SALT LAKE CITY—New Century Productions is installing two new UTAH-100 16x1 routers to provide HD digital and NTSC signal testing in its NCP XIV production truck. Equipped with unique looping inputs, the small Utah Scientific routers enable NCP to evaluate a given signal directly, rather than look at the signal after it has been repeated by a DA or other devices, affording a more precise and accurate measure of its quality.
"For us it's a matter of ensuring the best possible quality control," said Mike Mundt, New Century Productions director of operations. "For example, rather than look at a 'clean' DA feed of the TX feed to the uplink, we want to see the signal that's actually leaving the truck. These cost-effective UTAH-100 routers are ideal for the purpose because they provide exactly the flexibility we need, and because the loop-through feature is unique. We love Utah Scientific's reliability, support, and responsiveness. Now that they have made these routers available, I am planning to keep buying them."
Looping inputs were quite common on analog video equipment but largely disappeared on digital video devices. When used to feed a test monitor stack (as is the case on NCP trucks), the EIC can monitor a signal on its way from source to destination.
Utah Scientific's UTAH-100 line of compact routing switchers and signal distribution amplifiers consists of both fixed-frame and modular devices for all signal types in 1-RU and 2-RU packages.
The NCP XIV truck went on the road last August principally to cover boxing for Showtime. The two new UTAH-100 routers will be retrofitted later this year.
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