The UK’s National Theatre has delivered its first HDR/UHD production with a two-part live broadcast of Angels in America.
Produced by Creative Broadcast Solutions, together with OB provider Telegenic, the broadcast marked the National Theatre Live’s 60th production since it launched in 2009, and was delivered live to over 2,500 cinemas in 60 countries.
Telegenic took advantage of Snell Advanced Media’s (SAM) Kahuna production switcher – running the latest version of its FormatFusion technology – bringing HDR capabilities to all inputs and outputs.
“As this was the 60th production we decided to shoot it in UHD and exploit HDR and everything that comes from that,” said Christopher Bretnall, technical producer, Creative Broadcast Solutions. “Although Kahuna has been used for NT Live productions in the past, this is the first time we have used it to its full capability.”
“Kahuna with FormatFusion4 enabled us to deliver both SDR and HDR, and exploit rec.709 and rec.2020 at the same time. The ability to put in non-UHD content was also very appealing, so we could put anything in to the switcher and get what we need out of it.”
“The Angels broadcasts were delivered seamlessly through the SAM UHD switcher. Its capabilities ensured that the mixed-format sources were effortlessly integrated into the UHD capture and live broadcast”.
Robert Szabo-Rowe, EVP and general manager, live production and infrastructure, SAM added: “SAM has always been a firm believer in the benefits of HDR in combination with UHD and we are committed to enabling our customers to seamlessly use any combination of format and resolution that suits their needs.
“We’re very excited that our technology has been used to mark this important milestone in the National Theatre’s history.”
