Pro-Bel arrived at Vegas with a re-engineered version of its Masterpiece HD master control unit that it says “provides a feature-rich, one-box solution perfectly tailored for today’s multichannel broadcast environments.”
With the advent and adoption of Dolby E, the increase in multiple language variants and extended use of graphics, Pro-Bel has streamlined Masterpiece to a single 2RU box that provides all the core functionality needed to provide a high level of control as the final device in the playout chain.
“Masterpiece now provides a true, simple ‘plug and work’ approach for automated and multichannel environments,” explains Engineering Manager, Alan Smith. “It benefits from an HD DVE, audio mixing, Dolby E encoders and four DSKs to satisfy the needs of many broadcast operations.”
The embedded audio is extracted from incoming programme and preset channels and fed to a mixer with one external voiceover per audio channel (up to 16 audio levels are supported). This is routed via the Dolby decoders if required to generate separate audio channels for mixing as, of course, Dolby E can’t be mixed in its encoded form. The resulting audio is then re-embedded into the outgoing video after re-encoding into Dolby E if required.
In the video path, the DVE is 3D and offers full frame-based processing and two planes of DVE plus background. The DSKs offer external key and fill signals, or the option of internally stored logos being fed into one of the keyers.
The unit can be used with a range of other Pro-Bel kit, such as external audio mixers if more complex audio transitions are required.
