Control room at tpc in ZurichZURICH, SWITZERLAND
As Switzerland's largest provider of audio-visual media and broadcast production services, tpc (tv productioncenter zürich) has deep roots in our country's television broadcasting industry. We began as the production arm of SRG SSR idée suisse, the Swiss national public television broadcaster, and became an independent company in 2000. Today, in addition to SRG SSR idée suisse and its subsidiary, Schweizer Fernsehen, our customers include TV channels throughout Switzerland and abroad, plus a wide range of private businesses and public administrative organizations.
From the beginning, tpc has been committed to offering clients the highest quality video available. This commitment has become more important than ever with the emergence of high-definition television and the launch of HD Suisse, SRG SSR idée suisse's new 24-hour HD television station.
HIGH-DEFINITION MOTION COMPENSATION
HD Suisse transmits feeds from sports events originating worldwide and our success hinges on the ability to seamlessly convert numerous international formats—including SD content and 1080i high-definition video feeds to the HD Suisse standard of 720p/50. When earlier conversion efforts did not measure up to our quality standards, we took the opportunity of the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing to upgrade our conversion capabilities with motion compensation from the gold standard in conversion technology—Pro-Bel/Snell & Wilcox Alchemist Ph.C – HD motion-compensated standards converters.
STAGED CONVERTER'SHOOT-OUT'
We selected these units following an extensive side-by-side comparison of the three leading conversion systems. The Alchemist Ph.C – HD proved to be the very best, particularly in the area of motion portrayal. As the product of extensive research into the exacting demands of HD standards conversion, these converters produce converted HD outputs of unparalleled quality and clarity, and which are virtually indistinguishable from the original input. The high-quality output is a direct result of the Snell & Wilcox Ph.C motion-measurement technology, which is optimized to eliminate motion-related artifacts that are commonly associated with standards conversion in HD video.
VIDEO CONVERSIONS SPARKLE
Based on the successful conversion results we achieved for HD Suisse's Olympic Games broadcasts, we've based our conversion operations around the Alchemist Ph.C – HD units. Today, the systems provide transparent cross-conversion of all high-profile sports feeds for our HD distribution.
The motion-compensated, object-oriented deinterlacing employed by the Alchemist Ph.C – HD units ensures that we achieve the highest possible cross-conversion quality, even with fast-paced sports action and complex detail such as audiences cheering on an athlete.
With their unparalleled ability to deliver crisp, clear converted images, the new converters have helped tpc meet Swiss television viewers' demand for the world's foremost sporting events—such as the Beijing Summer Games—in the dazzling detail of pristine high-definition images.
We have come to rely on the frame-rate standards converters for transparent motion-compensated cross-conversion to deliver the high picture quality our customers demand.
Andreas Lattmann is project manager for engineering at tpc, Switzerland's largest audiovisual production facility located in Zurich. He may be contacted atAndreas.Lattmann@tpcag.ch.
For additional information, contact Snell & Wilcox at 818-556-2616 or visitwww.snellwilcox.com.
