Delana Collins, Author at JBandA.com

Epiphan | Pearl-2 All-in-One Live Production

Sep 21, 2021

Epiphan Pearl-2: The ultimate all-in-one live video production system.

Pearl-2 is a video switcher, recorder, streamer, splitter, and scaler in one. With six video inputs, 4K streaming and recording, XLR professional audio, NDI support, chroma keying, and more, Pearl-2 offers pro features and processing power to suit any application.

Pearl-2 rackmount video production system

The Problem to Solve?

High-Performance Hardware for High-Stakes Productions
A lot can go wrong during a video production. For mission-critical, high-stakes, reliable hardware is a must. This is especially true in the world of live events, where there are no do-overs.

What’s the Solution?

A Purpose-Built Solution
Pearl-2 offers superior performance and reliability compared to a software encoder setup with purpose-built hardware and an OS that’s fine-tuned for video production – all rigorously tested for long-term reliability.

Technologies Involved

Multiple Built-in Inputs
With six built-in video inputs (HDMI and SDI), you can connect just about anything to Pearl-2 – cameras, computers, imaging equipment, and more. Pearl-2 also features four inputs for XLR professional audio, letting you connect professional-grade equipment for crystal-clear sound.

SRT Encoding and Decoding
Pearl-2 supports the Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) protocol, which uses the latest in live streaming technology to keep productions looking great. Add a remote guest or contributor over SRT to bring professional quality sources into your Pearl-powered productions.

Key Features of the Technologies?

Control and Monitor in the Cloud
Epiphan Cloud centralizes the configuration and monitoring of multiple Pearl-2 systems and any other Epiphan hardware you own. Remotely log in to and manage Epiphan devices with a host of time-saving features and tools.

4K Recording
Harness the power of Pearl-2 to capture stunning 4K video at 30 fps. Pearl-2’s hardware-accelerated encoder provides flawless H.264 encoding for maximum compatibility and performance with any video portal or player.

Epipah Video Showcase

Intinor | Extremely Remote Broadcast

Sep 15, 2021

Repost from Intinor blog

The Iditarod is both the most challenging and the most recognised event in sled dog racing. Each year, mushers and their animals trek more than 1500km around Alaska, from Anchorage to Nome via the ghost town of Iditarod.

In a normal year, the race takes in a number of native villages, creating a strong sense of atmosphere and belonging to the event. Those villages also give natural locations for the online video coverage. 2021, of course, is anything but a normal year. Protecting the locals by keeping the racers and race officials well apart is just one of the challenges for this year’s race.

Cinematographer and editor Art Aldrich, through his production company OTEK TV, has been behind the Live coverage of the Iditarod since 2007. He has masterminded continued expansion of the coverage, fueling growing interest in the sport. This year, he had to deliver the same detailed video streams, but with a minimum crew on location.

Aldrich had already solved many of the challenges of remote production, thanks to his work for corporate sponsors at the top PGA golf tournaments. He put crews at a safe social distance from the featured players and followed them around the courses, feeding signals back to a central production facility in Aldrich’s home in New York City.

In this Case Study, Intinor technology was used successfully broadcast the Iditarod race from very remote locations.

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Standard cameras plugged into Direkt Link 600 backpacks with bonded cellular so the operators could work alone, completely free from restrictions. Multiple 4G LTE networks carried the signal back to the production centre.

This experience suggested to Aldrich a way to cover the Iditarod. The obvious problem, though, is that there is very little 4G – or indeed any – cellular coverage in remote Alaska.

Organizers the Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC) already had a partnership deal with telco GCI. They provided portable V-Sat links, using 1 to 2 meter dishes, which could be carried by the crews and quickly set up for links back to base.

“Upload speed varied on each location; on some location we couldn’t get more then 500kbps” Aldrich explained. “Using Bifrost and other new technologies from Intinor, we still got good pictures back. We could also set up where we wanted – in the past there had been parts of the trail where we couldn’t get a signal, but now we can get pictures from any of the checkpoints. We’re actually getting more live feeds than we’ve had in the past.”

