WESTFORD, Mass.—Artel Video Systems has announced that Television City Studios (TVCS) in Los Angeles has selected Artel Quarra PTP 10 Gbps Ethernet switches as the basis for the new Precision Timing Protocol (PTP) distribution network at the production facility. 

Television City Studios has been home to legendary shows such as "The Carol Burnett Show" and "All in the Family" and today broadcasts "The Price Is Right," "The Late Late Show with James Corden," "American Idol," among others. 

The facility has begun migrating to media-over-IP, and the recent deployment of various systems operating in a SMPTE ST 2110 environment meant engineers had to build a reliable PTP distribution network from scratch.

"We chose Artel's Quarra 10G for several reasons," said Jerzy Gorczyca, vice president of TVCS engineering. "For one thing, Artel gave us loaner units so we could evaluate the device before moving forward with a purchase. During that time, we found that the accuracy was spot-on, and the web browser interface made for easy configuration. Also, Artel's engineers were readily available with complementary technical support whenever we needed it. Another determining factor was that Artel will work with us as our needs continue to evolve."

In the Television City workflow, two Quarra 10G switches serve as boundary clocks in the PTP distribution network. The boundary clocks support equipment in two studios in a redundant fashion (blue and red networks) and are referenced by Evertz 5700MSC-IP grand master clocks. The Quarra switches take PTP messages from the grand master clocks and pass them to other timing distribution switches located in different studios.

Quarra 10G PTP switches can operate in either boundary clock or transparent clock mode. They provide accurate holdover when the PTP grand master is lost, the fastest boot time in the industry (less than 30 seconds), and nanosecond timing accuracy, thanks to a design that uses accurate temperature and voltage-controlled, high-precision crystal oscillators, the companies reported. 

With the Quarra switches in the PTP workflow, signals are synchronized within nanoseconds so that TVCS can avoid broadcast interruptions, unwanted noise, lip sync misalignment, and audio latency that arise from errors in timing.

"Television City was the first studio in the world built especially for television, and it has evolved a lot since it first opened in 1952. Artel is pleased to be a part of that evolution," said Rafael Fonseca, vice president of product management at Artel. "With the Quarra's ease of use, accuracy, and flexibility, coupled with Artel's commitment to customer support, Television City can be assured of precision timing that gives viewers the best possible experience."

Additional information about Artel products is available at www.artel.com.

As NAB Show New York prepares to return to the Javits Center, TV Tech caught up with Rafael Fonseca, vice president of product management at Artel. Attendees at the show can find Artel in booth 1925 with the company’s latest innovations.

TV Tech: What are you most looking forward to at NAB Show New York?

RAFAEL FONSECA: NAB Show New York is my favorite show. The quality of the visitors is parallel to none. I am looking forward to reconnecting with the industry, especially with the folks who normally attend NAB Show New York but don’t attend NAB Show in Las Vegas. We want to, as with every New York show, get a sense of where the industry is in terms of trends in technology like compression is, usage of cloud services, status of the migration to media over IP, and needs that we can supply.

TVT: What will be your company's most important product news?

FONSECA: We will feature products that simplify broadcasters’ shift to hybrid IP/SDI and all-IP operations. The SMART Multimedia Delivery Platform used in the DigiLink/InfinityLink product lines, now comes in an openGear form factor, the SMART Multimedia Delivery Platform in openGear® (SMART OG). SMART OG  brings even greater operational simplicity, flexibility, and scalability by offering four-channel, auto-sensing 12G/3G/HD/SD-SDI-over-IP supporting J2K and JPEG-XS.

To learn more about the Artel’s products, visit the company’s website.

NEW YORK—At the 2022 NAB Show New York, Oct. 19-20 at the Javits Center, Artel will feature products that simplify broadcasters' shift to hybrid IP/SDI and all-IP operations. Visitors to the Artel booth can get hands-on demonstrations of the SMART Multimedia Delivery Platform in DigiLink/InfinityLink configurations and the award-winning SMART Multimedia Delivery Platform in openGear (SMART OG), which brings even greater operational simplicity, flexibility, and scalability. Artel also will exhibit its Quarra IP PTP switches and FiberLink family of media transport products.

