Production company Boomerang+ has chosen Snell’s Kahuna multiformat HD/SD production switcher as part of its upgrade to support the HD migration of a key client, Welsh-language channel S4C.
“Kahuna is without peer in terms of its ease of use, versatility, and robust multiformat capabilities via FormatFusion, which meant we did not have to invest in separate conversion equipment on the input side. With the success of Kahuna for our service to S4C, we are now able to offer the best possible SD or HD output to our clients, depending on their requirements,” said Craig Ryan, studio manager, Boomerang+. “There’s no question that Kahuna has done much to raise the overall profile of our services.”
Boomerang+ maintains a fibre optic connection with S4C that enables the production company to supply live output to the network. When S4C began putting into place an infrastructure that would enable a smooth migration to HD operations, the network requested that Boomerang+ replace its ageing SD switching equipment with a solution that could provide superior-quality HD video output from multiple input formats. Installed by systems integrator Megahertz, the Kahuna switcher has enabled Boomerang+ to incorporate video in any type of format, including SD, into the HD stream without requiring additional conversion equipment on the input side. Kahuna went live in January 2010, supplying S4C with down-converted SD that was switched to an HD signal when the network moved to HD on May 1.
“Migration to HD operations continues to be an enormous technology hurdle facing broadcasters and the production companies they work with, but Kahuna offers a smooth and cost-effective path to HD that enables the broadcaster to continue leveraging content from many different sources and formats,” said Neil Maycock, chief marketing officer, Snell. “Boomerang+’s choice of Kahuna is a true win-win: S4C will be able to launch its HD service without a significant investment in conversion equipment, and Boomerang+ has a world-class switcher solution that it can now provide to other clients.”
