Lawo has announced an update to its V__matrix platform that helps media companies transition to fully IP environments. 

An update to the vm_udx application turns V__matrix C100 software-defined processing blades into powerful up/down/cross converters with up to 8 paths of format conversion and, additionally, up to four 3D LUT color space conversion paths, the company said. 

Targeting the rapidly growing trend towards remote maintenance, vm_udx’s web UI allows operators to monitor which video content is currently processed by a given C100 blade. The new Live Video Preview display allows users to visualize the video content received by an SDI or IP input, or the output of a processing stage, directly in vm_udx’s web UI.

In response to vm_udx user requests, Lawo has enhanced the +hdr color space 3D LUT conversion engine. Each of the four vm_udx paths now features top-notch tetrahedral interpolation for conversions between a variety of color spaces.

To support flexible audio workflows, vm_udx adds a range of new features. A newly designed downmix engine with 2048 mono-equivalent inputs into 256 mono-equivalent summing busses can be freely configured for flexible mono or stereo summing as well as dedicated 5.1 > stereo or 7.1 > stereo downmixing.

The digital gain range for all audio leveling instances has been extended to support level adjustments between –∞ and +24dB. In addition, vm_udx is able to interface with a MADI environment simply by adding the optional +madi license and communicating with the SDI rear plate connected to the processing blade that hosts the Up/Down/Cross Converter. BNC connectors can be software-switched to MADI in almost any combination.

The new vm_udx release furthermore supports metadata workflows with an advanced ancillary-data handling engine. Able to handle ANC data in 2110-40, 2022-6 and SDI signals simultaneously during the conversion process, users are free to keep, or remove, individual DID/SDID contained in the ANC payload.

The new +tc_gen license generates timecode flavors from PTP or other time sources and provides up to three independent generators. Generated ancillary timecode (ATC) formats, which can be embedded into TX and SDI outputs, include VITC1, VITC2, and LTC. Linear timecode (LTC) can be generated as a digital audio signal.

“With this new release, the vm_udx app boasts advanced audio and ancillary data handling which complements its powerful up/down/cross video feature set,” says Stephan Türkay, Lawo’s Senior Product Manager Media Infrastructure. “The software-defined nature of Lawo’s V__matrix ecosystem inherently means that its feature set can evolve as market requirements change. This flexible approach allows V__matrix users to operate at the cutting edge for many years to come.”

The latest software release is available on lawo.com. 

RASTATT, Germany—To fully leverage the processing capacity of its V__matrix C100 blades and to allow users to derive more power from a smaller footprint, Lawo has released three new rear plates for the connection of SDI baseband equipment to an open-standards-based IP network.

Lawo’s V__matrix IP-broadcast core infrastructure ecosystem is designed to help users to transform their installations into a flexible, future-proof production and/or delivery facility. Its C100 processing blades accommodate a wide range of software-defined video and audio workflows and also facilitate the transition to a fully IP-based environment with best-of-breed gateway functionality.

“On its fifth anniversary, the V__matrix ecosystem remains a cutting edge core infrastructure platform with a continuously evolving feature set,” explains Stephan Türkay, Lawo’s senior product manager media infrastructure. “With the latest advancements in I/O conversions V__matrix provides even more powerful solutions for both large-scale conversion and UHD workflows.” 

The new the io_bnc_16+16, 11+11, and 16_BiDi rear plates are already available for both new and existing installs in tech rooms, private-cloud hubs and OB trucks. 

The three new plates are:  

• The io_bnc_16+16 fixed-format rear plate. It features 32 micro-BNC connectors (16 inputs and 16 outputs), with the ability to interface 12G single-link SDI signals and destinations on 11 inputs and as many outputs. The five remaining I/Os remain available for 3G SDI signals. The 16+16 expands the connection density of previously released io_bnc plates by up to 60%, allowing users to keep their IP infrastructure even more compact.
• The io_bnc_11+11. It is Lawo’s first rear plate whose 11 inputs and 11 outputs are all 12G single-link capable, yielding up to 10% more overall connection density per C100 processing blade than previously available models.
• The io_bnc_16_BiDi. This rear plate provides 16 micro-BNC connectors that can be individually configured as baseband SDI inputs or outputs via software configuration. Bidirectional baseband I/Os are very popular among V__matrix users. With the io_bnc_16_BiDi, bidirectional I/Os are now also available with 12G single-link SDI connectivity.

 Like all existing members of Lawo’s io_bnc family of rear plates, the micro-BNC connectors on the plates are primarily intended to receive and transmit SDI signals. They can, however, be software-configured for MADI data transfer.

For additional information, visit www.lawo.com. 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Rapid-fire changes in the television industry in the past 15 years have made multiviewers an essential component in virtually all studios. Of course, nothing stands still for long, and as workflows, processes and standards change, so too change how multiviewers work.

With the acceptance of IP video and the SMPTE 2110 along with other related standards, multiviewers are now starting to show up with full IP video capability. That said, most facilities today do not have media distribution via SMPTE 2110 networks, so there is still a good market for multiviewers that accept signals the old-fashioned way: SDI and HDMI.

