WWE upgrades to HD with Snell & Wilcox

Snell & Wilcox has announced that its standards converters have been selected by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in order to facilitate the media and entertainment company's move toward HD broadcasting.
With the purchase of a Ukon universal converter and upgrade of its Alchemist Platinum Ph.C standards converter to include HD outputs, WWE has started the migration to HD broadcasts of its professional wrestling events.
"As a visually exciting spectator sport, professional wrestling is a perfect fit with the level of detail that HD provides," said Marty Ludwin, Senior Director of Engineering for WWE. "When we decided to make our initial purchases in HD, Snell & Wilcox was our top choice for conversion equipment. The company has a reputation for quality that is second to none and we knew we could trust its systems as we make our own transition to high-definition broadcasting."
The precise standards conversion delivered by the Snell & Wilcox Alchemist Platinum Ph.C is made possible through its phase correlation motion estimation technology. Alchemist Platinum Ph.C is the most powerful and accurate form of motion measurement in the broadcast industry, with conversions that are virtually transparent. The system is fully upgradeable, allowing customers like WWE to purchase the Alchemist Platinum Ph.C for standard-definition (SD) conversion and easily adapt it to accommodate HD feeds at a later date.
The Snell & Wilcox Ukon provides up-, down-, and cross-conversion, either singly or in any combination. Designed to handle different frame rates, image sizes and aspect ratios, the system's features include tilt, pan and zoom, timecode conversion with precise frame mapping, comprehensive audio handling and 3:2 cadence detection and repair.
Unlike any other format conversion system, Ukon executes all these functions at the same time in a single pass. Frequently used conversions can be programmed for reuse at the touch of a button.
"We are very pleased that WWE has selected our standards conversion products based on our reputation for quality and its past experience with our technologies and customer support," said Joe Zaller, Snell & Wilcox's Vice President of Marketing and Product Management. "The Alchemist Platinum Ph.C and Ukon are excellent choices for converting HD and SD feeds, not only for the quality of signals they produce, but for their upgradeability and cost-effectiveness as well."
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