HD1012 Golden DaVe
by Ron Heidt
From Digital Content Producer
Which video switcher would best serve as the backbone of a linear hybrid editing suite in a brand new all-digital facility? That was our dilemma we pondered as we customized the HD suite during our recent relocation. The solution? The Snell & Wilcox HD1012/Golden DaVe combination.
For this new suite to make money, we realized that it had to be resolution and frame-rate independent. Our goal for the suite was high-def work. But to stay booked, we first had to do quite a bit of standard-def work.
We needed a switcher that could work at every HD resolution and HD frame rate as well as standard definition. The HD1012 fit the bill. The switcher combination actually includes two switchers and one control panel. Via a standard Ethernet connection, the control panel hooks up to the switcher frame that matches the resolution you are working in. Changeover between resolutions is only a button push away, which saves the client editing time.
Whatever resolution you work in, operation of the switcher is the same. The HD frame supports all of the 1080 interlaced as well as progressive standards. It also supports all of the 720 progressive standards. Finally, the SD frame supports all NTSC and PAL standards in both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios.
The standard features are all excellent. While small in size, the Snell switcher has the power to complete the most demanding sessions. For example, the switcher sports over 100 wipe patterns plus additional patterns via the ability to blend wipes.
The HD1012 offers superb keying capabilities. Its chroma-keyer is the best we've seen in any switcher. It even rivals the capabilities of some workstation compositing systems.
The chroma-keyer allows you to pick the key color via an on-screen cursor and pick additional variances of that color to get the key just right. All keyers offer an excellent border generator. Borders can be multi-colored in surround, shadow, or extruded mode, and they can be defocused without using a DVE.
The switcher combination features seven color correctors that allow you to perform corrections in both RGB and YUV color space at the same time. You can also perform color effects and draw your own gamma curves for the ultimate in correction capability.
You can individually crop and reposition horizontally or vertically the four included still stores. The still images themselves store on the integrated 9GB hard drive. Pictures (JPEG, TIFF, BMP, TARGA, etc.) can be imported from zip disk or over the computer network. This makes it very easy for our clients to bring their artwork to a session.
The switcher includes two built-in DVEs to manipulate these stills or any moving video. While working in HD, you can use the DVEs to manipulate four different images at a time, or six different images at once in standard definition. With the DVEs' corner-pinning capability, foreground images can be organically integrated into background scenes.
The DVEs contain all the effects that are needed to complete most sessions. Defocus, 3D warps, trail effects, and motion-blur effects as well as extensive lighting effects are all integrated into this very powerful switcher. The tight integration of the DVE into the switcher allows us to insert a DVE into any video path of the switcher.
For making parameter adjustments, the HD1012 includes a built-in LCD touch screen. The touch screen, a unique feature for a switcher, gives it a workstation feel. Every parameter of the switcher can be adjusted on a timeline with individual timelines for every bus and DVE on the switcher.
The internal hard drive stores the individual timelines and switcher setups on a project-by-project basis. You can store up to 999 setups per project, with stills automatically placed in the same project directory. After completing a project, archive them to the zip drive imbedded into the control panel.
Snell & Wilcox may be new to switchers, but it's been a leader in picture processing and manipulation for many years. The company took that history and incorporated it into its switcher lineup. The picture processing is virtually artifact-free. It offers the cleanest picture resizing and manipulation we have seen at any resolution. In fact, you can take an HD image and expand it four times its original size and not see any artifacts.
Clients always ask us to make an image larger and, in the past, we blurred the image to hide the artifacts. With these new switchers, we can make an image larger while maintaining its original sharpness.
According to the Snell & Wilcox engineers, we have great features to look forward to in the future. The switcher's architecture makes it very easy to change and program new features. Since taking delivery of the switcher this past August, we received two revisions to the software, both including new features and effects.
In the short time that we have owned the switcher, Snell & Wilcox has been very responsive to our feature requests. It's refreshing to work with a manufacturer that responds to our needs in a timely manner. By working with Snell & Wilcox, we know that we will be able to offer our clients the creative capabilities they require from us.