Artel's SMART Media Delivery Platform is a software-defined, four-channel, auto-sensing 12G/3G/HD/SD-SDI-over-IP multifunction gateway with integrated nonblocking Layer 2/3 switching and routing capabilities. It is available in DigiLink/InfinityLink and openGear® configurations. The software-enabled solution features four video ports for transporting video, audio, and ancillary data and four GigE data ports bridged to one or two 10G interfaces. Designed to attach seamlessly to the IP network without external network elements, the SMART platform supports SMPTE ST 2022-1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 (hitless switching); J2K compression; QoS; VLAN tagging; and traffic management.

The openGear version, SMART OG, is the first to bring the family of JPEG compression engines—including those specified in VSF TR-01, TR-07, and TR-08—onto the openGear platform. With SMART OG, users can deploy hardware once and easily change the gateway function via a software update. 

SMART OG is initially configured for a specific function, but it may be adapted thereafter for a growing array of functions, such as reformatting or encoding per JPEG2000, JPEG-XS, SMPTE ST 2110, SMPTE ST 2022-1/2/5/6/7, H.265, IEEE 1588, or other functions yet to be specified. The gateway provides four BNCs for SDI or ASI input/output and two 10GbE SFPs for trunking and aggregation.

Throughout the show, Artel will offer live demos highlighting the SMART platform's JPEG-XS support and flexibility. Attendees will see how they can enable different functionality on the hardware by selecting different icons in the software. One SMART implementation will be shown running J2K compressed video and another (the SMART OG) running JPEG-XS compressed video so people can compare the two streams.

Artel will be in Booth 1925. Click here to register for NAB Show NY.

WESTFORD, Mass.—Artel Video Systems has announced that during IBC2022 the company will feature products that simplify broadcasters’ shift to hybrid IP/SDI and all-IP operations and will be providing hands-on demonstrations of the SMART Multimedia Delivery Platform in DigiLink/InfinityLink configurations and the award-winning SMART Multimedia Delivery Platform in openGear (SMART OG). 

“While IP networking opens up a world of possibility for innovative new broadcast workflows, it’s also inherently more complicated than traditional networking,” said Rafael Fonseca, vice president of product management at Artel Video Systems. “Relying on purpose-built hardware that is not reprogrammable, means broadcasters have the expensive and time-consuming task of swapping out hardware every time they need to change functionality. Our modular, software-defined systems counteract that problem. At IBC2022, broadcasters will see how Artel products can greatly increase operational flexibility and reduce effort as they transition to IP and move to optimize their IP-based operations and workflows.”

During the show in Amsterdam between Sept. 9-12 on Stand 1C99, Artel will highlight the SMART (DigiLink/InfinityLink and openGear) platform’s JPEG-XS support and flexibility. Attendees will see how they can enable different functionality on the installed hardware system as needed just by selecting different software icons. 

Artel will show one SMART implementation running J2K compressed video and another (the SMART OG) running JPEG-XS compressed video so that attendees can appreciate SMART’s ability to support different personalities on the same hardware module, the company added. 

Artel’s SMART Media Delivery Platform is a software-defined, four-channel, auto-sensing 3G/HD/SD-SDI-over-IP multifunction gateway with integrated non-blocking Layer 2/3 switching and routing capabilities. The software-enabled solution features four video ports for transporting video, audio, and ancillary data and four GigE data ports bridged to one or two 10G interfaces. Designed to attach seamlessly to the IP network without the need for external network elements, the SMART platform supports SMPTE ST 2022-1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 (hitless switching); J2K compression; QoS; VLAN tagging; and traffic management, the company said. 

A software-defined, four-channel, auto-sensing SD-SDI/HD-SDI/3G/4K-over-IP multifunction gateway, SMART OG is the first to bring the family of JPEG compression engines — including those specified in VSF TR-01, TR-07, and TR-08 — onto the openGear platform, the company reported. 

With SMART OG, users can deploy hardware once and easily change the gateway function via a software update. The SMART OG is initially configured for a specific function, but it may be adapted thereafter for a growing array of functions, such as reformatting or encoding per JPEG2000, JPEG-XS, SMPTE ST 2110, SMPTE ST 2022-1/2/5/6/7, H.265, IEEE 1588, and more. The gateway provides four BNCs for SDI or ASI input/output and two 10GbE SFPs for trunking and aggregation. 