HIGHER RESOLUTIONS

In addition to the new IP video transport standard, there is an increasing need for multiviewers to work with 4K/Ultra HD (3,840 x 2,160-pixel) video.

“Our largest model, the MultiView 16, has 16 independent 6G-SDI inputs so customers can connect any combination of SD, HD or Ultra HD sources and monitor them all simultaneously on a single display,” said Bob Caniglia, director of sales for North America for Blackmagic Design. “It has router-style controls on the front panel, along with the LCD and spin knob, which lets you adjust settings, route sources to different views, add overlays and more. Output can be set to a 2x2, 3x3 or 4x4 grid, and you can solo any source full-screen.”

Blackmagic Design’s MultiView 16 and MultiView 4 (a four-input model) feature remote control via IP using the included Mac and Windows software. MultiView 16 also features remote control via IP using Blackmagic Videohub hardware control panels. In addition, MultiView 4 supports power over Ethernet (PoE+), which can be used to remotely power the device.

[Read: NAB Show Product Review — Signal Processing & Analysis]

Likewise, For-A uses IP control to permit fast reconfiguring of its multiviewers and integration with the company’s switcher line.

“Having the switcher, router and multiviewers in combination allows the operator to maintain consistent source naming and tally information between all subsystems,” said Bob Peterson, product specialist for For-A Corporation of America. “The switcher can also map its program buttons to directly control the router’s crosspoints, which makes configuration of 4K UHD easier. All our multiviewers can tightly integrate with For-A switchers.”

Peterson said that all For-A multiviewers use IP networks as the primary method of layout and control. Some of the company’s multiviewers have hardware control panels, and all For-A multiviewers have web GUIs for basic control functions and can stream screen output and error information over IP for logging purposes.

“The publication of SMPTE ST 2110, as well as ongoing work by industry bodies such as AIMS and AMWA, has now given our customers the confidence to invest in IP solutions.” — Martin Jolicoeur, Grass Valley

FULL-BORE IP VIDEO

Going all-in with IP video is not hard to find among multiviewer manufacturers.

“The publication of SMPTE ST 2110, as well as ongoing work by industry bodies such as AIMS and AMWA, has now given our customers the confidence to invest in IP solutions,” said Martin Jolicoeur, director product line management for Grass Valley. “We are committed to helping our customers make the transition to IP at a pace that suits their business and operational needs, whether that’s getting them IP-ready or going all-IP.”

Jolicoeur said that Grass Valley customers can futureproof while still maintaining their current SDI environment using the company’s Kaleido-Modular-X, which allows them to upgrade to full IP when needed. The addition of an IP input card supports monitoring of SMPTE 2022-6 video-over-IP using dual 10 GigE IP inputs.

Jolicoeur said that the Kaleido IP multiviewer-native IP solution delivers the highest number of simultaneous video and audio decodes in the industry, with an unlimited number of audio decodes (stereo and 5.1) per program. It also supports SMPTE ST 2110 and 2022-6, DVB MPEG TS and OTT monitoring of streaming formats.

Also falling into the full-bore IP video category is the Apantac T-Sharp, which allows IP inputs such as H.264 and ST 2022/2010. The T-Sharp and other Apantac multiviewers can decode incoming streams and display the video signals as part of the multiviewer’s output. Apantac multiviewers support formats from analog video to SD/HD/3G/12G, HDMI, 2022/2010 and H.264 as inputs.

In addition to its broad support of IP video, Apantac’s multiviewers have IP control capability that is manufacturer agnostic.

“Apantac multiviewers allow IP control using not only Apantac’s own software, they also allow all popular control systems such as Crestron and AMX,” said Thomas Tang, president of Apantac in Portland, Ore. “IP control also allows the multiviewer to communicate with third-party products such as production switchers and routers for dynamic names and tallies.”

CLEAN SHEET

If you are a manufacturer and want to create a multiviewer line in 2018, where do you start on your clean-sheet design? In the case of Lawo, you head right for IP.

“As we don’t have any SDI-legacy [multiviewers], our products are developed as true IP-native products,” said Andreas Hilmer, director marketing and communications for the Germany-based company. “Our multiviewers … are true IP multiviewers with 10/40GB network connectivity, plus additional SDI IO if needed, running on Lawo’s V__matrix software-defined processing blades. All our products are based on IP technology using open standards in line with the AIMS roadmap, such as ST2110, SMPTE2022-6/-6 and AES67.”

In conversations with engineers tasked with making IP video work in their facilities, I’ve been told that SDI was still the way to go for maximum reliability and a trouble-free out-of-the-box experience. However, that was before SMPTE 2110 and related standards were finalized. With strong standards supporting IP video, it looks like many manufacturers are getting the product out there, ready for the demand that they expect will follow.

There are many other aspects to multiviewers that need to be researched before you decide to commit to a specific product. IP video is just one of many recent developments to make it all the way through standards creation to manufactured products, giving engineers more flexibility and choice in system design and operations. IP video — as implemented in multiviewers and other products — is now mainstream.

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