MUNICH, GERMANY—Rohde & Schwarz has created a family of video boards for both SDI and video over IP. The first entrant, the R&S Prios SDI, offers the SDI interfaces and also supports 10G Ethernet for video over IP. It can be configured for eight independent 1080p60 video channels or for two 4K/UHDp60 channels.
R&S said the SDI interfaces are implemented by means of up to four swappable SFP modules, each with two SDI ports. Two of the SDI modules can be replaced with 10G Ethernet modules, making the R&S Prios SDI compatible with the advanced video-over-IP technology. Supported protocols will include SMPTE 2022 for data transmission and SMPTE 2059 for synchronization. Data is transmitted uncompressed in line with SMPTE 2022-6. If necessary, forward error correction in line with SMPTE 2022-5 can be enabled to compensate for the loss of IP packets. Redundant transmission with seamless protection switching in line with SMPTE 2022-7 is also supported. Additional protocols are planned to follow.
The R&S Prios SDI allows OEM customers to integrate the board into their own products. Prios SDI allows customers to convert their products in the field from a pure SDI to a hybrid SDI/video-over-IP configuration. E.g., multiple SDI cameras can be connected directly to the board, whose signals can then be transmitted via a network to centralized recording equipment or to remote editing stations.
Virtual studio applications especially benefit from the low latency made possible by the fast PCIe 3.0 x8 bus. The four SFP cages combined with the half-length design make the R&S Prios SDI very compact. As a result, applications involving complex interfacing tasks that previously often required multiple interface boards can now be implemented on small servers of only one unit.
The software development kit for the R&S Prios family of video boards is compatible with the R&S Atomix line of video boards. Applications that support R&S Atomix boards can be adapted for use with R&S Prios boards.
The R&S Prios SDI video board is now available from Rohde & Schwarz. Video-over-IP capability can be retrofitted.
