Czech Republic's TV Nova installs Snell & Wilcox Kahuna production switcher
Feb 29, 2008 12:11 PM
The Czech Republic's TV Nova has installed Snell & Wilcox’s Kahuna SD/HD multiformat production switcher to support the launch of HD broadcast services. Supplied through TSL, the systems integrator for TV Nova's new HD production and transmission facility in Prague, the 3-M/E Kahuna switcher simplifies HD production and enables the station to provide viewers in the Czech Republic with the region's first HD broadcasts.
The project, designed by TSL, includes an HD studio and an HD server-based playout facility for an initial two channels, which went live at the end of 2007. The full-time HD experimental service has been provided over the SES ASTRA satellite and over DVB-T networks, becoming the second Central European Media Enterprises (CME)-owned station to broadcast in HD. The CME has purchased a total of five Kahuna production switchers, one of which has been installed at TV Nova in Prague; three of which are online at Pro TV in Romania and Nova TV in Croatia; and the last of which will be installed to support the Studio 1+1 channel in the Ukraine.
The Kahuna enables operators at TV Nova to mix existing SD camera feeds, graphics, handheld shots and archive footage directly into an HD production with no need to purchase expensive HD upgrades or extra HD upconversion equipment. A proprietary Snell & Wilcox technology called FormatFusion ensures seamless integration of SD sources into HD productions and vice versa, without the need for conversion. With exceptionally low delay, the Kahuna provides the advanced processing necessary for working in a multiformat environment.
Equipped with the dual twin-channel IMPAKT 3D DVE option, the Kahuna also gives operators the ability to apply a comprehensive range of effects — including warps, tiling, ripples, rolls and peels, with trail store and lighting effects — to the keyers and background transitions.
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