Snell & Wilcox Kahuna Switcher Drives Transition to HD News Production at San Francisco’s KPIX

CBS O&O Uses Multi-Format SD/HD Kahuna Switcher to Transition Seamlessly to HD Operations



BURBANK, Calif. — May 2008 — A Snell & Wilcox Kahuna SD/HD multiformat production switcher is playing a central role in delivering high-definition news programs to air for KPIX, a CBS owned-and-operated station in San Francisco. KPIX relies on the Kahuna switcher to integrate content from a variety of sources and formats, including SD, into the HD news production without requiring external conversion equipment.

KPIX now broadcasts 27.5 hours per week of its Eyewitness News programming in HD, in addition to its local prime access magazine show “Eye on the Bay.” The Kahuna switcher is part of KPIX’s redesigned control room that features digital, file-based broadcast automation technologies and a new workflow based on electronically generated run sheets. At the same time, the workflow incorporates legacy systems and equipment for producing and managing SD content — remote newsgathering crews, for instance, continue to use SD cameras, while the studio cameras are HD. All SD content is seamlessly converted to HD via the Kahuna’s FormatFusion technology.

In addition to the Kahuna switcher, KPIX is facilitating video and audio distribution with components from Snell & Wilcox’s IQ Modular line, running RollCall control and monitoring software. Together with the Kahuna, the IQ Modular solutions are key components in KPIX’s new workflow as it continues the transition to digital, HD operations.

More information about the Kahuna SD/HD multiformat production switcher and other products from Snell & Wilcox is available online at www.snellwilcox.com.

Snell & Wilcox, Putting Pictures to Work, Kahuna, FormatFusion, IQ Modular, and RollCall are trademarks of the Snell & Wilcox Group. All other trademarks mentioned herein are acknowledged as property of their respective owners.