The Switch Taps Miranda’s NVISION Routers for Expansion


MONTREAL–Miranda Technologies, a Montreal-based provider of broadcast signal processing and automation technology, has contracted with fiber switching services business The Switch to supply 3G video routing switchers and centralized control solutions for a 50 city fiber transmission expansion project.

The Switch offers local switching and long haul transmission, as well as AT&T and Verizon circuits to its customers, which include major television broadcasters, cable operators and many other organizations. Currently, The Switch provides local switching in six cities: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington DC, London, and Toronto. It plans to roll-out switching in 44 additional cities beginning this summer.

In total, the new fiber infrastructure will use 20 NVISION 8500 Hybrid routers to connect the first phase of dedicated fiber-optic circuits at the new switching facilities. System design and integration is being performed by Beck Associates.

The new fiber transmission system will be able to handle critical signals for all major US networks in virtually every format available, including 3Gbps/HD/SD, JPEG 2000 compressed 3Gbps/HD/SD, SDTI and ASI.

“We’re committed to build everything in our expansion to accommodate 3Gbs signals. For instance, this will allow our customers to run two uncompressed 1.485 Gb/s HD signals for 3DTV”, explains David Anderson, CTO at The Switch.

All the routers will be connected by a secure VPN, and controlled using Miranda’s iControl Network Monitoring System at The Switch’s Network Operations Center in New York. The iControl system will integrate tightly with The Switch’s unique touch screen customer interface.

“Our new control system offers direct signal control to all our users, with total signal transparency from anywhere in the world”, added Anderson. “The flexibility and reliability of Miranda’s control solution were key factors in our selection of this system.”
br />Miranda has performed custom development work to integrate the routing system with the network’s ScheduALL network management system, and this offers the ability to schedule, reserve, and then execute video switches in all cities, across the network of Miranda routers, to the customers' local fiber optic circuits.

In addition to the new routers at the new facilities, the existing signal management infrastructures in New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles will be upgraded using NVISION 8500 Hybrid and NVISION 5128 systems.