Henninger Media Services Adds SAM’s Alchemist XF for File-Based Workflow

Snell Advanced Media (SAM) announced that Arlington, VA-based Henninger Media Services (Henninger), which provides a full range of HD and 4K services including production, video editing and compositing, color correction, motion graphics, and audio mixing, has purchased SAM’s Alchemist XF to ease its workflow with file-based sources and deliver standards conversion for 4K material.

With 30 years in the post production business, Henninger works with many well-respected content providers and broadcasters including National Geographic, PBS, and the Smithsonian Channel to name a few. Henninger’s strategically located post production facility, just outside of Washington, D.C., enables a convenient creative and digital distribution outlet for political clients, the U.S. federal government, non-profit organizations and documentary filmmakers.

SAM’s Alchemist XF file-based format and framerate conversion software tool was selected to create breathtaking motion compensated image quality for Henninger. The software avoids having work rejected on the grounds of quality within file-based workflows.

Sam Crawford, Vice President of Technology at Henninger comments, “Now that file-based sources and masters are becoming mainstream, it’s essential to our workflow to have a device that understands the file type we use. We’ve been using SAM Alchemist PH.C – HD hardware for a number of years, so upgrading to XF made absolute sense for us. With the hardware version, we were limited to HD and HD/SDI. With Alchemist XF, there are no limits on what we can process. We can automate our workflow and turn work around much faster without the need for extra staff or any increased costs, which is a huge advantage given the tight deadlines and fast pace we work under.”

Alchemist XF is a format and frame rate converter designed specifically for the file-based domain. Highly scalable, Alchemist XF can be deployed from a single instance through to a cluster of nodes within a data center. It supports format and framerate conversion from SD up to 4K for a wide variety of file formats.

Robert Szabó-Rowe, EVP and General Manager, Live Production and Infrastructure at SAM comments, “We’re so pleased that Henninger Media Services sees the true value of moving from hardware to software with Alchemist. We’ve greatly improved on the original Alchemist hardware with enriched algorithms and processing techniques so that our clients can take full advantage of the stunning picture quality and shortened turnaround times they get with Alchemist XF.”