Networks and Signal Distribution

The Most Powerful Extron Control Processors Yet

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Extron IPCP Pro xi

Extron announces the IPCP Pro xi series high performance control processors, designed to keep pace with the increasing size and complexity of current AV control systems with up to four times more memory and "significantly-enhanced" processing power.

As well as performance increases, the processors feature advanced security standards and gigabit Ethernet, ensuring compatibility with multiple TouchLink Pro touchpanels and network button panels using standard network infrastructure. The range features eight models, making it easy for customers to match the right IPCP Pro xi control processor to the application in question.

The series can be configured using Global Configurator Plus or Global Configurator Professional software. Customers can also program them using Extron Global Scripter. For enterprise-wide applications, GlobalViewer enterprise provides centralised AV resource monitoring, management and control over a computer network. In addition, the IPCP Pro xi series supports Extron LinkLicense, further enhancing the capabilities of Pro Series control systems.

The compact processors come in quarter- and half-rack sizes, and feature a DIN rail mount option for additional mounting flexibility.

Go Extron IPCP Pro xi Series


Dante Adds Video, Creating First 1G Standard

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Dante AV Module

The Dante AV Module officially debuted at ISE 2019 in Amsterdam and will be commercially available to manufacturers in mid-2019.

Well known as the developer of the Dante audio networking technology, Audinate finally adds video with Dante AV, a video-over-IP solution for manufacturers.

As the first 1G standard for AV-over-IP, it’s only rival is the AV-over-IP standard for 10G, the SDVoE Alliance platform.

The Dante AV Module supports one video channel and 8 bi-directional channels of uncompressed Dante audio. The Dante AV Module is capable of sending video (up to 4K 3840×2160) over a 1G network (800 Mbps recommended maximum bit rate) and includes control, transport and synchronization.

The architecture is codec-agnostic so manufacturers can use the codec of their choice and still get the benefits of Dante. With Dante AV, both signals route via a single interface (using the Dante Controller software). With Dante API, you can customize their user interface.

Dante AV Module

The Dante AV Module is available with the Dante AV Product Design Suite. The Product Design Suite incorporates the Dante AV Module and includes a set of hardware documents and software to create complete interoperable AV products quickly.

This design suite includes a JPEG2000 codec supporting 4K/60 4:4:4 video, “visually lossless” with low latency over a 1Gbps network. It also implements HDCP for copyright protection.

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Platinum Tools Launches ezEX38 RJ45 Connector

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Platinum Tools ezEX38 RJ45 Connector

The ezEX38 from Platinum Tools is an RJ45 connector designed for smaller insulation diameters typically found in Cat5e and smaller Cat6 cabling, with a simple one piece/pass through design with no bars or liners.

It features the same unique patented Hi-Lo stagger load bar, allowing conductors to pass through the front end of the connector to easily verify the wiring sequence before termination. The insulation diameter of the conductor is 0.84-0.97mm, while the maximum outer diameter is 7.36mm.

The connector features 50 micron gold-plated contacts, and is compatible with Cat 5e, 6 and 6A cabling. It is TIA, TAA, RoHS, UL and FCC compliant, with solid or strand 24-22AWG. The compatible crimping tool is the Platinum Tools EXO Crimp Frame and EXO-EX Die (100061C).

The ezEX38 is available now.

Go Platinum Tools ezEX38 - ezEX-RJ45 Cat5e Connector

Extron Debuts 18G, 4K/60 Seamless Switcher, Scaler

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Extron ISS 608

Extron announces the ISS 608, an 8-input seamless switcher for the presentation and scaling of DisplayPort and HDMI content at resolutions up to 4K/60 @ 4:4:4 at a maximum data rate of 18Gbps.

Features include Extron Vector 4K scaling technology and multiple transition effects, as well as logo insertion, video keying and PiP to complement primary content. An independent preview output facilitates confident content delivery. For streamlined integration the switcher provides audio management and multiple control options, including an intuitive front panel, RS232 and ethernet. Matrix mode adds automatic seamless transitions to any matrix switcher with HDMI outputs.

In total the ISS 608 provides six HDMI 2.0 and two DisplayPort 1.2 inpurts with support for signals up to 4096 x 2160 at 60Hz with 4:4:4 colour sampling. HDCP 2.2 compliance and Extron technologies such as Key Minder ensure compatibility with high value encrypted 4K content. Transition effects include wipes with selectable directiono and duration, a dissolve with selectable duration and a seamless cut, ensuring distracting jumps, glitches and delays for clean, production-style source switching. Separate preview and program outputs enable the operator to review sources on a local monitor before switching to the viewing audience.

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ATEN: Red Dot Award for Best Design Networked AV.

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Aten’s 4K HDMI over IP extender VE8950 takes a Red Dot Award for Best Design Networked AV.

The ATEN VE8900 / VE8950 delivers visually lossless 1080p/4K AV signals with low latency over long distance via a standard Gigabit network. 

