Each solution will now offer an even wider range of tools that enable broadcasters to streamline their workflows, greatly reduce their total cost of ownership, and monetize their content over multiple platforms.
ICE is a best-of-breed IT playout system that combines what once were multiple racks of hardware into just a small number of rack units. Unlike other offerings, ICE incorporates more of the “channel” into the “box,” maximizing the commercial and operational benefits. Driven by Morpheus, ICE also is the only channel-in-a-box system that can truly scale from a single channel to more than 100 of the most complex broadcast channels while maintaining the same user interface. Snell’s focus on incorporating more of the channel into the box has brought ICE 3.0 powerful, integrated 3D graphics, CG functionality with timeline control, and the ability to populate fields from the playout schedule, as well as external data sources.
File compatibility and integrity can be a major challenge when handling content from multiple suppliers and multiple workflows, since problem files can create a serious risk to on-air output. To combat this, Snell has incorporated a new content validation feature in ICE 3.0 that analyzes source material as soon as it is available to prevent invalid formats or impaired content from reaching the on-air output. The final addition to ICE 3.0 is optional SAN storage which brings high-performance shared storage to the platform.
Refinements to Morpheus automation include new second-screen capabilities, such as enhanced e-commerce functionality with comprehensive user transaction and purchase models, and other tools that empower broadcasters to monetize their assets via second-screen applications. Version 3.0 boasts full virtual machine support that facilitates lower space and power requirements while improving system resilience. Snell has also enhanced the Morpheus user interface to simplify the operation of multiple channels and complex operations.
Snell will also introduce the Kahuna 360 Compact, a smaller-frame version of the company’s Kahuna 360 video switcher, and one that is ideal for live production environments. Offering true 1080p switching in a 6-RU chassis, the new Kahuna 360 Compact enables a smooth and cost-effective migration from SD to HD to 1080p, making Snell’s award-winning production switcher technology accessible to an even wider audience. Easy to deploy and equipped with the familiar Kahuna interface, the Kahuna 360 Compact is ideal for OB trucks, studio-based productions, houses of worship, and other live production applications. The new switcher delivers all of the functionality of the full-sized Kahuna 360, with up to three full mix/effects (M/E) and seven keyers per M/E, as well as Snell’s exclusive Make M/E™ technology, which enables multiple independent sublevel switchers. The FormatFusion3 technology provides the ability to mix HD, SD, and even single-link 1080p sources into a single production, and has multiple outputs of SD, HD, and 1080p—making the Kahuna 360 Compact ideal for transitioning operations from HD to 1080p. Like the larger Kahuna 360, the Kahuna 360 Compact breaks the tradition of fixed M/Es, fixed resources, and fixed formats, and supports many simultaneous productions that would otherwise require multiple switchers.
