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Snell & Wilcox Announces Major Upgrade to Conversion Product Lines at the 2008 NAB Show

Significant enhancements added to flagship Alchemist Ph.C - HD Standards Converter and Quasar Ph.C HD Upconverter

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Introduces new compact, low cost SD/HD Frame Rate Converter and Synchronizer with up/down/cross conversion

HAMPSHIRE, U.K. -- Feb. 25, 2008 -- At the 2008 NAB Show, Snell & Wilcox will introduce significant enhancements to its flagship standards conversion and upconversion products, and will also introduce a new range of low cost SD / HD converters to its Kudos+ product range.

Upgrades to Alchemist Ph.C - HD
The company's Alchemist Ph. C - HD motion compensated frame rate standards converter, acknowledged worldwide as the "gold standard" in conversion performance, now offers simultaneous SD and HD conversion in its compact 3RU mainframe. This "one box" approach delivers HD frame-rate conversion between 50Hz and 60Hz HD standards for both 1080i and 720p formats, as well as SD frame rate conversion between 50Hz and 60Hz material. The Alchemist Ph.C - HD also provides motion compensated HDTV upconversion, downconversion, and crossconversion, making it the most comprehensive conversion solution available in the market.

Alchemist Ph.C - HD provides co-timed simultaneous SD/HD outputs, each with independent aspect ratio and color space conversion -- a huge benefit for broadcasters wanting to simulcast in both standard and high-definition.

Also new in the Alchemist Ph. C - HD at the 2008 NAB Show is a seamless timecode conversion option, which drastically improves operational efficiency by eliminating the costly and time consuming task of manually re-editing timecode on videotapes, which also ties up additional equipment. With timecode for Alchemist Ph.C, the job is done right once.

Alchemist Ph.C - HD also now offers full support for Dolby E audio, which saves on space and reduces the time required for setup and configuration by eliminating the need for outboard Dolby decoders and encoders. These are major factors for those working in replication and dubbing operations.

"Since its launch at NAB2007, Alchemist Ph. C - HD has gained huge traction and fantastic momentum in the market," said Joe Zaller, vice president of corporate development at Snell & Wilcox. "Alchemist Ph.C - HD has been selected by dozens of the world's most discerning customers, including NBC Universal who will be converting all HD feeds from this year's Beijing Olympics via Snell & Wilcox converters. The enhancements to the Alchemist Ph.C - HD platform that we are introducing at the 2008 NAB Show make the product even more versatile for users, and further extend its market dominance."

Quasar Ph.C Upconverter -- the best gets even better
Also being upgraded at the 2008 NAB Show is the Quasar Ph.C motion compensated upconverter, which combines four Emmy® Award-winning Snell & Wilcox technologies in its single compact 1-RU package to deliver HDTV outputs with twice the resolution of competitive products that utilize conventional linear adaptive techniques.

New to the Quasar Ph.C are dramatically improved upconversion and cut detection algorithms which enhance performance on a wide variety of complex images. These enhancements enable Quasar Ph.C to deliver stunningly sharp upconverted images from all types of inputs, including those with fast motion, fine detail, or both.

New HD Converter and Synchronizer for Kudos+ Range
At the 2008 NAB Show, Snell & Wilcox is introducing the HD CVR700 SD/HD linear frame rate converter, and the HD TBS700 SD/HD synchronizer, which are part of the company's compact, cost-effective Kudos+ range.

The Kudos + HD CVR700 SD/HD frame standards converter performs linear conversion between 50Hz and 60Hz SD and HD standards, including both 1080i and 720p HD formats. The HD CVR700 also provides HDTV upconversion, downconversion, and cross conversion to any frame rate. The Kudos + HD TBS700 is a high-definition synchronizer that includes HD up/down/cross conversion to formats of the same frame rate. It also provides synchronization for SD sources.

Both the HD CVR700 and HD TBS700 are in a one-half RU form factor, and have versatile audio handling capability with embedded, AES, and analog I/O. Each unit also offers full proc amp controls, aspect ratio conversion, AC power, and a DC input that enables a second power supply to be added for mission critical applications. Like all Kudos+ products from Snell & Wilcox, high performance combined with small size, weight, and power consumption make these units equally appropriate for both studio and mobile news gathering applications.

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, Quasar Ph.C, and Kudos are trademarks of the Snell & Wilcox Group. All other trademarks mentioned herein are acknowledged as property of their respective owners.