SAM Helps Deliver National Theatre Production

Snell Advanced Media (SAM) has helped to deliver the UK National Theatre's first HDR/UHD production.

The two-part live broadcast of the National Theatre Live's Angels in America was produced by Creative Broadcast Solutions together with Telegenic. SAM's Kahuna production switcher was running the latest version of the FormatFusion technology, bringing HDR capabilities to all inputs and outputs, and was deployed in Telegenic's OB truck.

"As this was the 60th production we decided to shoot it in UHD and exploit HDR and everything that comes from that," explained Christopher Bretnall, Technical Producer, Creative Broadcast Solutions. "Although Kahuna has been used for NT Live productions in the past, this is the first time we have used it to its full capability."

Creative Broadcast Solutions issued a tender for the project, following which the project was awarded to Telegenic. The companies worked together to ensure that the choice of kit – which included SAM's Kahuna –was suitable for what needed to be achieved and that the full UHD experience was delivered.

"Kahuna with FormatFusion4 enabled us to deliver both SDR and HDR, and exploit rec.709 and rec.2020 at the same time. The ability to put in non-UHD content was also very appealing, so we could put anything in to the switcher and get what we need out of it," added Bretnall. "The Angels broadcasts were delivered seamlessly through the SAM UHD switcher. Its capabilities ensured that the mixed-format sources were effortlessly integrated into the UHD capture and live broadcast."

Robert Szabo-Rowe, EVP and General Manager, Live Production & Infrastructure, SAM, said: "SAM has always been a firm believer in the benefits of HDR in combination with UHD and we are committed to enabling our customers to seamlessly use any combination of format and resolution that suits their needs. We're very excited that our technology has been used to mark this important milestone in the National Theatre's history."

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