Italy’s Betanews has purchased its second Snell & Wilcox SD/HD Kahuna production switcher to upgrade one of the existing SD outside broadcast vehicles in its fleet to full HD operation.
Betanews’ new Kahuna multiformat production switcher, supplied through systems integrator and Snell & Wilcox distributor Video Progetti., features two M/E banks. The Kahuna’s compact size, low weight, power consumption, and heat generation were all key issues for Betanews and its space- and weight-constrained OB vehicles.
The switcher allows simultaneous HD and SD output from the same mainframe and control panel. As the Betanews OB van is transitioned to HD operations, Kahuna eliminates the need to invest in a complete HD overhaul or purchase channels of external upconversion to integrate sources from legacy SD equipment into HD productions.
With Kahuna, seamless integration of both SD and HD camera feeds, graphics, handheld shots, and archive footage directly into an HD production is possible without the purchase of expensive HD upgrades or extra HD upconversion equipment. Operators can work initially in SD-only or HD-only mode, and then upgrade to multiformat SD/HD operation whenever they choose.
For more information, visit www.snellwilcox.com.
