WAFF Huntsville Goes HD With Snell Kahuna

Raycom NBC affiliate WAFF Huntsville, Ala. (DMA 80), is among the latest members of the Raycom Media station group to launch its HD newscast using Snell‘s Kahuna multi-format HD/SD production switcher. The Kahuna switcher is the centerpiece in a major HD upgrade for the WAFF broadcasting facility, which includes a state-of-the-art news studio and set, control room and edit bays.

“Since the installation of our Snell Kahuna last fall, our entire directing staff has been impressed with its reliability and usability. Thanks to Kahuna, we were able to make a quantum leap in technology, moving from full-analog standard definition to completely digital high definition,” said J.T. Harriman, WAFF chief engineer. “We needed equipment that was easy-to-learn, intuitive, and would stand up to the rigorous daily routine of very busy daily newscasts. Kahuna was a great choice for us, and it has performed exceedingly well.”

WAFF produces more than seven hours of live, multi-element newscasts every weekday from its new production control room, in addition to weekend programs and pre- and post-production activities. WAFF news directors use the switcher’s multiple-user capabilities and panel configurations and can navigate and modify them on-the-fly to change users and configurations quickly. Different operators are able to save their own personal settings for each individual newscast, and they can load their preferences and presets without jeopardizing the next newscast. 

Kahuna’s multi-format capabilities are also very important to the WAFF operation, as the station is continuing to rely on SD sources for some aspects of its HD broadcasts, including all ENG and satellite live shots. The switcher can automatically convert these SD streams to 16:9 widescreen format to provide consistency with the HD content. 

“The Kahuna allows us to do so much more than we could previously. Now, we can do with a single box what used to require a lot of outboard devices and processing gear, and Kahuna’s director-friendly features, such as the graphical user interface and quick macro settings, have really boosted our news production processes,” added Harriman. 

“WAFF is the nineteenth Raycom station to select Kahuna and we’re proud to have our switcher play such an important role in the group’s transition to HD news production,” said Jonathan Goldstein, president of Snell Americas.