TWI purchases third Alchemist Platinum Ph.C

Seeking to future-proof its investment in standards conversion gear, sports TV producer and distributor TWI has purchased its third Snell & Wilcox Alchemist Ph.C standards converter.
TWI selected an HD-capable Platinum model that the sports TV giant is using in broadcasts of such events as Premier League soccer, Wimbledon, and The Open Championship at St. Andrews.
The new Alchemist Platinum was supplied to TWI, the world's largest independent producer and distributor of televised sports, by Broadcast & Production Services UK Ltd (BPS), the Surrey-based distributor. Installed in the VTR department at mediahouse, TWI's London production facility, the Alchemist Platinum Ph.C will be used to convert European productions shot in PAL to NTSC and 60-Hz HDTV formats for broadcast to U.S. and Japanese audiences.
Not only does Alchemist Platinum provide the highest-quality motion compensated standards conversion available, it also delivers upconversion to HDTV standards as an integral part of the conversion process. Typically two steps are needed to convert 625-line SD PAL sources to a 1080/60 or 720/60 HD NTSC output. First the video is converted from 625 lines to 525 lines, then it is upconverted to HDTV - and 100 lines of vertical resolution get lost in the process. With the HD-capable Alchemist Platinum Ph.C, however, both the standard and format conversions are done in a single step. Alchemist Platinum Ph.C thereby preserves an extra 100 lines of vertical resolution that would otherwise be lost, resulting in clearer, sharper HDTV pictures for broadcast.
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