Snell gives some ‘Flare’ to Kahuna vision mixer lineup

Snell’s vision mixer lineup is getting a lift at IBC with the introduction of the Kahuna Flare, offering what the company says is market-leading production-switcher technology in an affordable and highly accessible package.

“With Kahuna Flare, we’ve concentrated core Kahuna 360 technology into a form that redefines affordable production switching by marrying an outstanding feature set with an amazingly low price point,” says John Carter, senior product manager at Snell. “With features such as a powerful keyer toolset, dedicated resize engines, freely assignable 3D DVE, and Snell’s unique FormatFusion3 technology, Kahuna Flare has everything necessary to create world-class programs and productions.”

Kahuna Flare is the first mid-level switcher to offer standard single-link 1080p support alongside SD and HD formats — making it ideal for over-the-air broadcasts, IP, or Internet delivery platforms, and even large progressive screen presentations. With versions ranging from 2 M/E to 4 M/E, Kahuna Flare offers four keyers per M/E and two channels of 3D DVE, all in a single 6U rack frame. The system comes standard with 48 inputs and 24 outputs, with the option to upgrade to 60 inputs and 32 outputs.

Snell’s unique FormatFusion3 gives Kahuna Flare users unmatched versatility in working with multiple signal formats, enabling them to mix SD, HD, and 1080p inputs and outputs simultaneously as required to meet any distribution need. A Kahuna Flare system is comprised of an industry standard Kahuna control surface, a graphical user interface, and a 6U electronics unit, all designed for ease of installation and operation.

In addition, Kahuna Flare offers a 3D DVE package that reflects the industry-leading image-processing and manipulation credentials that Snell has developed through many generations of production-switching innovation. The various DVE models can provide instant DVE effects in bus-based or source-based mode, depending on the operator’s preference. The mixer also comes standard with an internal, fully integrated 10-output clipstore, with unrestricted outputs that can be assigned to any bus. The clipstore supports up to 48 seconds of uncompressed video and includes animated wipe transitions that can be easily programmed into a macro.

“Never before has an affordable, mid-level production switcher offered such elegant operation – and that’s because Kahuna Flare comes from the same team of multi-award-winning design engineers that created Kahuna and Kahuna 360,” adds Carter. “Whatever the application, and in even the most mission-critical live switching environments, this powerful switcher will deliver reliable, resilient production resources. Plus, the skillset for operating Kahuna Flare directly applies to any model from the Kahuna family, for straightforward SD/HD switching to 1080p and beyond.”