Snell & Wilcox NAB intros stream multi-platform workflows, enhance Kahuna

Snell & Wilcox will head to NAB with a number of new products and enhancements to existing products, including improvements to its Kahuna production switcher lineup.

The company will demonstrate new DVE capabilities at the show, including a first-of-its-kind “Fluid Effects” capability that allows operators to wrap live video around animated models for a highly sophisticated look in live production. Rather than render video and the 3-D model on a separate system, Kahuna operators can select any real-time source and apply it to any 3-D model that has been preloaded onto the switcher.

Also new is an IMPAKT DVE Models Version 4 with new film effects, global lighting, flag waves, and window blind effects to the IMPAKT 3-D DVE option for Kahuna, giving operators more than 30 film effects and a rich portfolio of dynamic effects models. Additional switcher enhancements being highlighted at the 2008 NAB Show include the quadrupling of the Kahuna’s clip stores, improved third-party integration capabilities through Kahuna Manager, VDCP control interfacing, and a series of new auxiliary panels that provide highly visible source selection of three levels of mnemonics.

Snell & Wilcox will also showcase iCR V3.0, the newest release of the industry’s first end-to-end content repurposing solution. Designed for producers of film and broadcast content in the mobile, telco, cable, and broadband markets, iCR enables ingest of SD and HD content at the highest standards of reliability and quality. iCR V3.0 represents a major upgrade, offering dozens of new features and allowing users to industrialize and streamline reliable, file-based video repurposing operations while achieving higher quality and lower bit rates.

Snell & Wilcox says new universal conversion tools simplify creation of multiple variants of HD and SD programs within the file-based domain. In a single step, users can perform complex tasks such as resolution, aspect ratio, and color space conversion, as well as advanced deinterlacing, film pull-down removal, and automated audio retiming. Integrated into the iCR V3.0 platform, motion compensated, software-based Alchemist IP SD standards conversion dramatically improves both quality and processing speed. iCR V3.0 features advanced MPEG-4 authoring tools, including professional conversion and encoding, that produce an exceedingly high quality of deliverable for a broad range of platforms — mobile TV, broadband TV (Web), VOD, IPTV, and portable media players — in a smaller file size.

Major enhancements to iCR’s real-time review and QC tools include expanded codec and file support, enhanced QC reports, XML-based integration to asset management systems, and frame-accurate review at full resolution on a professional display. A new plug-in API allows the system to integrate easily into any workflow environment, and an enhanced SOAP/Web services interface further simplifies integration into environments controlled by automation and asset management systems.

Snell & Wilcox will also introduce a variety of new products for its IQ Modular intelligent infrastructure system. New modules include IQDSK00, an HD/SD downstream keyer; IQSPI00, an interfacing product with custom configurable operational control; and the IQSDA2 series of single- and dual-channel SD/HD/3G-capable distribution products. Further additions to the existing modular range include advanced Dolby E processing enhancements, featuring a unique automatic Dolby E alignment tool that provides seamless synchronization with smooth tracking delay in a mixed audio environment.

The new single-unit IQHIP00, a second-generation Hyperion quality-control engine, mimic human intelligence to provide dedicated audio, video, and metadata monitoring for all content throughout the broadcast infrastructure, from ingest to transmission. IQHIP00 now features a dedicated local monitoring output in addition to remote IP thumbnailing capability and real-time, frame-accurate content status. Reporting through RollMap, the company’s flagship control and monitoring system, provides a rich graphical monitoring environment.

RollMap V3.1 incorporates custom-defined controls, SMS and e-mail alerts, real-time status and event reporting, audio-level metering, and advanced alarm-level masking and filtering. The next-generation RollSNMP V2.3 includes advances in system-level performance and integration of third party SNMP traps into RollMap. RollCall Control Applet V2.1 includes local and remote control capability with improved responsiveness of system-wide control to ease operational workflows. A full module backup and restore facility helps to maximize operational uptime benefits. RollMechanic eases operator workload by allowing single- or multiple-module cloning with full network backup and restore. An upgrade manager allows the user to carry out product software upgrades on single or multiple units.