Article Overview

Utah Scientific IBC 2011 Preview

New embedded-audio signal processing for popular UTAH-400 series digital routing switchers

"Our commitment to the European broadcast market continues to increase with our addition of a new training and support center in Milan," said Tom Harmon, president and CEO of Utah Scientific. "We have also formed new partnerships with EMEA resellers and systems integrators, and we continue to offer our engineering expertise to address our customers' product requirements worldwide."

New Embedded-Audio Signal Processing for UTAH-400 Routing Switchers

At IBC2011, Utah Scientific will be showcasing new embedded-audio signal processing for its popular UTAH-400 series digital routing switchers. The capability comes courtesy of a new line of I/O boards that rely on advanced field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology to perform signal processing. In the past five years, embedded audio has become the norm in media operations of any significant size.

Embedded audio supports a more streamlined system overall, but its inflexibility can make it difficult to shuffle audio channels as needed in larger integrated facilities where quick changes to live feeds are common. Now Utah Scientific has built advanced signal processing into the router's I/O board, meaning it can deserialize and decode a signal into its component data streams without compromising the router's overall operational reliability. As a result, audio channels are shuffled automatically without an outboard device or manual intervention.

The enhanced UTAH-400 routing systems also incorporate a virtual control panel to provide an easy-to-read display of the video signals and their associated audio positions. The GUI design enables control of digital signal processing functions and other signal configuration information.

advertisment

New FLEX I/O Signal Module

Utah Scientific's UTAH-400 routers and UTAH-100/XFD fiber distribution frames are now available for delivery with the award-winning FLEX I/O signal module. By using the FLEX I/O plug-in SFP modules, users can now easily configure their systems to implement coax and fiber I/Os on a port-by-port basis. This capability greatly simplifies configuration changes as users' system requirements change.

An increasing number of media operations are using fiber optic connectivity in conjunction with more traditional coaxial cable, which adds to their need for flexibility in signal routing. Utah Scientific developed the FLEX I/O signal module as an option for the UTAH-400 router and a standard feature for the new UTAH-100/XFD fiber distribution frame. With FLEX I/O, the user enjoys enhanced ability to customize the use of signals according to the specific needs of a given application. The result is maximized use of router resources for more streamlined operations and lower operational costs. For the UTAH-400 router, the FLEX I/O option consists of input and output cards that carry either eight or 12 signals and updated rear-panel assemblies to provide access for the converter blocks.

advertisment