The Kahuna production switcher from Snell & Wilcox was launched at IBC2004 in Amsterdam. The switcher will most likely be used for graphic-intensive production such as sports and news.

Working in SD-only or HD-only mode, users can then upgrade to multiformat SD/HD operation as needed. Using Format Fusion--a Snell & Wilcox technology--there is no upconversion or reboot required, so users can mix existing SD camera feeds, graphics, handheld shots and archive footage directly into an HD production. Before Kahuna, HD/SD switchers operated in one mode or the other, and required a reboot to switch between modes.

Not having to reboot, users can allocate mix/effects (M/Es) to either SD or HD sources, or to mix the two together in a single M/E. Kahuna's 11-RU mainframe contains up to four M/Es and eight channels of optional 3D DVE effects with redundant power supplies. Each M/E bank has four keyers that can perform luma, linear and chroma keying, and five transition-wipe generators. In the event of failure, the M/Es--which are independent from one another--can be hot-swapped during live operation.