Snell Release New Range Of IQ Modular Products

Snell have announced the release of a new range of IQ Modular products that enable broadcasters to extend the useful life of their current SD or HD infrastructure.
These new modules incorporate low latency and virtually lossless video compression in order to allow high-bandwidth HDTV signals to be transported efficiently and cost-effectively over existing lower-bandwidth SDI infrastructure, without any compromise of video quality. The new Snell modules also enable 3Gbps signals to be carried through existing HD-SDI video networks.
The commercial benefit of these new IQ Modular products is immediate — they enable broadcasters to continue using their existing infrastructure as they migrate their operations to new formats. By "future-proofing" existing infrastructure, these Snell products eliminate or delay the immediate need for substantial investment in HD/3Gbps video infrastructure or fiber networks.
"To add channels and create networks with restricted budgets, broadcasters need to implement the best-performing systems at the most economical price," said Steve Cole, product manager at Snell. "Our new IQ modules offer this valuable price/performance combination while also meeting key technical challenges associated with broadcasters' HD upgrades and future-proofing for potential 1080p (3Gbps) production. Going into IBC2012, we're making these format translators and 3Gbps encoder/decoder modules — along with all of our IQ Modular 3G/HD distribution amplifiers — available at extremely competitive prices."
The following new IQ Modular products will be introduced at IBC2012:
•The IQTDA30 3Gbps format translator provides signal translation between SMPTE 372M dual-link and SMPTE 425M single-link sources, facilitating signal integration into a single system standard. Applications include the integration of dual-link equipment into single-link workflows, as well as translation between SMPTE 425M level B and level A standards.
•The IQCTX30 provides ultra-low-latency compression for 3Gbps-SDI or dual-link 1.5Gbps signals using SMPTE VC-2 (Dirac-pro) multi-level wavelet transform encoding. All metadata from the 1080p source, including up to 16 channels of embedded audio, is preserved without compression. Confidence monitoring is possible at any point in the signal path, thanks to the use of a compression technique that allows the encoded bit stream to be viewed as an HD-SDI signal for basic monitoring.
•The IQCRX30 provides complementary high-quality decoding to return the compressed signal to full-bandwidth 1080p50/60 3Gbps SDI.
•IQCTX20 and IQCRX20 versions enable HD signals to be compressed and transported over SDI infrastructure, and have a feature set similar to the IQCTX30 and IQCRX30.
www.snellgroup.com