In Broadcast - September 2013 - 32

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 23 - SEPTEMBER 2013

N E W S

InTECH

Switchers & Routers To The Rescue
Coming to terms with a tapeless infrastructure is still a massive challenge for many broadcasters.
With that in mind, manufacturers are promoting new intelligent routers and switchers…

By Kieron Seth
Contributing Editor

he BBC recently launched a
mission to leave behind the
world of tape and embrace an
ambitious file-based future. In
doing so, however, it is understood
the corporation “wasted a huge
amount of licence fee payers’
money” according to its Director
General.
While it may be easy to point
the ﬁnger at the project teams and
system integrators, it’s worth bearing
in mind that new technologies are
being installed at a time when many
organisations are re-structuring,
not just for operational or creative
reasons, but with ﬁnancial motives.
As data starts being backhauled
over cable and editors become part
of connected workgroups (no longer
lone islands of productivity) the
suddenly in-demand glue specialists
and network engineers feel overstretched and under-resourced.
In order to help broadcasters
and post houses to simplify their
operations and manage the now
countless video connections
that span a broadcast centre,
manufacturers are promoting new
intelligent routers and switchers.

Ensemble Designs’s Avenue router

Ensemble Designs
A recent installation at Saudi TV,
saw the broadcaster take delivery
of three Ensemble Avenue Routers
at its Riyadh network centre. The
network’s broadcast centre in
Jeddah was conver ted from
analogue to SDI nearly ten years
ago; now with the transition to a
3GB/s infrastructure, the operator
selected Ensemble because of the
ﬂexible I/O structure of its matrix,
the ability of the control surfaces
to display thumbnail previews, and
the availability of a clean switch
option. The newly installed routers
are used in a variety of applications,

including a small master control
suite and a mobile studio.
For Ensemble Designs, this year
has seen the launch of BrightEye
NXT 410 Clean HDMI Router
which instantaneously and cleanly
switches between HDMI sources.
The router features built-in clean
and quiet frame syncs which allow
glitch-free switching even with
asynchronous sources, and a front
panel LCD display that shows full
motion video of the sources being
routed, as well as set-up and
diagnostic information. The Ethernet
port allows access to full switcher
operation and set-up functions from
virtually any location.
NXT 410 has four HDMI inputs;
one HDMI output; two dedicated
SDI inputs; two dedicated SDI
outputs; one ﬂexible SDI port that
can be either an input or output;
and a ﬂexible port that can be ﬁbre
or mini BNC–either input or output.
This is clearly more than a versatile
source switcher: it’s also a slick
multi-format converter. However, the
most interesting aspect is perhaps
its promotion of HDMI, a technology
that was once considered
exclusively consumer and is now
entering the broadcast mainstream.
The company is also introducing
the diminutive BrightEye NXT 430
Compact Router which features an
interactive LCD display, BNC and
SFP connectors for ﬂexible input
and output conﬁguration, illuminated
front panel buttons, and an Ethernet
port for control and conﬁguration.
This 3G-SDI model is designed
for broadcast, flypack OB and
presentation applications. Like the
NXT 410, it is user-conﬁgurable:
there are 2 ﬁxed input BNCs, 2
ﬁxed output BNCs and 7 assignable
BNCs that can be conﬁgured either
as inputs or outputs. Well speciﬁed
and versatile, the most remarkable
aspect is its size: “about the size of
a CD box set” says the company.

Grass Valley’s Trinix NXT multi-format routing switchers feature fully integrated
multiviewer monitoring capabilities

than many other 3 Gbps multi-link
solutions. 4K routers are available
in 32 x 32, 64 x 64, and 144 x 144
matrix sizes. The modular system
is based on 16 port i/o modules,
interconnected by a crosspoint
fabric that allows any input signal
to feed any number of output ports.
For mixed-signal applications, the
new 4K routers can also be ﬁtted
with 3G cards from the UTAH-100/
UDS family, providing a full range
of connectivity options including
coax, fibre, IP-video, and DVI/
HDMI interfaces.
Beyond support for new formats,
Utah Scientiﬁc now also offers mobile
router control apps for iPad and
Android tablets to give users another
control option. The apps connect
directly to the system controller
and automatically download router
conﬁguration, labels, and status
for quick operation wherever a
WiFi connection to the controller is
available. The app can be conﬁgured
and personalised to suit speciﬁc
applications and locations.

Utah Scientiﬁc now offers mobile
router control apps for iPad and
Android tablets to give users another
control option

Utah Scientific
At this year’s NAB, Utah Scientiﬁc
announced a new range of routers
offering 6 Gbps UHD-SDI signal
capabilities to support new 4K signal
formats for UHDTV production. The
6 Gbps UHD-SDI solutions are said
to deliver a substantially lower cost

PESA
For PESA, UltraHD is also high
on the agenda. Its Cheetah 4K
16x16 ﬁbre optic routing switcher
was previewed at NAB 2013. With
outboard fibre-to-coax media
converters supporting up to 12 Gbps

per port, the new router supports
4K resolutions, or four independent
3G-SDI signals. Cheetah 4K 16x16
can be conﬁgured and controlled
via its network GUI or optional web
network server software.

PESA Brings Extended Reach
Capabilities to Cheetah Routing
Switcher Series

E a c h f i b r e -to - c o a x m e d i a
converter includes a single SC
fibre connection and four BNC
connections, which allows quick
connections to 4K cameras and
monitors. An additional 80m
over coax can be achieved from
the converter to the source or
destination device. Promised future
I/O card upgrades include audio
embedding and de-embedding, as
well as full compliance for future
SMPTE interfaces on the roadmap
for 2K/4K formats.
PESA’s compact Cheetah 288XE
routing switcher (288x576) and DRS
digital audio routing system was
installed by live sports specialist
MIRA Mobile Television as part
of its 2013 overhaul of its M-5
53-foot expanding truck. The
company opted for PESA as it
had a tight window for installation
last August before sending it to
cover an NFL game.
“We only had eight days to install
and proof the audio and video router,”
Bill Duncan, MIRA Mobile Director
CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

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