LAS VEGAS -- Getting it organized and keeping tabs on it all—at its simplest, that’s the goal of the switcher and router team. The newest generation of video production switchers and signal routers are appearing in new forms and configurations— some are touting their protocolagnostic heritage; some are being bundled and shipped with branding capabilities, too. But at its heart, this duo’s overarching goal is as simple as it’s ever been: to ease the process of managing and controlling all those streams of audio and video.

PRODUCTION SWITCHERS
In the miniature switcher arena, BHV Broadcast will showcase the Callisto Micro, a three-input SDI switcher designed for the smallest of spaces. The Callisto is a 270 Mbps video switcher that can handle asynchronous SDI inputs and offers remote control and broadside bus switching.

Broadcast Pix will debut the latest version of its Video Control Center and will also showcase recently introduced enhancements to many parts of its integrated production systems including: switcher, clip server, CG, robotic camera control, virtual sets, voice automation (ideal for visual radio), integrated production control, and end-to-end network integration.

Evertz will return to the big show with its 3025EMC, a 3G and HD/SD master control switcher and channel branding solution, alongside the company’s mini switcher package.

For-A HVS-390HS video switcher

For-A will be exploring the 4K arena with the HVS-XT100/120, a 3G/4K-compatible video production switcher with 1 M/E. Also in the company’s booth: the HVS-390HS video switcher and HVS- 4000 Series of video switchers.

Grass Valley GV Director

New switching solutions from Grass Valley will include the GV Director, which offers a touchscreen design, along with traditional switcher buttons and T-bar controls. The company will also show the newest features in the Karrera Video Production Center.

NewTek will be showcasing its full range of TriCaster live production systems, along with its 3Play slow-motion instant replay solutions. Show attendees will be able to see demonstrations of how the ChyronIP 3D graphics generator works exclusively with the TriCaster systems.

For TD and switcher operators, Orad will show off their TD Control, which delivers a single composited image to a switcher.

For professionals looking for a switcher/ branding combo, Pixel Power will show the newest version of its BrandMaster master control switcher with branding capability.

Ross Carbonite

Ross Video is planing to set up a full-fledged studio system environment at its NAB Show booth for demonstrating its Vision, Carbonite and CrossOver video production switchers. New enhancements include more production and effects capabilities as part of the Vision Series of production switchers, as well as an improved newsroom plug-in as part of the OverDrive automated production control system.

Rushworks will be showing off the latest generation of its production systems, including the VDesk family, and the Remo 22, a rugged portable production system.

Sony MVS-3000

Sony will be at the NAB Show to demonstrate its MVS-3000, MVS-6520 and MVS-6530 production switchers. All three feature multiformat support, multiviewer output and menu panel control, as well as a new control panel called the ICP-3000. The MVX-3000 offers two mix effects, buses, four keyers per M/E, and color correction.

Snell Kahuna Flare

Another company that’s following the movement toward 4K operations is Snell, which will show off the Kahuna 360 multiformat switcher with FormatFusion3 technology. It’s designed to support a mix of SD, HD, 1080p and 4K video. The Kahuna 360 now accepts incoming 4K UHDTV feeds, mixes them with 1080p and outputs either 4K or 1080p. The company will also showcase a new midrange multiformat production switcher, the Kahuna Flare, which offers standard single link 1080p support alongside SD and HD formats.

ROUTING & CONTROL

AJA KUMO 3232

AJA Video Systems will be rolling into the Las Vegas Convention Center with the AJA Kumo 3232, a compact SDI router with 32 inputs and 32 outputs in a 2RU size. Features in the standalone device include 3G SDI.

Blackmagic Design will be arriving in Las Vegas to demonstrate its Videohub Master Control, a new style of router control panel that allows spin-knob scrolling of all router sources and destinations, as well as direct button entry of any router crosspoint. It provides a built-in LCD panel with easy-to-read anti-aliased graphic labels for full access to every single crosspoint on even the largest 288 x 288 Videohub routers.

Communications Specialties will show off the Fiberlink, a SMPTE-compliant 32x32 fiber-optic matrix/ signal router.

Routing and switching solutions from DNF Controls ths year will include the newest series of RS-422 systems, including the one-input/eight-output SW1X8, as well as VTR/DDR control options such as the ST60.

