HK’s first UHD OB chooses SAM
Published: ASIA
HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s largest broadcaster, Television Broadcasts Ltd (TVB), has purchased a Snell Advanced Media (SAM) Kahuna live production switcher for use in its first UHD OB truck. The unit replaces an old SD truck and will be used to support a mix of HD and UHD broadcasts, in particular the coverage of international events.
‘We chose SAM not only for the power and functionality of the products, but for their dedication in working closely with us to deliver solutions that best fit our requirements,’ explained B L Cheung, supervising engineer at TVB. ‘The SAM team also demonstrated impressive skills, technical know-how and unbeatable pre- and post-sales support, which was critical in such a tight turnaround project.’
The broadcaster began the planning and design phase for its new UHD truck in 2013 to meet the future demand for UHD/4K production, stating that it was also critical that any UHD productions were made to the same high standard as its HD offering. With a lack of available UHD technology on the market at the time, TVB decided to build the truck first then re-evaluate available UHD products at a later stage.
Then, following a call for proposals in 2016, the broadcaster selected a Kahuna 9600 UHD/4K production switcher, SAM’s IQ modular infrastructure, UHD 4K HDR cameras from Ikegami and lenses from Fujinon. The systems were delivered by late 2016 with the truck going live in April 2017.
‘We are very proud to have delivered our Kahuna and IQ Modular systems for TVB’s first UHD truck,’ stated SAM (Hong Kong) general manager, Felix Sheh. ‘They were very focused on selecting the best solutions on the market for this project, and that is testament to SAM’s dedication to delivering an unbeatable combination of power and functionality, while helping customers to manage their costs.’