Snell Kahuna 60 at Center of Hong Kong Jockey Club s Multi-Phase Broadcast Upgrade to HD Operations

18th December 2012 Snell Kahuna 360 at Center of Hong Kong Jockey Club's Multi-Phase Broadcast Upgrade to HD Operations Kahuna 360 Provides Multi-Format SD/HD Switching Capabilities for Horse Racing Organizations Broadcasts to Three Million Viewers Every Week

READING, U.K. Dec. 18, 2012 Snell today announced that the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), one of the worlds largest horse racing organizations, has chosen Snell Kahuna 360 multi-format SD/HD production switchers as part of a major, multi-phase upgrade of its broadcasting center to support HD operations. The HKJC, which produces a total of 9,600 hours of TV programming every year, selected the Kahuna 360 switchers to replace an array of aging vision mixers.

The HKJCs weekly programming lineup includes more than 36 hours of programming, including pre- and post-race program and infotainment content in addition to live coverage of twice-weekly race days. Carried by several Hong Kong SD and HD channels as well as pay TV and satellite services in seven other countries, the HKJCs broadcasts reach more than 3 million viewers every week.

After a stringent evaluation and procurement process, Kahuna 360 scored highest in technology and price/performance, as well as its ability to provide multi-format inputs and outputs for both SD and HD. Another critical factor in the HKJCs selection of Kahuna 360 was its resilience and ability to auto-fallback seamlessly with no visible interruption in service a major consideration for live racing coverage that is watched by millions of viewers. Also, the systems ease of use and effortlessness customization are important in the HKJCs compact production environment, which requires all of its producers to be multi-skilled and perform hands-on vision mixing without a dedicated operator.

"With such a busy programming and production schedule, reliable and state-of-the-art production switchers are a critical element in the HKJC broadcast environment. Kahuna 360 is truly an all-in-one solution, with the scalability we need to evolve our operation into the future," said Mrs. Oonagh Chan, head of broadcasting services for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. "As a longtime user of Snell switching, conversion, and playout equipment, we are keen to acquire solutions that offer high quality and reliability as well as value and we know we can depend on Snells first-rate support organization."

In phase one of the switcher upgrade, two Kahuna 360 4 M/E mainframes were integrated with HKJCs existing multi-viewer and TSL tally control systems. Since each Kahuna 360 mainframe can support two or more control panels, four separate programs are produced simultaneously. One mainframe serves as the field program mixer to produce a clean TV feed from over 40 HD cameras plus playout sources during the live race coverage. The other Kahuna 360 is the master program mixer, combining the clean feed output with playout and bilingual data superimpositions to deliver the program feed in both Chinese and English for the ATV Home Channel. Kahuna 360s support of multiple layers and keyers as well as its DVE capabilities has been essential to this requirement.

Kahuna 360 will be a central component in phases two and three of HKJCs HD migration, which includes the design and build-out of a new broadcast center. "Kahuna 360s multi-format capabilities are a critical factor in HKJCs current migration to HD operations," said John Carter, senior product manager for production switchers at Snell. "The systems built-in up/down-conversion and auto-formatting capabilities enable HKJCs TV production center to operate simultaneously in SD, HD, and 1080p signals on the inputs and outputs, which means HKJC can produce high-quality HD productions without the expense of an external signal converter."

More information about Kahuna 360 and Snells full Broadcast Infrastructure product line is available online at www.snellgroup.com.

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About Snell:

Snell is a leading innovator in digital media technology, providing broadcasters and global media companies with a comprehensive range of solutions to create, manage, and streamline the distribution of content for todays multi-screen world. Specializing in TV Everywhere, Broadcast Infrastructure, and Live Production applications, Snell provides the necessary tools to transition seamlessly and cost-effectively to HDTV, stereoscopic 3D, and 3Gbps operations, while enabling broadcasters to monetize and deliver their media assets across multiple distribution platforms. Headquartered in the U.K., Snell serves more than 2,000 broadcasters, post facilities, and global media companies in more than 100 countries through its worldwide team of sales and support personnel. More information is available at www.snellgroup.com.

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ENDS

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