of Snell & Wilcox motion-compensated standards converters in its coverage of both the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

Beginning with the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the network has been using Snell & Wilcox Alchemist Ph.C standards converters to ensure the ultimate in standards conversion quality. For the Athens and Torino Games, NBC Olympics purchased an Alchemist Platinum and two Kudos Plus Mach1 M.Sc standards converters for improved quality and flexibility.

David Mazza, Senior Vice President of Engineering, NBC Olympics, explained that both converters were selected due to superior picture quality and the best motion compensation technology available today. The Alchemist Platinum will be housed at the Olympics' International Broadcast Center to convert outgoing signals and some incoming feeds between 525 and 625 standard definition formats as required. The Mach1 converters will convert backup outgoing signals at the IBC and be housed in edit rooms and at certain Olympic venues for conversion of source material shot in 525.

"As the U.S. rightsholder for the world's largest sporting event, NBC Olympics is committed to using state-of-the-art equipment that brings the highest picture quality to our viewing audience. The Alchemist Platinum and Mach1 meet those requirements with their motion-compensated standards conversion," said Mazza. "The Alchemist Platinum is highly regarded as the world's leading standards conversion unit and provides the high quality conversions we need for our control room output. Meanwhile, the Mach1 provides us with a more compact unit that allows us to install standards converters in areas that were previously without converters. This increases our production flexibility. We don't need to travel from the venues and edit rooms back to the IBC for conversion of source material."

Alchemist Platinum improves on the Alchemist Ph.C, the world's first motion compensated standards converter, with 12-bit processing, improved resolution, and a noticeable improvement in picture fidelity. Like its predecessor, the Alchemist Platinum uses Ph.C (Phase Correlation) motion compensation technology exclusive to Snell & Wilcox to ensure the most precise motion processing possible. The Mach1 offers motion compensated algorithms in a compact, lower-priced unit that also offers superior performance standards conversion.

The Athens Games are scheduled for August 13-29, 2004, and the Torino Games will follow February 10-26, 2006.

International Press Contact: David Cunningham, Press Relations Manager, Snell & Wilcox, Southleigh Park, Southleigh Park House, Havant, Hampshire, UK PO9 2PE, UK. Tel: +44 23 9248 9144 or Email: david.cunningham@snellwilcox.com.