SAM adds HDR capability to its industry-leading Kahuna production switcher range

New FormatFusion4 multi-format technology supports any combination of SD, HD, 1080p, 4K, SDR and HDR.

Snell Advanced Media (SAM) today announced the latest release of its FormatFusion software. This latest version, FormatFusion4, adds HDR capabilities to its Kahuna production switcher range. The FormatFusion engine is at the heart of the Kahuna switcher and is the key to its class leading multi-format capabilities. SAM’s Kahuna with FormatFusion4 technology was a key part of BT Sport and Telegenic’s 4K HDR workflow in June at the UEFA Champions League Final in Cardiff.

FormatFusion4 brings HDR capabilities to all inputs and outputs on SAM’s Kahuna production switcher. The technology seamlessly handles SDR and HDR in parallel for Sports, News and Entertainment productions. FormatFusion4 supports the Electrical Optical Transfer Functions (EOTF) for: realtime control of Perceptual Quantizer (PQ), realtime control of Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG), and Sony S-Log3 profile

FormatFusion4 also includes color space support for Wide Color Gamut (BT709 and BT2020) in all formats (1080i, 1080p and UHD).

Robert Szabó-Rowe, EVP and General Manager, Live Production & Infrastructure, SAM, said, “FormatFusion4 confirms our commitment to making SAM’s production switchers the most flexible and powerful in the market. The technology is completely transparent to our customer’s live production workflows and requires no additional engineering or external equipment, even in UHD. Its proven success by BT Sport at this year’s UEFA Champions League Final is a fantastic testament to its capabilities as we start to see Kahuna users transition to HDR production.”