NAB Show New York: Black Box to Show Control Room Solutions with Secure IP KVM and Advanced Video Processing

Emerald Unified KVM-over-IP product line
Emerald Unified KVM-over-IP product line. (Image credit: Black Box)

NEW YORK—Black Box has announced that it will showcase its cutting-edge control room solutions, featuring the Emerald Unified KVM-over-IP product line and the Boxilla KVM Manager during the 2024 NAB Show New York, Oct. 9-10, at the Javits Center in Booth 1204

Black Box said that visitors to booth 1204 will see how the Emerald ecosystem provides the intuitive user experiences and superior remote system connectivity necessary in modern broadcast and hybrid production environments. 

The 2024 NAB Show New York marks the first U.S. showcase of the new TAA-compliant version of Emerald DESKVUE, offering attendees an exclusive look at this advanced technology.

Black Box said that its Emerald devices seamlessly integrate with H.264/265 video feeds, media controllers, automation systems and other critical control room components, providing effortless access to physical servers, the public and private cloud with PCoIP Ultra support and collaborative virtual machine (VM) sharing. The company will highlight how its Emerald Unified KVM-over-IP products deliver secure, flexible and scalable workflows with industry-leading low IP bandwidth usage.

In addition, the company explained that the Black Box Emerald KVM-over-IP platform is an infinitely scalable universal access system, allowing users to connect to physical and virtual machines with anywhere, anytime IP access over an existing IP network, WAN, or even the internet. Black Box will highlight the Emerald system's robust security features, power and connectivity options that add resilience and simplify setup, and intuitive interfaces for flexible layout configuration and agile switching. Black Box will also highlight new power redundancy capability and two-network link redundancy (copper and fiber) for its Emerald traditional KVM DP receivers.

Adding to Emerald's fail-safe platform, which has no single point of failure, new security and compliance features protect against internal and cyber threats. These advanced security features and market-leading low-bandwidth consumption open new ways to configure the studio infrastructure with maximum expandability, incorporating remote users, remote productions, and distributed control rooms. Interoperability between 4K and HD video, combined with one-touch control room setups and a high degree of automation through Emerald's APIs, gives users valuable flexibility while ensuring ease of use.

The Emerald KVM-over-IP platform manages signals and format types, empowering users to deliver content with an innovative look and feel. Organizations can leverage existing IT equipment, facilitating control and monitoring through the Boxilla® KVM Manager's intuitive and visually appealing KVM management dashboard. New small-form-factor DisplayPort units ease installation, much like the Emerald Remote App, by providing access to as many as nine concurrent Emerald connections from a Windows 10/11 laptop.

Also during the NAB Show New York, Black Box will showcase the new TAA-compliant version of the award-winning Emerald DESKVUE KVM-over-IP receiver, a small-form-factor device offering users a new concept for creating individually tailored workspaces. 

Emerald DESKVUE allows users to access up to 16 physical or virtual systems and H.264/H.265 streams simultaneously, replacing multiple receivers and thus reducing system complexity and costs. All systems are displayed as individual windows on up to four 4K or curved (5K) monitors. Users can arrange these windows in any way; switching between systems happens automatically in the background as users perform their tasks, removing any need for manual switching commands — or even awareness of system changes.

Black Box will showcase Emerald DESKVUE with enhancements that enable greater workspace personalization, including system arrangements on the screen, with capabilities such as locking favored system tiles and easier, faster switching among tiles, as well as an exclusive work mode and personalized on-screen layouts — resulting in a tailored workspace with the most flexible system integration and visualization landscape. 

Complementing Emerald DESKVUE is the Black Box Emerald AV WALL, a new solution that enables seamless interoperability with Emerald KVM-over-IP systems while supporting non-KVM environments — making it easy to display a single source from an Emerald system on a video wall for viewing by a larger group. The solution directly supports a 2x2 video wall while allowing for the expansion in the number of supported monitors through additional units.

George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.