Whether you are working in live applications such as studio, OB van, continuity, headends etc., an efficient infrastructure requires an ergonomic control surface, a visualisation surface tailored your needs, and a good seat. At Apantac, we take care of the display part, a comprehensive multiviewer range to drive your visual monitoring.
It is surprising to see that even in modern facilities control desks are still crowded with multiple small size computer displays along with legacy broadcast multiviewers. A possible reason for that is, despite several multiviewers on the market today having the ability to display computer formats, very few have good scaling quality.
An ideal visualisation surface would consist of a large display surface with a resolution equal or higher to what the human eye can resolve. On this ultimate visual monitoring surface, signals of any format are displayed as virtual monitors with freely adjustable position, size, and aspect ratio. In addition the on-screen display of graphic elements should offer a consistent look and feel.
What are the challenges to achieve these goals?
l Accept a wide range of signal formats: This includes broadcast formats from Composite to HD and 3G SDI, video over IP or ASI formats, and various computer formats, such as DVI, HDMI, VGA or YPbPr. The ability to display a mix of formats on the same multiviewer output is also important. Apantac’s current offering include broadcast formats multiviewers, computer formats multiviewers, IP/ASI multiviewers, as well as hybrid multiviewers that accept a mix of Broadcast and Computer formats. A new generation of multiviewers supporting a mix of ALL the various formats is coming soon.
l High Output Resolution: The ability to choose between a few large monitors or a large number of smaller size monitors is important. With the current display technology, most monitors have a native 1920 x 1080 resolution regardless of their size. Thin bezels for mounting displays edge to edge create larger display surfaces. Using small monitors and displaying less images per monitor, will by de facto increase the actual visual resolution. Another solution is to drive the newly available 4K/UHD monitors which are now becoming affordable. Apantac uses the same modular architecture, regardless of the multiviewer model. For example, a sixteen input multiviewer can be configured to display the sixteen inputs on a single monitor (16×1), or drive four monitors displaying four sources each (4×4). At IBC 2014, Apantac is introducing a new four input processor that accepts four 1080p signals and displays them on an UHD monitor.
l Look & Feel: For the sake of consistency, the graphic on-screen display elements associated with the source pictures should be identical regardless of the input format. Apantac’s family of IP, broadcast, and computer multiviewers all share the same architecture and same configuration interface, which allows the user to have a consistent look and feel regardless of the input format.
Come visit Apantac and see for yourself.