The race is covered by three live production teams, all Iditarod veterans. Each team is two people travelling from checkpoint to checkpoint in ski-equipped planes: the camera operator and a producer who acts as on-screen talent when needed. Each kit – which has to fit in the very small planes – includes a Sony camera plus a Marshall POV camera along with the Intinor Direkt Link 600 encoder and I-Direct satellite uplink…[ continue reading on the Intinor blog ]

Intinor develops products for high quality point-to-point video
and audio broadcast over the internet.

Intinor Showcase

Kramer VIA Connect²

Sep 7, 2021

Infinite Ways to Engage with Kramer’s VIA Connect².

Wireless and Wired Presentation and Collaboration Platform

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BROCHURE
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Turn Every Space into a Collaborative Place

THE PROBLEM TO SOLVE

Approximately half of the global workforce has worked remotely since 2020. Hybrid work environments demand flexibility. Organizations need the ability to have their employees, clients, and consultants wirelessly bring their own meetings (BYOM), anywhere, from any device, using any videoconference platform.

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION

Whether in the office, at home, halfway across the world, or in-transit, VIA Connect² enables businesses to turn any room into a huddle
space. This fosters collaboration, increases communication, and encourages productivity. Simple, flexible, and secure. VIA Connect² enables any Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android, or iOS device to join meetings with enterprise-grade security. It works with any videoconferencing platform and seamlessly integrates with calendar and scheduling tools.

TECHNOLOGIES INVOLVED

Kramer VIA Connect² is a smart, secure, wireless and wired presentation and collaboration platform that makes it simple to get actual work done during meetings and classes. With any laptop or mobile device, users can view, edit, and comment on documents in real time sessions. Meeting participants can display or stream full, uninterrupted video up to 4K@60Hz from their device, and even play YouTube® videos in full frame rate. Up to four participants can share their screens simultaneously on the main display either using the VIA app mirroring feature, iOS mirroring via AirPlay™, Windows & Android mirroring via Miracast™, or ChromeBook mirroring.

VIA Connect² supports 3rd party conferencing and apps, such as Microsoft Teams®, and Zoom®. The platform can handle most small to medium size meeting spaces and is ideal for classrooms and huddle spaces. VIA Connect² is super−compact (74x74mm) and flexible to install with both built−in Wi−Fi and LAN connectivity and includes industry−leading 1024−bit encryption for secure use on the internal network.

TECHNOLOGIES INVOLVED

HDMI video streaming output for large displays (up to 4K60)
HDMI enabled hard–wired input (up to 4K60)
Desktop and application window sharing, streaming and collaboration
App–free sharing from any platform
Powerful security features
Optimized for built in video conferencing
Centralized cloud management and control

DIAGRAM
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Kramer Showcase

Solution Story | City Council AV Renovation

Aug 31, 2021

In this Solution Story, we share how we worked with one of our reseller partners on a City Council AV renovation to configure the perfect Live Video Production solution.

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SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
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South Padre City council Solution skematic

Total Design Build for City Council

Organizations all over the world have been forced to look at their video strategies, and those pressures and necessities are amplified in the public sector. City councils have been under significant strain to overcome associated technology challenges. That’s where Exertis Broadcast (JB&A) and our Reseller Partners can step in and help provide a fresh perspective.

AV RENOVATION ON A LIMITED BUDGET

Like many City Councils, the customer in this story had an existing chamber with in-room Audio Video technology, but without any true broadcast features. Once the city needed to start streaming, not only was it difficult, the output did not look good for remote viewers.

BROADCAST FIRST SOLUTION

Our Broadcast first approach was completely in line with the city’s #1 objective for their video needs – provide high quality audio and video to their audience and participants. We supported that core solution from an IT centric, AV perspective. The team at the City loved the approach but they had one big caveat – the solution needed to be within their budget.

WHAT TECHNOLOGIES WERE USED?

