Miranda will be showing 3Gb/s branding products at NAB, but who will be buying them? The company is to launch multiple new master control switching and channel branding products at NAB, including the new Densité LGK-3901 single-card 3Gb/s, HD and SD branding processor. It is capable of inserting up to five independent layers of graphics. Three of the keying layers can be fed by internally stored still/animated graphics, and two layers are fed by external graphics devices. It also offers automated character generation, clock insertion, EAS support and eight channel audio clip/voice-over playout.
In conversation with Miranda to learn more about the launch, Richard Brice, managing director of Miranda Europe, said, “A very few broadcasters have real 3Gb/s plans. Some are working on the reasonable assumption that 3Gb/s is the ‘premium’ TV format, so to work in that format in master control gives them scope to downconvert to their transmission standard, or offer them the scope to provide enhanced services via 3Gb/s — like 3-D TV. Many more broadcasters are looking to buy 3Gb/s-capable equipment, but will operate in HD. In other words, they are simply futureproofing.”
As to the demand, Brice continued, “The demand is real, but it is strongly regionalized. Outside of North America and Europe, there is little interest in 3Gb/s. There is, however, great interest is high density, good value master control, so the LGK-3901 is very relevant in the Asia markets, but for different reasons.”
Products are migrating to 3Gb/HD/SD just as a few years ago products moved from 270Mb/s to HD-SDI as standard.
3Gb/s is something we’re introducing across our range, said Neil Sharpe, VP marketing at Miranda.
“They want to insure themselves for the future,” he said. “We will have a 3Gb/s multiviewer at NAB”.
The company will also show the NV5100MC fully featured, multichannel master control switching and channel branding system, which can be integrated with the Intuition XG co-processor for advanced graphics.