Italian broadcast services company SBP is building an innovative new broadcast van designed to accommodate teleproduction of major sporting events in Europe.
The centerpiece of the 27-camera HD truck will be the Snell & Wilcox SD/HD Kahuna multiformat production switcher. SBP's unique mobile unit, which is expandable on every side, relies on the Kahuna to output programs seamlessly in SD, HD and any broadcast standard. That capability gives SBP’s clients the ability to handle multiple video formats and standards with maximum flexibility and efficiency during live productions.
Provided to SBP by Italian systems integrator Video Progetti, the Kahuna multiformat production switcher features simultaneous HD and SD output capability from the same mainframe and control panel. Advanced FormatFusion technology from Snell & Wilcox enables operators to combine SD and HD camera feeds, graphics, handheld shots and archive footage directly into their HD productions.
The fully loaded production switcher installed in SBP's newest and largest OB van is configured with two control surfaces, one 4M/E (mix/effects banks) panel and one 1M/E panel. M/Es can be allocated either to SD or HD sources, or mixed together on a single M/E. The switcher's operational flexibility makes maximum use of all available M/Es by networking multiple control surfaces to different mainframes, allocating one mainframe to separate control panels, or operating in SD or HD as required. While most of the production truck's outputs are HD feeds, the Kahuna lets operators provide programming simultaneously in both HD and SD.
For more information, visit www.sbp.it and www.snellwilcox.com.