Our final design included a NewTek TriCaster switcher at the heart of the city council chamber, 4 NDI PTZ cameras to capture all of the room, 13 total microphones, sound reinforcement, wireless presentation capabilities, in-room signal distribution, 2 – 65” displays, and support for 10 desktop monitors for the board and clerks. We were able to provide not only the Bill of Materials, but also helped develop the Statement of Work to make sure the project went off without a hitch. Amazingly, we were able to come in just under the city’s budget for the project.

KEY FEATURES OF THE TECHNOLOGIES

Video production – multi camera, lower thirds, transitions, mix effects
Live stream
Record meetings
Local presentation
Wireless presentation
Control room

SOLUTION BUILDER

The JB&A Solution Builder will take you step by step through assessing your needs, so our Experts can build the best solution to turn your Boardroom into a Broadcast Room. Get started!

Here’s How Exertis Broadcast Can Help

TECHNOLOGIES | We offer multiple best-in-class brands and platforms. Our Audio and Video technologies are essential pieces to turn your Boardroom into a Broadcast room. Whether you need just a part, or a complete solution – Audio, Video, Streaming, Storage, Infrastructure, Cloud, On-Prem – we have it all!
PRE-SALES SUPPORT | Not quite sure where to start? We are here to help. From Conference Calls, to Presentations, and Product Demonstrations – we provide complete Pre-Sales Support to help you determine which technologies fit the need and the budget.
ENGINEERING & DESIGN | The Exertis Broadcast Engineering team is patiently sitting by their phones waiting for your call – seriously, they really geek out talking to clients about technology. All jokes aside, our team can assist with Designs, System Verification, and more. Check out the Design diagram on this page.
Demo Product | Sometimes, we all just need to press some buttons for ourselves. We have a fantastic demo product program to help end users understand the product and how it will fit into their workflows.
Training | Need product training for yourself or your customers? Of course, we do that!

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Gefen’s New 4K Splitter Solution

Aug 26, 2021

Gefen’s New 4K Ultra Splitter Series is a Perfect Solution for Retail Digital Signage.

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Video Distribution Complexity

From various Formats, Distances, Cost, Reliability, etc., Digital Signage can be complex to get right, and the bigger your system, the more difficult it is to resolve any issues. Retailers around the world have struggled with these issues, but the complexity goes beyond just distributing video to many destinations.

From Digital TVs to Digital Signage

The TV walls in retail have evolved to become more than an opportunity to sell the TV itself. Walls full of TV’s (or digital displays) are a perfect delivery platform to display advertising or important content – it can now be effective digital signage.

Retail Digital Signage Solution

Gefen has been innovating in Video Distribution for over 20 years, and their new 4K Ultra Splitter Series is perfect for these retail applications. Not only do these splitters distribute video, Gefen’s 4K Ultra solution offers Ease of Use, Management and Control (not found in other video splitters) – and all of this is at an incredibly affordable price.

Features & Highlights of the 4K Ultra Splitters:

Easy to install – simply plug and play; ready to deploy and upgrade retail store displays with minimum downtime- they even include integrated test pattern generators
Centralized management – control all cascaded splitters through the IP network for easy maintenance
Auto-downscale – automatically downscale 4K content to 1080p in mixed display scenarios
Self-healing – System automatically returns to displaying preselected content even after shoppers interact with the displays
Always on – 1:1 redundant inputs ensure with smart switching technology that content is always on display providing best shopper retail experience
Smart CEC Management – Gefen has brilliantly started using this communication standard and designed new ways to utilize its features to ensure that all connected displays will remain on when you want. If someone walks by and turns the TV off, the 4K Ultra will automatically turn it back on. If someone walks by and changes the input, we can turn it right back. This ensures customers will always see your preferred content.
Last, but not least, is the dual networking interface that is designed to cascade network connectivity across each splitter. This will allow for network monitoring and control of every aspect of the inputs and outputs.

As you can see the Gefen 4K Ultra Splitters are a great choice in Retail Video Distribution projects. That’s probably why some of the largest retailers in the country have already started to deploy them.

To Learn more about Gefen products and how they can solve your retail video distribution issues, reach out to us. We would be happy to help!

Gefen Showcase

Epiphan | Pearl-2 All-in-One Live Production