A long list of routing systems will be filling the Evertz NAB Show booth this year. These include a slew of small video routers, as well as enterprise class video routers, such as the EMR Video, a highdensity modular video routing system that handles 3G, HD/SD and ASI. Booth visitors should also look for some new router control panels, incuding the CP-1040E, a 40-button LCD panel.

Gefen 32x32 Modular Matrix

New routing matrix gear from Gefen this year will include the 32x32 Modular Matrix, which can route 32 mixed sources to 32 outputs at resolutions up to 1920 x 1200.

Guntermann & Drunck GmbH will be showcasing their ControlCenter- Digital modular switching system. It’s available with up to 288 ports and handles signals delivered by both fiberoptic and copper cables. Hot-swappable cards and triple power supply redundancy ensures a very high level of reliability. The system features integrated monitoring and SNMP, and well as an intuitive configuration and operation. It supports signals from single-link DVI, PS/2, USB 2.0 devices, keyboards, mice, RS-232, audio sources and more.

Harris Platinum IP

Harris plans to showcase its new Platinum IP3 integrated routing system that accommodates separate video, audio and data signals within the same frame. It is also designed to scale upwards for some large broadcast and media applications—as large as a 2048 x 2048 multiframe configuration.

IHSE USA will be showing off the Draco Compact family, which offers HD digital video transmission of DVI/HDMI signals of 1080 p60.

This year Miranda will be highlighting some new additions to its Nvision 8500 series of routers. These include a new frame sync input card which provide eight input ports.

Optocore will be demonstrating its MADI series of routers, which are designed to address individual channel routing with either a standalone or networked configuration, and with multiple connectivity options.

Also in the NAB Show’s routing arena, Orad will be showcasing their TD Control system, which allows users to switch six video sources to six completely different sources with a single click.

Roland V-4EX 4-channel video mixer

Roland Systems Group will use the NAB Show for introducing the V-4EX video mixer, the next generation production in the V-4 and V-8 lineup of live performance video mixers. The company will also be demnstrating its V-800 HD multiformat switcher, which includes a number of features and improvements, including a new A/B -tyle switching mode and support for 3G-SDI level B mapping structure for both 1080p 50Hz and 1080p 59.954Hz formats.

Ross Video will show its NK Series of video, audio and machine control rout ing solutions, which now provide 3G capabilities.

Keeping an eye on multiple video sources is the goal of Sierra Video’s Aspen line of HD/SDI routing switchers, which will share booth space at the NAB Show with the company’s Shasta, Lassen and Ponderosa switchers.

Snell 830 series router

Snell plans to introduce the Luna series of 1RU router control panels and will also be showcasing some new features for its Sirius 800 series of routers, which now provide the availability of frame synchronization on the unit’s hybrid processing cards.

Thinklogical’s routing products being displayed at this year’s NAB Show will include the VX and HDX series of routers, which provide up to 6.25 Gbps of bandwidth and can operate over either multimode or single mode fiber-optic cables.

Being redundant is a good thing in the broadcasting arena, and Thomson Video Networks shows this off to advantage in displaying the newest feature set in the Amethyst III switcher, a highdensity redundancy switcher that’s available with Gig-E or ASI interfaces to allow for seamless switching between multiple 1+1 MPEG transport streams being transported over IP networks.

TV One will show off the C3-340 CORIO matrix switcher, a modular video matrix router, as well as the C2-8000, a universal input switcher that provides video switching with two-channel bi-directional conversion and three internal scaling engines.

Utah Scientific UTAH-100/UDS routing switcher

Utah Scientific’s Utah-100/UDS routing switcher family now supports 4K video signal operation. Routers in this new series range from 32 x 32 to 144 x 144 matrices, and can multiplex and demultiplex 1.5 Gbps and 3 Gbps streams to and from the 6 Gbps signal. The company will also be introducing the Utah-400 Series 2, a 72 x 72 frame routing switcher for users who need smaller systems. It can be configured in a range of sizes from 128 x 12 to 12 x 128, in addition to the traditional square matrix layout. Also new is the UCP-LC3 Control panel for the Utah-400 routing switchers, as well as an iPad router control app.