New from Crystal Vision is REMIND-E – a 1U remote control panel which brings considerable cost savings with its ability to control an unlimited number of Crystal Vision frames over an Ethernet network.
Easy to use, REMIND-E allows users the rack-mounted convenience of front panel control without having to be actually at the frame. The control panel – which includes a two line 20 character display, a rotary control and a number of push switches – plugs into an Ethernet network using industry standard CAT5 cables. REMIND-E will scan for all the Crystal Vision frames available on the network, allowing the operator to effortlessly select the ones he wishes to control. On completion of the scan the number of frames found will be reported along with a list of their IP addresses or their names if available. Once a frame has been selected from the polled list, the frame controls are initiated and the REMIND-E will effectively become an active control panel for the selected frame. Should the controlled frame already be fitted with an active control panel both panels will mirror each other as any actions are carried out and both panels will have complete control of the frame. Multiple control panels can be installed allowing any frame to be controlled from a number of places.
As the first realistic alternative to the company’s Statesman PC Control System, REMIND-E has been designed for engineers who require the remote many-frame aspects of the PC software but do not wish to use PC control for reasons of space, reliability or familiarity – preferring a real button to a software control. For those people that are happy with either method, Statesman and REMIND-E can be used for simultaneous control of systems.
REMIND-E is full of user-friendly features. These include being able to program in custom frame names to help identify the frame with which it is communicating. REMIND-E can also be set to act as a web server with an internal web page then accessible. This web page allows the setting of the REMIND-E’s IP address (either manually or automatically if DHCP is available) as well as a serial number and name for the panel if required, and also allows the download of any software upgrades to the REMIND-E.
REMIND-E was developed both in response to customer requests for more flexible control systems, and as part of Crystal Vision’s general move of its control systems away from single-user RS422 towards multi-user Ethernet. This new control panel works with the most modern Crystal Vision frames which include a Statesman CPU, signified by an “SE” or “AE” in their part name.
Shipping now, REMIND-E will be popular with anyone who wants to use remote panels for universal control of a big system, and will be especially favoured in OB trucks where it saves someone lying on the floor to operate the controls of an inconveniently placed frame.
Based at Whittlesford near Cambridge in the UK, Crystal Vision provides digital keyers and a full range of digital and analogue interface equipment including converters, decoders, encoders, distribution amplifiers and audio embedders to the professional broadcasting industry worldwide.
