BCA Show Preview - 66

66

SUNTEC SINGAPORE

A part of

MARINA BAY SANDS * SUNTEC SINGAPORE

SHOW PREVIEW | 26-28 June 2018

Omnitek Enhances Ultra Range
Alan Wheable FISTC, MITOL - Communications Manager at Omnitek - discusses the
latest developments, and what's on show from the company at BroadcastAsia 2018...
BroadcastAsia: Can you give us a brief
overview of what we can expect in the next
six to 12 months within your sector?
Alan Wheable: These are challenging times
for broadcast and post production which
demands content to be produced in a range of
different formats, colour spaces and dynamic
ranges to suit a diversifying delivery route to
consumers with high expectations of better
picture quality and enhanced user experience.
On top of this, the infrastructure being used
to deliver content is changing under our feet as
the desire for IP solutions influence decisions.
For anyone buying equipment these days,
the list of requirements is quite long and the
decisions being made will affect not just short
term, but long term production efficiencies.
When buying Test & Measurement equipment,
the challenge is to find the one that suits the
immediate need, future needs and at a price
that is within ever-tighter budget constraints.
And above all, it needs to be fit for purpose,
value for money and easy to use.
BCA: Any specific product(s) centre stage
this year?
AW: For BroadcastAsia 2018, the Omnitek
Ultra family of Test and Measurement products
gains the ability to decode Dolby D and E
audio to provide metadata analysis and native
audio streams for monitoring. Our decision to
implement additional audio functionality within
the Ultra family is partly due to demand from
broadcasters who need to be able to ensure
the quality of all aspects of their content before
broadcast, but also because the adoption of
IP standards such as SMPTE 2110 means
that it is essential to be able to check all of the
elemental streams (video, audio and ancillary)
are correct.
With digital audio capture an everyday
occurrence, being able to actually hear it
anywhere within the production chain is a

The Ultra products decode Dolby D/E audio

Ultra TQ aims to support broadcasters

significant benefit, whether its AES/EBU or
Dolby D/E.
In addition to the new audio functionality,
we will be adding IP connectivity to the Ultra
XR as it finds its place in more and more
broadcasters around the world. This makes
the Ultra XR a SDI/IP fully connected 4K/UHD
Waveform Rasteriser.
We will be continuing to add functionality
and make improvements to the Ultra family of
products based on feedback from our everincreasing user base.
BCA: What challenges did you face when
designing and launching the products?
AW: In order to support Dolby decode, AES/
EBU input/output, as well as analogue audio
monitoring, it has been necessary to design
a new mezzanine board for the Ultra product
range. This board, affectionately named 'Polo'
due to the square whole in the middle of the

PCB to allow airflow, provides additional
FPGA resource as well as the AES/EBU audio
connectivity required to monitor the de-embed
audio from the SDI/IP stream and decoded
Dolby D/E content.
This new audio hardware will be available as
an upgrade to existing customers.
One of the challenges with launching the Ultra
TQ was to find the right mix of functionality to
suit broadcast programme production, post
production and QC activities in a package
to suit current needs at a price within tight
budgetary constraints. All of this while
providing a future-proof platform that can be
adapted to future needs and technological
trends.
By employing the technology already in use
by the Ultra 4K Tool Box and the Ultra XR we
were quickly able to build a sophisticated tool
set in a small form factor package suitable
for desktop and rack mount installation in an
engineering bay, control room, QC suite and
OB truck.
BCA: Which territories do you think will
show particular interest?
AW: Omnitek has established sales of
its Ultra 4K Toolbox, Ultra XR and Ultra TQ
products around the world. The Ultra 4K Tool
Box has been adopted as the de facto standard
T&M product for 12G-SDI development in the
USA, Europe and Asia/Pacific. The Ultra XR
has found success in the USA and in Europe
with post houses and broadcasters already
working with 4K/UHD and/or HD high dynamic

range programs. The Ultra TQ has already been
adopted by broadcasters both in the USA with
the new audio functionality, and it will also
become a popular choice in Asia. It is allowing
them to move to new production methods at
their own pace, knowing that the equipment
they have purchased is future-proof.
BCA:
Any
future
product/service
innovations ahead that you can discuss?
AW: Omnitek has a policy of continual
product development and there is a road map
to add new functionality to the Ultra family
over the next few years. There are two sides
to Omnitek's business; the T&M product
side and the Design Consultancy side. As a
business, Omnitek is already working on new
technology that is being driven by equipment
manufacturers needing solutions for HDMI
2.0, Video over IP, 8K image processing and
high frame rate processing. These types of
development directly influence Omnitek's T&M
products.
Earlier this year, Omnitek announced its
new Omnitek Standard Product (OSP) silicon
chipset solutions for 4K AV over IP and 4K/
HD Warp as competitive alternatives to ASIC
and ASSP devices. These turnkey solutions
are configurable and use system-on-chip
technology that deliver multi-function video
processing features, currently only available
using combinations of discrete devices.
Omnitek's T&M products will be on display at
BroadcastAsia 2018, UK Pavilion.
www.omnitek.tv
http://www.omnitek.tv/ http://www.omnitek.tv/ultra-tq http://www.omnitek.tv
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