Transparent Conversion of HD and SD Content Enables Leading Media Distributor to Meet Demand for High-Quality HD Programming
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HAMPSHIRE, U.K. — Sept. 24, 2008 — Snell & Wilcox today announced that Ascent Media Singapore is using the Alchemist Ph.C – HD for motion-compensated standards conversion of programming for HD and SD playout. Ascent Media has standardized on Alchemist Ph.C products across its production, post-production, and network operations worldwide, and the new Alchemist Ph.C – HD system at Ascent Media Singapore's sophisticated network origination center provides a complete solution for streamlined delivery of high-quality programming that meets the format and standards requirements of each client.
"The Alchemist Ph.C – HD standards converter has given us a robust yet easy-to-use solution for meeting clients' increased demand for high-end HD programming," said Wee Way Kiat, MD at Ascent Media Singapore. "As we expected, the Snell & Wilcox system has performed very well, yielding sharp images and providing valuable masking and aspect ratio conversion functions that simplify our workflow and reduce the time required to complete each job."
Capable of up/down/crossconversion of the same and different frame rates, the Alchemist Ph.C – HD motion-compensated standards converter automatically processes image movement to produce crisp pictures and smooth motion from the widest range of input material. The system integrates easily into virtually any broadcast facility, providing Ascent Media with functionality that ensures a high-quality output when converting between any commonly used broadcast standards and formats.
Ascent Media Singapore is using the Alchemist Ph.C – HD for motion-compensated HD-to-HD conversion, SD-to-SD conversion, and downconversion of HD programming to SD. Within both SD and HD workflows, the converter delivers outputs that are clear, sharp, and free from the motion artifacts commonly associated with standards conversion. The Alchemist Ph.C – HD's built-in aspect ratio conversion and masking speed time to delivery while ensuring that the output meets the high expectations of top-tier networks. A convenient touch screen interface with a color panel indicator allows for easy configuration and monitoring during the conversion process.
About Alchemist Ph.C – HD
The Snell & Wilcox Alchemist Ph.C – HD motion compensated frame-rate standards converter offers simultaneous SD and HD conversion in its compact 3-RU mainframe. This one-box approach delivers HD frame-rate conversion between 50-Hz and 60-Hz HD standards for both 1080i and 720p formats, as well as SD frame-rate conversion between 50-Hz and 60-Hz material. The Alchemist Ph.C – HD also provides motion compensated HDTV upconversion, downconversion, and crossconversion, making it the most comprehensive conversion solution available in the market.
Alchemist Ph.C – HD also provides co-timed simultaneous SD/HD outputs, each with independent aspect ratio and color space conversion — a huge benefit for broadcasters wanting to simulcast in both SD and HD. Also new to the system is a seamless timecode conversion option that drastically improves operational efficiency by eliminating the costly and time-consuming use of additional equipment and manual re-editing of timecode information on videotapes. Full support for Dolby® E audio eliminates the need for outboard Dolby decoders and encoders, reducing space, setup, and configuration requirements in replication and dubbing operations.
