WBFF FOX45 Deploys Kahuna for HD Newscasts

WBFF FOX45, the flagship station of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, has
launched Baltimore’s
first HD newscast with the Kahuna
SD/HD multiformat production switcher as the centerpiece of its new HD
production control room. With its unique internal conversion capability,
intuitive layout, and powerful feature set, the Snell & Wilcox Kahuna has
enabled the award-winning newsroom to make a cost-effective transition to efficient
HD news production.

“Kahuna’s switching
and DVE power, features, layout, and networkability — along with its internal
conversion capability —
separate it from the competition and, in turn, allow our news-producing stations
to take their broadcasts to a new level,” said Mark Nadeau, senior
director, Sinclair Broadcast Group. “WBFF already was a very efficient SD
news operation, and the Kahuna has helped the station maintain this efficiency
in the HD world by providing format flexibility without the complexity of
external conversion systems. As a result, the station has realized significant
cost savings while achieving outstanding HD image quality.”

Kahuna’s FormatFusion technology has made it
easy for WBFF to incorporate its SD content seamlessly into HD newscasts,
simplifying production of broadcasts that leverage valuable archival and
field-captured SD content, along with shots from a new HD satellite truck, new
HD graphics, and images from five HD studio cameras. WBFF’s state-of-the-art HD
set is complete with DMX addressable lighting, a 143-inch rear-projection
screen, and a rotating anchor desk that allows the production team to showcase
its new weather center.

“WBFF FOX45 News has
always been a market leader with its quality photography and newscast style,
and now thanks to the Kahuna, the station’s smooth transition to high-impact HD
broadcasts gives it an even further advantage over other Baltimore-area
stations,” said Joe Zaller, vice president of corporate development at
Snell & Wilcox. “We look forward to seeing the standard for HD news
rise across the country as Sinclair continues to roll out Kahuna systems at its
news-producing stations.”

Sinclair Broadcast Group
took Columbus, Ohio, station WSYX ABC 6 newscasts to air in HD earlier this
year using the same Kahuna-based HD production model. Sinclair stations WLOS
ABC 13 in Asheville, N.C.,
and WEAR ABC 3 in Pensacola,
Fla., are scheduled to launch
their HD newscasts in August.