Lawo Showcases IP-based Camera Hubs using V__link4

The example stageboxes shown at NAB comprise Lawo’s V__link4 video-over-IP interfaces, Clear-Com and Riedel intercoms, Ikegami CCUs and cameras, and a Lawo DALLIS audio I/O interface. The main concept of the IP-based camera hubs is to move the camera CCUs from the truck into the stage-boxes. These camera hubs are connected via IP to the truck, realizing a “one cable into the stadium approach”. Video, audio, communications and camera control data are transported via IP, which significantly reduces cabling efforts and increases the flexibility of any installation by real IP networking. In addition, this approach decreases complex setups of the hardware involved in a truck. The truck’s camera equipment can be easily adapted for changing applications, e.g. by moving camera hubs and cameras from one truck to another without effort.

Lawo’s V__link4 is a compact 1RU device, designed for production-quality real-time contribution and distribution of 3G/HD/SD-SDI signals via IP networks. V__link4 provides two 10Gbit Ethernet ports and four 1Gbit Ethernet ports, and MADI and RAVENNA audio connectivity. The V__link4’s four coding engines are designed to meet the highest demands in video quality and signal transport reliability. Its integrated error concealment with build-in frame store and parallel redundancy protocol (PRP), allow the system to overcome any single network failure without compromising data transmission. Format and quality of the IP video streams can be configured individually to meet the optimal ratio between picture quality, latency and bandwidth. Designed as a one-box-solution for the bidirectional transport of four SDI signals, it includes everything from video-over-IP coding and de-coding, signal processing and video/audio delay measurement. The units codec include a ram mode, DiracPro, JPEG2000, MJPEG and H.264.

Among other features, each channel includes frame synchronization, variable audio and video delays, embedding and de-embedding (inc. sample rate conversion) plus RGB Color Correction & Proc Amp. The V__link4 also features two Surround-to-stereo Downmixers per Embedder, Dolby® E Aligner, Quadsplit Multiviewer, Waveform and Vectorscope display, Timecode Insertion, Test Pattern Generator and Video ID Generator as well as Video / Audio Delay measurement.

Lawo AG
Lawo designs and manufactures pioneering audio and video technology for TV and radio broadcast production, post-production, as well as live performance and theatrical applications. Products include digital audio mixing consoles, routers, video processing tools as well as IP-based video and audio transport solutions. All products are developed and manufactured according to highest quality standards at the company’s headquarters in the Rhine valley town of Rastatt, Germany.