ATEN VE8900

The solution addresses the challenges that system integrators encounter when implementing AV-over-IP solutions and provides an effective, easy-to-use, and economical digital signage solution with the following features and advantages:

  • Daisy-chainable
  • Up to 4096 x 2160
  • Extra audio channel
  • Control: built-in webGUI 
  • Supports vertical displays 
  • USB touchscreen support 
  • Videowall and matrix function 
  • RS-232, infrared pass-through

From a simple point-to-point setup, to hundreds of endpoints, the VE8900 / VE8950 is expected to offer flexibility, scalability and multi-functionality in extender, splitter, matrix switch, and video wall applications. This lets you expand your AV network coverage without cable clutter or extra network switches while also lowering per-port costs.

The VE8900 / VE8950 allows you to effortlessly switch input sources via top panel pushbuttons/ID display and offers simple configuration that requires no extensive IT experience. No additional server PCs or software required. You can manage your AV over IP system by logging in to any receiver or transmitter from the web GUI.

Go ATEN VE8900 / VE8950 

Extron Now Shipping 18 Gbps HDMI Matrix Switchers

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Kramer Network 2.0

Extron announces immediate availability of the DXP HD 4K PLUS Series of high performance HDMI matrix switchers that support signals up to 4K/60 with 4:4:4 chroma sampling.

They support HDMI 2.0b specifications, including data rates up to 18 Gbps, HDR, Deep Color up to 12-bit, 3D, and HD lossless audio formats. These HDCP 2.2 compliant matrix switchers incorporate Extron technologies such as SpeedSwitch, EDID Minder, and Key Minder as well as HDMI input equalization and output regeneration to ensure reliable system operation.

Digital audio can be de-embedded from any input and assigned to digital or analog stereo outputs for ease of integration. Available in 4x4, 8x4, and 8x8 sizes, the DXP HD 4K PLUS Series is ideal for applications that require reliable, high performance matrix switching of 4K/60 HDMI signals.

"By introducing the next generation of Extron DXP 4K/60 HDMI matrix switchers, we are meeting an ever increasing demand for 4K/60 video distribution," says Casey Hall, VP WW Sales and Marketing for Extron. "With their 18 Gbps data rate capabilities, the DXP HD 4K PLUS Series delivers the performance required for distributing 4K/60 signals at 4:4:4 chroma sampling in command and control centers, Visualization environments, and other demanding applications."

The DXP HD 4K PLUS Series matrix switchers are designed for use with computers equipped with 4K graphics cards, 4K media players, 4K Blu-ray players and other similar signal sources, as well as 4K native resolution displays.

With a maximum data rate of 18 Gbps, they support computer and video resolutions up to 4096x2160 at 60 Hz with 8-bit color in 4:4:4 color space. In addition, these matrix switchers fully support 1080p/60 with 12-bit Deep Color. To maintain signal integrity, they feature automatic cable equalization on inputs and output reclocking to reshape and restore timing of the video signal at each HDMI output.

These features combined with Extron Pro Series High Speed HDMI Cables allow longer 4K signal runs, reducing the need for additional signal conditioning equipment by compensating for weak source signals or signal loss on long cable runs. Additionally, +5 VDC, 200 mA is available on each output for powering peripheral devices.

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Modulo Pi Shows Off Media Server at ISE

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Modulo Server

Modulo Pi previewed the new features coming to the  and Modulo Kinetic media server solutions at ISE 2018.

The Modulo Player is a user-friendly media server ideal for everyday projects. It offers an intuitive UI and simple-to-use workflow, and is designed to process media at the best possible quality while running on a streamlined hardware configuration. Further features include unique XMAP for advanced 2D warping, playlist management and embedded show control capabilities.

Meanwhile the Modulo Kinetic is a high-end media server featuring a state-of-the-art 3D engine, powerful non-linear real-time compositing, nodal programming and show control and tracking capability. It is usable across the complete workflow, including study, simulation, media creation, encoding and playback. With a Media Server, a 3d tracking system, interactive solutions, real time effects and a 3d engine – all integrated into one solution – Modulo Kinetic is much more than a Media Server.

Both are used in videomapping applications. You can see examples here.

The updates on the two servers include an "unprecedented" live management capabilities via a all-in-one approach, as well as a new rugged suspended chassis and professional connectivity.

The Kinetic also gets 3D tracking, real-time 3D features and higher interactivity. These features will be shown off through a demo experience created by Pixel n'Pepper, a specialist in video scenography, interactivity and 3D mapping.

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Modulo Player

A New "Era" for In-Building Wireless?

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In a world of 5G, the vision for future wireless network architectures is built on centralized baseband processing and virtualized network functions for more efficient and flexible operation.

At Mobile World Congress 2018, CommScope will make that future vision a reality for in-building wireless by introducing a next generation platform, CommScope Era™.

Commscope ERA

CommScope Era is an all-digital C-RAN antenna system that leverages wireless operators’ initiatives to centralize and virtualize baseband radio assets, a foundational design concept for 5G networks.

Era enables operators to deploy a centralized headend that serves multiple buildings, or even to tap capacity from the operator’s existing centralized radio access network (C-RAN) hubs.