Visitors to the stand will also be able to see Artel’s Quarra family of PTP-aware managed IP switches, which offer the industry’s most accurate IEEE 1588-compliant timing and synchronization. Quarra now features quieter fans and new software-based controls that vary fan speed based on temperature for less overall noise. Also on display will be Artel’s FiberLink® SMPTE ST 2110 gateway. Supporting nearly every type of video, audio, and data signal, Artel’s FiberLink media transport products bring much-needed flexibility to broadcast or corporate studios, OB vans, point-of-view cameras, rental and staging, auditoriums, stadiums and theaters, transportation hubs, distance learning, and other pro A/V environments. Devices in the family boast support for SMPTE standards to ensure interoperability and reliability.

More information on Artel Video Systems and its products is available at www.artel.com.

WESTFORD, Mass.—Artel Video Systems has introduced the FiberLink ST 2110 Gateway, which bridges SDI interfaces to JT-NM-tested SMPTE ST 2110 IP media streams. 

Providing a gateway between legacy SDI environments and ST 2110 IP environments, this new addition to Artel's renowned FiberLink product family helps to extend the useful life of SDI implementations and equipment while opening the door to IP-based media transport and its benefits.

"In addition to operational simplicity and cost-effectiveness, this new FiberLink gateway boasts functional breadth that facilitates an evolutionary migration from SDI-based environments to IP ST 2110-based implementations," said Paul Seiden, director of international and channel sales at Artel Video Systems. 

"With robust support for the SMPTE ST 2110 suite of standards, this powerful product gives broadcasters, service providers and other users a convenient and flexible solution for moving SDI-based media into and out of an IP-based environment," he said.

The plug-and-play FiberLink ST 2110 Gateway is available as a stand-alone system. It supports SMPTE ST 2110-10 (system timing and definitions), ST 2110-20 (uncompressed active video), ST 2110-21 (narrow sender and wide receiver), and ST 2110-30 (PCM digital audio, conformance Level A, B and C), as well as SMPTE ST 2022-7 for seamless protection switching of up to two video streams (up to 1080p).

The FiberLink ST 2110 Gateway supports 32+32 audio streams with WAN buffering, 16 channels of audio embed/extract per SDI interface, and shuffle functionality. Because the system can be managed with open control protocols including NMOS, EmBER+ and DashBoard, it can be deployed in a variety of environments.

The product is available now.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LAS VEGAS—Artel Video Systems aims to simplify broadcasters’ move to hybrid IP/SDI and all-IP operations, and will use the 2020 NAB Show to showcase its latest products that will assist with that mission.

One such product is the SMART Media Delivery Platform, a software-defined, four-channel, auto-sense 3G/HD/SD-SDI-over-IP multifunction gateway with integrated non-blocking layer 2/3 switching and routing capabilities. SMART has four video ports for transport of video, audio and ancillary data and four GigE data ports that bridge to one or two 10G interfaces. The platform supports SMPTE ST 2022: 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 hitless switching; J2K compression; QoS; VLAN tagging; and traffic management.

Artel has also announced that it will conduct live demos that will showcase SMART’s J2K support, showing how different software images can be selected to enable different functionality on the installed hardware system.

Quarra PTP Ethernet switches are also on tap for the NAB Show. The company’s family of PTP-aware managed IP switches offer IEEE 1588-compliant timing and synchronization, with new modifications supporting live performance environments, having quieter fans and new software-based controls that can vary fan speed. In addition to supporting SMPTE ST 2110 and ST 2059-2, the switches are Ravenna AES67-approved and Dante- and QSC-tested.

In addition, Artel will be showcasing its FiberLink family of media transport products, which support video, audio and data signals. All devices in the FiberLink family support SMPTE standards.

Artel Video Systems will be located at booth SU5021 during the 2020 NAB Show, which will run from April 18-22. Visit www.artel.com for more information.

WESTFORD, MASS.—In an effort to assist broadcasters with the pending transition to ATSC 3.0, Artel Video Systems and Qligent have announced a new integration partnership.

InfinityLink

With all the potential factors involved in the repacking assignments, implementing ATSC 3.0 and transitioning to all-IP networks, pro-active real-time monitoring and analysis of the media service delivery chain is needed. To provide assistance on that front, Qligent has integrated Artel’s DigiLink and InfinityLink platforms into its Qligent Vision software-based monitoring and analysis system. This reportedly provides a broader view of end-to-end signal paths and deploys Artel’s technology across multiple sites and points throughout IP and fiber-based networks. Operators will now be able to validate interoperability and test configurations.

