UK and German broadcasters, as well as one of the largest Spanish-language networks, are extremely pleased with coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup including all 27 matches. European media companies reaped large revenues on the sporting event that draws the highest ratings in the world.
Continuous technical support throughout the tournament was complemented by the availability of service spares at Snell & Wilcox's German offices in Wiesbaden/Frankfurt and also in Munich. A support team from Snell & Wilcox assisted some of these FIFA World Cup broadcasters using 10 Kahuna SD/HD production switchers, along with the company's Alchemist Ph.C standards converters and a variety of Snell & Wilcox distribution, processing, monitoring and control solutions to mix HD feeds of the game with other HD and SD sources for worldwide delivery in HD, SD and analog formats.
During production of the FIFA World Cup, Kahuna handled both SD and HD sources transparently and relied on the system's integrated conversion processes to drive HD and SD versions of their productions. During the BBC's coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup from studios and facilities in both Munich and Berlin, the broadcaster relied on Kahuna systems installed at both sites to work with both SD and HD sources in the same mainframe, integrate them seamlessly into production, and supply transmission feeds simultaneously in both formats.
For Spanish-language broadcaster Televisa, the Kahuna's unique ability to integrate SD and HD sources seamlessly into productions without the need for external up- or down-converters enabled the use of existing SD equipment and newer HD technology to deliver high-quality broadcasts to viewers across Mexico on the country's first two HD channels. Because the Kahuna also provides a robust feature set and familiar, intuitive switching interface, it allowed operators to achieve high production values while working using industry-standard switching techniques.
For more information, visit www.snellwilcox.com/products/switchers.