“We have invested heavily to create an all-digital platform architecture that upends the economics of in-building wireless and ushers in a new era and standard for distributed antenna systems,” notes Matt Melester, Senior VP, Distributed Coverage and Capacity Solutions, CommScope.

Era’s Wide-area Integration Node (WIN) resides in the C-RAN hub and routes baseband capacity to a distribution point within the served building or campus. Era allocates baseband capacity where it is needed while reducing the amount of onsite head-end equipment and the amount of fiber needed for signal transport by up to 90 percent.

Era features a new family of access points that are available in a range of power levels, with copper and fiber connectivity and outdoor and plenum ratings, to serve a wide variety of venue types. It supports interleaved MIMO (multiple input/multiple output) using patented technology that can offer up to 80% of collocated MIMO speeds over a SISO (single input/single output) infrastructure.

Era uses IT-standard copper and fiber-optic infrastructure-- and allows for the sharing of existing fiber networks, significantly reducing fiber costs.

CommScope holds 164 patent families for the technological innovations incorporated in Era:

  • CommScope Era’s all-digital architecture enables capabilities that analog DAS simply cannot.
  • Capacity re-allocation, soft re-sectorization, system setup and diagnostics are all software functions in Era, capable of being changed with a few clicks of a mouse.
  • Era also transports Gigabit Ethernet backhaul to each remote node, which can be used for separate Wi-Fi networks, IP security systems or to support a small cell overlay needed for future network expansion.

Go CommScope Era, In-Building Wireless

Radio Convergence

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Guest Editorial by Szymon Slupik, CTO, Silvair

Szymon Slupik

Every couple of days I'm asked about the future of wireless standards. How is the landscape going to look like  a couple of years from now? Companies are placing their bets. The conventional wisdom has been the number of wireless standards would never be reduced. I strongly disagree with this view.

Actually within a few years we may be down to just four. While there are always niche applications requiring some specific radio features, the majority of applications will converge around these radio families:

  1. LTE / 5G for anything outdoor. Mobile telephony, mobile wide area data (high speed and low speed).
  2. WiFi for generic purpose indoor Internet access for high power devices (such as phones or personal computers).
  3. WiGig for ultra high bandwidth applications such as wireless displays and wireless storage (this may include digital cameras if the industry gets together and defines application profiles, which it should have done 15 years ago).
  4. Bluetooth for anything that is defined as low power (including portable audio, hearing aids, accessories and the galaxy of small or even smaller devices collectively know as the IoT, which will fill the buildings).

Now I'm not saying that LoRa and Sigfox will cease to exist. Nor will 802.15.4, Z-Wave, ANT, UWB and a bunch of others. But they will have a hard time growing or even maintaining their market share and will be pushed to serve niche applications.

Wireless Choices

The reason is simple. Every wireless device at some point benefits from being able to connect to a mobile phone. For commissioning, diagnostics, proximity interaction... plenty of reasons. And there is only so much space on the phone motherboard that vendors are fighting for every tiny piece of it removing (considered valuable) components like 3.5mm headphone jacks. Also there is very little, if anything. not covered by the four.

A phone already has LTE and WiFi and Bluetooth. It will have WiGig in future, because WiFi is too slow for the upcoming mainstream use cases like virtual reality displays. This combo of four radios can today do everything any other radio can do. There is absolutely no reason to add anything else. Especially after Bluetooth has matched (and surpassed) the mesh networking skills of ANT and 802.15.4. And there is no way to convince Apple or Samsung or Qualcomm or Intel to stick anything else into their devices and chipsets either.

If there is anything missing, companies will rather get together and spin an improved variant of one of the four than propose something else. This was exactly the case with Bluetooth mesh: we could either pray to, say, Samsung, to build a 15.4 chip into a phone or define a mesh standard that works on any Bluetooth chip that is out there already. Solving a couple of other fundamental mesh-related problems on the way.

Szymon Slupik is CTO at Silvair, developers of an end-to-end smart lighting platform for commissioning and managing large-scale connected lighting systems in commercial spaces. He also serves as Chair of the Mesh Working Group at Bluetooth SIG, where his Working Group was recently awarded 2017 Working Group of the Year . 

Slupik was also awarded 2017 Committee Chair of the Year and 2017 Outstanding Technical Contributor of the Year. In giving the award for Outstanding Technical Contributor, the Bluetooth SIG noted in its announcement, “Szymon has been the leading contributor and author of the mesh model specification, delivering extremely deep and well thought architecture that has been fundamental to the success of mesh. He has been a co-author of the ground-breaking concept of Mesh Device Properties. On other fronts Szymon has contributed to upcoming significant performance improvements of Bluetooth mesh networking via enhancement proposals to the Bluetooth Core Specification. Szymon has also authored the Beacons for Channel indication and beacon management FRDs. Finally, Szymon led the effort to create the Mesh Professional Lighting Subgroup and has been the co-author and contributor to the IEC 62386 (DALI) Model FRD.”

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