“An IP-based studio to transmitter link has become a critical component within ATSC 3.0 and Artel has an excellent reputation for reliability,” said Ted Korte, chief operating officer, Qligent. “Now we can keep a close watch on the signal as it passes through the entire chain with a single view but from multiple perspectives. Not only will system interoperability problems be easier to see and resolve but will also be easier to test a wide variety of configurations with immediate feedback on stimulus and response for quick proofs-of-concept and optimizations.”

Both companies will display their products at the upcoming NAB Show; Qligent will be in booth N6520, while Artel will be in booth N4511.

WESTFORD, MASS.—As the industry prepares for the eventual move to ATSC 3.0, Artel Video Systems has debuted a pair of its own transition systems designed to work with its InfinityLink broadcast media transport platform. The new transition systems are the ATSC 3.0 Transition Over Fiber and ATSC 3.0 Transition Over IP solutions.

These new InfinityLink transition systems enable next-generation, over-the-air broadcast and content delivery for ATSC 3.0 while retaining legacy signal transport capabilities for ATSC 1.0. Both the ATSC 3.0 Transition Over Fiber and ATSC 3.0 Transition Over IP systems include platform components and optical and/or electrical transceivers for interconnection with single-mode fiber or a carrier-supplied IP GigE service.

Artel is expected to feature the new ATSC 3.0 transition products at the 2017 NAB Show.

WESTFORD, MASS.—Taking on the role of National Sales Manager – Broadcast, Jason Neureiter is the latest addition to the Artel Video Systems team.

Neureiter comes on board with 20 years of sales experience in the media, transport and IPTV markets. His past experience includes positions at Intelsat, BT North America, Level 3 and Vubiquity.

Neureiter will be based out of New York.

WESTFORD, MASS.—Artel Video Systems has announced the hire of Matt Carter in the role of director of government sales and business development.

Before coming on board at Artel, Carter was the co-founder and chief technology officer of Aerdos Inc., which developed software-based imagery processing applications. He has also had previous stops at Imagine Communications as senior solutions architect and as a systems engineer for Harris Corporation’s commercial and government divisions.

Artel is a provider of real-time, multimedia delivery systems.

WESTFORD, MASS.—The Alliance for IP Media Solutions can add another company to its roster, as Artel Video Systems has officially announced its participation with the organization.

AIMS is an organization representing a group of broadcast and media companies with the goal of assisting the transition from SDI to IP through industry standards and interoperable technology. Currently, the organization officially endorses an IP transition that includes support for SMPTE 2022-6, AES67, VSF recommendations TR-03 and TR-04, and AMWA NMOS IS-04.

Artel will showcase some of its own IP-based technologies, like its InfinityLink and DigiLink media transport platforms, at the upcoming 2017 NAB Show.

WESTFORD, MASS.—Artel Video Systems has created the new role of Chief Revenue Officer and has appointed Anthony Morelli to the position. In this new position, Morelli will serve on Artel’s management committee and play a role in “building new service offerings and our continued success,” according to Michael Rizzo, Artel president and CEO.

Anthony Morelli

Morelli’s most recent position was as vice president of global customer care and global media software professional service at Imagine Communications. He worked with Imagine in its prior iteration as Harris Broadcast as well.

Artel is a provider of IP- and fiber-based media transport systems that support the telecommunications, broadcast and related markets.

WESTFORD, MASS.—IP- and Fiber-based media transport provider Artel Video Systems has announced it has appointed Michael LaFleur to the position of vice president of operations. LaFleur joins Artel with 25 years of experience in operations, purchasing and materials management.

Michael LaFleur

LaFleur’s previous position was as the director of business operations at Altronics Manufacturing, where according to Artel he established cross-functional teams and cultivated strategic alliances with vendors. He also previously served as the purchasing and materials manager at Sanmina SCI.

“We are excited to be adding Michael to our Management Committee,” said Michael Rizzo, president and CEO of Artel. “Michael’s success in fostering strategic relationships is crucial to ensuring our continued success.”

WESTFORD, MASS. —IP- and fiber-based media transport provider Artel Video Systems has announced that David Traverse has been brought on to serve as the new vice president of finance and chief financial officer.

Traverse joins Artel after previously holding a number of financial roles with mobile, cloud-based management and telecommunications-based companies. He previously served as vice president of finance for the start-up Scratch Wireless. He also held positions at AccuRev and SoundBite Communications.

“We are excited to add David to the management committee,” said Michael Rizzo, president and CEO of Artel. “His strengths in strategic planning, cultivating business growth through acquisitions and partnerships, and maximizing shareholder value are critical to Artel as we continue to grow.”