Telecast Fiber Thor Family Strengthens DVI Offering

It may have missed its own movie premiere but the Thor family of fiber optic interfaces for conversion and handling of DVI signals is now available from Telecast Fiber.

The new Thor product line includes the Thor-S, which is a combination multiplexer, repeater, and crosspoint switcher, and the Thor-C line of analog converters and extenders. The Thor family also features two fiber optic extenders: the Thor-EU for uncompressed video signals and the Thor-E for compressed DVI signals.

“Arrays of high-resolution, flat-panel displays are becoming a common fixture for communications in public environments such as airports, hospitals, and casinos — and now, with the Thor family, operators can drive these displays digitally through their DVI or HDMI interfaces to achieve optimum image quality,” says Steve DeFrancesco, vice president and general manager of Telecast Fiber Systems. “Now, our customers can harness the power of fiber to squeeze the cost out of digital transmissions from any content source, even RGB.”

The Thor-S series is a combination multiplexer, repeater, and crosspoint switcher that supports the DVI graphics interface (DVI-D) and, depending on the device, USB-driven human interface devices (HIDs) such as a keyboard/mouse, touch screens, graphics tablets, and barcode readers. As a multiplex repeater, the device supports transmission of signals up to 140 meters over CATx or up to 10 kilometers over single-mode fiber to the remote unit. As a crosspoint switch, the Thor-S can switch up to eight ports using a basic IR operator keypad or via push-button switches on an external serial interface device. The Thor-S can also be used as a seven-port KVM switch. The larger switcher can support up to 32 inputs and 16 ouputs over CATx or fiber.

The Thor-C family of analog converters and extenders enables users to take maximum advantage of flat-panel display devices using DVI signal connections for a wide range of signal source types. The Thor-C model for VGA-to-DVI conversion automatically detects all known VGA resolutions up to 1920×1200 and converts them to DVI signals. With a built-in scaler, the unit can easily scale lower-resolution VGA images to fit the latest digital resolutions. Similarly, the Thor-C RGB-to-DVI converter converts RGB signals to DVI-D format, supporting video resolutions up to 1920×1200 at 60 Hz. The Thor-C family also includes a model for converting S-Video, component video, MDA, CGA, and EGA resolutions to DVI, as well as a model that converts MDA, CGA, EDG, SDI, and HD-SDI (720p).

The Thor-E extender family for compressed video supports the transmission of DVI signals up to resolutions of 1920×1200 or 2048×1152. In addition, the unit can extend USB HID, USB 2.0, analog, or digital audio and serial data signals to bridge distances up to 10 kilometers. The Thor-E extender is designed to perform with excellent image quality and smooth HD video playback. Using the Telecast high-quality multistage compression algorithm, the unit is capable of extending both single-head and dual-head video signals up to 140 meters over CATx, 400 meters over multimode fiber, or up to 10 kilometers over single-mode fiber cable.

The Thor-EU fiber optic uncompressed extender range extends DVI-D signals up to resolutions of 2560×2048, making it ideal for long-distance, high-resolution video requirements. In addition, the Thor-EU can be configured to support USB 2.0 transparent or USB-HID for keyboard/mouse installations or other human interface devices. The Thor-EU performs flawlessly due to the uncompressed transfer of DVI data at full speed without picture corruption or frame drops. The high-density 1RU design supports up to three devices, and one version of the Thor-EU A features a built-in KVM switch that enables users to connect two CPUs without requiring an external KVM switch at the local unit.