Press Releases: Latest News

Snell & Wilcox Wins Contract to Supply Motion-Compensated Frame-Rate Standards Converters to NBC Universal for Coverage of 2008 Beijing Olympics

Deal Includes the Company's New Alchemist Ph.C - HD Converters for Transparent Conversion of HDTV Content

Snell & Wilcox Motion-Compensated Standards Converter to Provide Pristine Conversion of Virtually All HD and SD Feeds --

HAMPSHIRE, U.K. -- May 2, 2007 -- Snell & Wilcox announced today that it has received an order to supply NBC Universal with motion-compensated frame-rate standards converters for use during NBC's coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games. Included in the deal are the new Snell & Wilcox high definition (HDTV) Alchemist Ph.C - HD frame-rate standards converters.

Coverage of the 2008 Olympics will be originated in the 1080i/50 broadcast standard for HDTV and the 625/50 (PAL) standard for SDTV. Before NBC can transmit this content to viewers in the U.S., it must first be converted to the 1080i/60 broadcast standard for HDTV and/or the 525/60 (NTSC) standard for SDTV. As a result, NBC will convert virtually every SD and HD feed from the 2008 Olympics through the Snell & Wilcox frame-rate converters prior to delivery to viewers in the U.S.
 
"Snell & Wilcox frame-rate standards converters are the industry's benchmark for quality, and we're proud that NBC has once again trusted our technology to deliver its coverage of the Olympic Games to viewers in the U.S.," said Joe Zaller, vice president, strategic marketing at Snell & Wilcox. "We're especially pleased to be supplying NBC with a large number of our new Alchemist Ph.C - HDs for the conversion of their HDTV content. The Alchemist Ph.C - HD extends our frame-rate conversion leadership into the HDTV realm, and this order is a powerful endorsement of the quality and reliability of our newest conversion platform."

"High quality frame-rate standards conversion will play a vital role in the delivery of the Beijing Olympics to our viewers in the U.S.," said David Mazza, senior vice president, engineering, NBC Olympics. "Most of the 2008 Olympic Games will be transmitted in HDTV, so it's critical that we are able to convert this material transparently to the U.S. broadcast standard and that we can deliver the highest possible viewing experience. We're confident that the SDTV and HDTV motion-compensated converters from Snell & Wilcox will deliver superior image quality to our viewers."

Snell & Wilcox motion-compensated frame-rate standards converters have played a critical role in NBC's Olympic broadcasts since the 2000 Games in Sydney. The company supplied NBC with motion-compensated converters at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Alchemist Ph.C is built on Snell & Wilcox's Emmy^® Award-winning Ph.C motion estimation technology, and the newly released Alchemist Ph.C - HD takes this technology into the HD realm, offering bidirectional HDTV frame-rate conversion for both the 1080i and 720p broadcast standards. The platform also provides SD standards conversion between 50-Hz and 60-Hz material, as well as HDTV upconversion, downconversion, and crossconversion. The system's architecture provides two outputs that can be used for transmission of program feeds in multiple standards or formats.

About NBC Olympics
NBC, "America's Olympic Network," owns the exclusive U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games, television's most powerful property, through 2012, which includes Beijing, China, in 2008, Vancouver in 2010, and London in 2012. In August 2008, NBC Universal will present the 2008 Olympic Games from Beijing, China (August 8-24, 2008). In August 2004, 203 million viewers watched as the networks of NBC Universal -- NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo, Telemundo, and NBC's HD affiliates -- offered a record 1,210 hours of Olympic coverage from Athens.

About Snell & Wilcox
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. Further information is available at www.snellwilcox.com.

Press Contact: Susan Warren, Wall Street Communications, Phone: +1 631 261 1013. E-mail: susan@wallstcom.com.

Snell & Wilcox, Putting Pictures to Work, Alchemist Ph.C - HD, Alchemist Ph.C, and Ph.C, are all trademarks of the Snell & Wilcox Group. All other trademarks mentioned herein are acknowledged as the property of their respective owners.