NAB 2012: Utah Scientific To Demo UTAH-100/UDS, New Router Control Panels

Utah Scientific will demonstrate the UTAH-100/UDS Universal Distribution System, a new approach to signal distribution that combines the flexibility of a multirate digital routing switcher with the economy of simple distribution amplifiers. This modular system is based on I/O modules with 16 ports, interconnected by a crosspoint fabric that allows any input signal to feed any number of output ports.

The economical design of the modules makes it possible for a 4-RU frame to feed up to 144 output ports at a fraction of the cost and power consumption of alternative distribution-amplifier packages — with the added benefit of being able to reassign input signals to each output as operational requirements dictate. The system is suitable for use in all types of video operations, including television stations, production houses, and pro A/V installations.

“The UTAH-100/UDS is really a routing switcher hiding inside a DA frame, a new approach that is enabled by some recent advances in component technology,” said Tom Harmon, president and CEO of Utah Scientific. “We’re always looking for ways to apply the latest advances to give our customers the most cost-effective and reliable solutions possible.”

The unit’s flexibility is extended even further through the use of the award-winning FLEX-I/O modular I/O system, which allows users to select the signal format of each I/O port from a complete range of options including analog video, digital video over fiber or coax, DVI and HDMI, and IP-encapsulated ASI video streams.

The UDS is controlled and monitored through a built-in Web interface that allows the output ports to be assigned to blocks that are fed by a common input signal, making it simple to feed a large number of signal destinations with a new input source at the press of a single button. External hardware control panels and virtual control via Ethernet can extend the functionality of the system to local and remote users as required.

The new UTAH-100/UDS joins the family that includes the UTAH-100/XFD Fiber Distribution Frame, which packs up to 16 channels of coax-to-fiber and fiber-to-coax conversion into a compact 1RU frame, and the UTAH-100/XHDA High Definition Distribution Amplifier, a 3G-capable DA with eight amplifier blocks that can be programmed by the internal Web interface to serve two, four, six, or eight outputs.

Utah Scientific will show a new family of menu-based router control panels. The new panels feature high-resolution, full-color LCD displays and buttons, offering a new level of user-friendly operation for today’s increasingly complex routing systems.

New UCP-LC Control Panels for UTAH-400 Routing Switchers
The UCP-LC series panels offer 16 or 32 buttons in a compact 1-RU package and an innovative 3-RU panel with touch-screen LCD displays. All of the new panels are based on a new user-definable menu system that provides an open platform for defining all panel functions on a panel-by-panel basis.

“We are very excited to share with NAB visitors the new approach that our UCP-LC panels bring to the design of the user interface for our routing systems,” said Tom Harmon, president and CEO of Utah Scientific. “Our customers have been helping us design these new panels so that they provide the right combination of simplicity for basic functions and power to control the more complex operations.”

Embedded-Audio Signal Processing for UTAH-400 Routing Switchers
Utah Scientific also will be showcasing embedded-audio signal processing for the UTAH-400 series digital routing switchers. The capability comes courtesy of a new line of I/O boards that rely on advanced field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology to perform signal processing. In the past five years, embedded audio has become the norm in media operations of any significant size.

Embedded audio supports a more streamlined system overall, but its inflexibility can make it difficult to shuffle audio channels as needed in larger integrated facilities where quick changes to live feeds are common. Now Utah Scientific has built advanced signal processing into the router’s I/O board, meaning it can deserialize and decode a signal into its component data streams without compromising the router’s overall operational reliability. As a result, audio channels are shuffled automatically without an outboard device or manual intervention.

The enhanced UTAH-400 routing systems also incorporate a virtual control panel to provide an easy-to-read display of the video signals and their associated audio positions. The GUI design enables control of digital signal processing functions and other signal configuration information.

New FLEX I/O Signal Module
Utah Scientific’s UTAH-400 routers and UTAH-100/XFD fiber distribution frames are now available for delivery with the award-winning FLEX I/O signal module. By using the FLEX I/O plug-in SFP modules, users can now easily configure their systems to implement coax and fiber I/Os on a port-by-port basis. This capability greatly simplifies configuration changes as users’ system requirements change.

Utah Scientific developed the FLEX I/O signal module as an option for the UTAH-400 router and a standard feature for the new UTAH-100/XFD fiber distribution frame. With FLEX I/O, the user can customize the use of signals according to the specific needs of a given application. FLEX I/O modules are also available to provide analog and DVI/HDMI conversion at the ports of the digital router. For the UTAH-400 router, the FLEX I/O option consists of input and output cards that carry either eight or 12 signals and updated rear-panel assemblies to provide access for the converter blocks.