MELBOURNE, Australia—Atomos has released new firmware that adds NDI support to its CONNECT series, making NDI connectivity available to a large number of cameras, the company said this week.

Users of the Atomos Ninja V or V+ fitted with an Atomos CONNECT or a Shogun CONNECT are now able to connect with NDI via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, Atomos said.

The NDI HX2 firmware update supports NDI HX2 transmission up to 1080p60 with Ninja V+ fitted with Atomos CONNECT and Shogun CONNECT, and 1080p30 for Ninja V with Atomos CONNECT, while simultaneously recording in Apple ProRes or Avid DNx, it said.

From a single, battery-operated device, Atomos provides wireless or wired NDI transmission, a live viewfinder and local recording, it said.

“Typically, NDI is associated with fixed acquisition points, for example PTZ cameras,” said Atomos CEO Trevor Elbourne. “Now we’re making it possible to use pretty much any HDMI or SDI-equipped camera as a mobile NDI source. It’s the perfect solution for creatives who need their content delivered live to a remote device for review, recording or transmission.”

A camera and microphone can be connected by HDMI or SDI to the Atomos CONNECT series monitor-recorder, and then connected to a local area network using either Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable. Once NDI is enabled to transmit, the video stream is available to any suitable device on the local area network sub-net. The NDI stream can then be viewed, recorded or used as a source for OBS or a NewTek TriCaster and then retransmitted as part of a larger production, it said. 

The firmware update is available for $99.

More information is available on the company’s website.

BORDEAUX, France—As broadcasters continue to deal with the repack, Sutro Tower in San Francisco is collaborating with two WorldCast Group companies to update its equipment. WorldCast Systems and CONNECT are the two selected to develop and supply an Antenna Switch Controller System and a unified monitoring platform for RF operations.

As part of its repack process, the 977-foot Sutro Tower, which handles both radio and television in San Francisco, is replacing several antennas, adding additional RF feeds and replacing its existing antenna control system. The WorldCast product that will be installed incorporates hardware and software from both the Eresco (RF) division and CONNECT.

Based on the new Eresco Switch Controller, the system is designed specifically for the Sutro Tower and is responsible for moving the RF switches as commanded by customers. The system monitors/records data for real-time display and analysis. Each ESC can manage five motorized RF switches and is built on FPGA hardware that will link the controllers to a network to manage connections. One controller will be installed in the suite for each broadcaster customer at Sutro Tower.

Initially, Sutro Tower has ordered 10 controllers for TV and five for radio, which will control approximately 35 motorized RF switches. The expected product delivery is some time in 2019.

For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.