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Snell & Wilcox Introduces DEFTplus

DEFTplus addresses SD/HD program integration and 3:2 pulldown issues through upgrade to high-end Alchemist standards converter models

Las Vegas, Nevada, NAB 2003, Booth C2860 --

At NAB 2003, Snell & Wilcox introduces DEFTplus, an upgrade to the company's Alchemist Ph.C and Alchemist Platinum standards converters. DEFTplus allows program producers, for the first time, to seamlessly convert standard definition material to 24p and integrate standard and high definition material within the same program.

In 1989, Snell & Wilcox commenced work on DEFT, a technology that changed the way American prime time film-originated television programs are made. An acronym for Digital Electronic Film Transfer, the original DEFT technology corrected major 3:2 pulldown problems encountered when filmed dramas were edited on 525-line NTSC videotape and subsequently converted to 625-line PAL. The enormous benefits in convenience and cost savings that resulted from the use of DEFT were recognized in 1994 with an Emmy award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

While DEFT was at the time considered a boon to distribution, DEFTplus marks a major improvement by addressing today's production requirements. This includes the ability to integrate SD archive footage with film material shot at 24 fps.

DEFTplus also addresses issues in editing and time compression (vari-speeding), which can cause enormous problems with the 3:2 pulldown cadence. This is accomplished through its abilities to digitally store numerous sequential fields for motion analysis and to identify the 3:2 pulldown sequence by searching for identical fields. Because DEFTplus can differentiate "true fields" from duplicates, it knows which fields to motion process. The resulting images are virtually indistinguishable from the original film.

David Tasker, Snell & Wilcox Director of Product Marketing, says that DEFTplus addresses current 3:2 pulldown issues unlike any preceding solution on the market, "Until now the best way to solve the 3:2 cadence pulldown problem was to use an entire series of components with disappointing, 'just acceptable', results that cost considerable time and money. DEFTplus solves this problem via an upgraded Alchemist Ph.C or Platinum to provide sharper image results unlike any seen before."

DEFTplus includes all of the advantages of its SD version, including the best image filtering ever offered by Snell & Wilcox - a single-pass process that results in a much-improved workflow.

The DEFTplus conversion process is far more complex than that of normal standards conversions. DEFTplus operates on a principle of reordering the television field sequence so that the new PAL fields are produced only from the original film fields. The resulting video looks as if it was transferred directly from film to PAL.

DEFTplus includes the well-known Snell & Wilcox Ph.C (phase correlation motion estimation) technology - also an Emmy winner - and "Clean Cut™" technology, which is the most accurate scene change detection system in the industry.

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.