The melding of classic and modern
applications
with a state-of-the-art-design,
to provide the best solutions for small routing switchers
Introduction. Small routing
switchers have been an essential part of every television facility
design since the early '50s. The Sales, Marketing, and Product Development
team at ISIS took a hard look at how the requirements for these
critical products have evolved over the past few years. Expectations
of long service life and modularity remain essential, but are often
passed over by manufacturers to cut costs. Below are some examples
of what ISIS has done in the design of the INNOVATION Series Small
Routing Switchers to back our claim that these are the best systems
available.
Configuration flexibility. Every
element of the design of INNOVATION follows an incremental and uniform
pattern. Not only are all of the major components in the system
plug-in hot swappable; these components have a high degree of interchangeability.
All 1RU router frames are divided into six equal spaces, of which
two are reserved for the plug-in power supply units. The remaining
four spaces are normally used for either 'Double' width or 'Quad'
width cross-point modules. 'Double' width and 'Quad' width cross-point
modules are pin compatible. The basic INNOVATION Series offering
is 16x1 through 32x32 analog or digital video and analog or digital
audio. This incremental foundation used in the INNOVATION Series
routing switchers can be applied as 'single' width modules for other
distribution and processing functions. This allows the same frame
and power supply scheme to be used for hybrid or custom systems,
which incorporate switching and processing functions in the same
system architecture.
A simple, yet reliable
power supply design. Many of the older, small routing switchers
continue to provide reliable service, long after ROI has been achieved.
INNOVATION by ISIS is designed for new installations with the expectation
that the system will need to perform 24 hours per day and 7 days per
week, indefinitely. As a result, ISIS wanted something that would
be totally reliable in the long term. This led to the design of the
INNOVATION Universal Power Supply. The Universal Power Supply is a
quad output plug-in supply. The four outputs are used to produce +/-5VDC
for analog and digital video and digital audio circuits and +/-15VDC
for analog audio circuits. An additional requirement of many router
installations is power supply redundancy and monitoring. Optional
plug in power supplies are available to cover this need. The Universal
Power Supply monitor output is a true current load indicator, which
indicates a 'fault' at 66% of full load, thus leaving 50% reserve
capacity. All connections for redundant supplies and regulation circuits
are placed on the individual cross-point modules. The objective is
to eliminate, as much as possible, the common components in the power
supply system. Otherwise, this could have a global effect on all the
modules powered by a supply that may be subject to a fault or AC line
failure.
Better control panels. The INNOVATION
control panels begin with a better switch, with good tactile feel,
full field LED illumination, relegendability, and 3/4" button-to-button
spacing. INNOVATION by ISIS 16x1 through 32x32 systems offers a
selection of 19 standard models of control panels. The control panels
may be used in local or remote configuration by simply latching
the panel into the front of the INNOVATION matrix frame or by using
the optional remote control panel cradle assembly. No tools required.
Remote panels are very easy to install.
Connection to the system is via one coax cable. Each remote panel
has its own 115V/230V internal power supply. No external power supplies.
Serial control. Serial control
has been around for over twenty years and today over half of the
installations of small routing switchers require it. This is where
'third party' control system companies come into the picture. ISIS
has worked closely with some of the more commonly used 'third party'
companies in the design of our serial control system. The protocol
chosen is concise, deterministic (often called 'stack-and-load'
execution) and, because it is ASCII based, is easy to read. Commands
to the router can be simple single output 'AFV' commands, or they
may be more complex commands with any mix of outputs and breakaway
levels executed concurrently on receipt of a single <CR>.
Better mechanical design and component
selection. Again, we come back to the goal of long service life.
The INNOVATION Series routing switchers have been designed for the
most rigorous mobile, portable, or fixed applications. The front
panels and power supply modules are held in place by reliable hand-operated
slide latches. The plug-in cross-point modules use high retention
edge connectors. There are no custom parts anywhere in the INNOVATION
family of products. Our approach to component selection has not
compromised price or performance. The analog and digital video paths
are based on IC types that are less than three years old. This allows
INNOVATION to offer the best performance specifications. For example,
the analog video cross-points in the 16x1 router have 700MHz bandwidth.
The SDI video routers use 3.2GBPS cross-points.
Modern applications. Originally,
video and audio routing was limited to TV stations and large network
distribution centers. Today video and audio routing applications
are ubiquitous. The INNOVATION Series routing switchers are designed
with these new applications in mind. This includes traditional broadcast
applications, live events, multimedia, and computer graphics, streaming
video, HDTV, cable, and satellite systems.
As noted in the preceding discussion,
a great deal of thought was given to the fundamental reasons to
design and produce the INNOVATION by ISIS series of routing switchers.
While recognizing that innovative and cost effective products are
important, we also appreciate the need for quality and reliability
and that these attributes are crucial to the ongoing operation of
every type of audio/video facility.
Each Senior Manager at ISIS has over
25 years of experience in the professional audio/video field and
each brings talent and dedication to providing total quality in
both products and service to our customers. This talent, experience,
and dedication combine to bring the best in innovative product solutions
for the applications of today and into the future.
