Boomerang+, a leading television production company based in the U.K., has selected Snell's Kahuna multi-format HD/SD production switcher as an integral component in its upgrade to HD operations. Implemented to support the HD migration of a key client, Welsh-language channel S4C, Kahuna will enable Boomerang+ to offer exceptional service to all of its broadcasting clients requiring high-quality HD output.

Boomerang+ maintains a fiber optic connection with S4C that enables the production company to supply live output to the network. When S4C began putting into place an infrastructure that would enable a smooth migration to HD operations, the network requested that Boomerang+ replace its aging SD switching equipment with a solution that could provide superior-quality HD video output from multiple input formats. Installed by systems integrator Megahertz, the Kahuna switcher has enabled Boomerang+ to incorporate video in any type of format, including SD, into the HD stream without requiring additional conversion equipment on the input side. Kahuna went live in January 2010, supplying S4C with down-converted SD that was switched to an HD signal when the network moved to HD on May 1st. Kahuna from Snell is the world's first and only true multi-format SD/HD production switcher. Thanks to a Snell technology called FormatFusion, Kahuna enables simultaneous SD and HD operations in the same mainframe and on the same control panel.