Amsterdam, Netherlands -- U.K.-based routing, infrastructure and automation supplier Pro-Bel introduced Pyxis, a range of small-scale, multiformat routers targeted at postproduction firms, small studios and edit suites, at IBC2007 here.
Pyxis is designed to complement Pro-Bel’s existing larger Sirius and Cygnus routers, and it is available with a range of cards in either one-rack-unit or 3RU frames, from 16x16 up to 72x72 cross-points.
Designed to be able to mix and match signal types, Pyxis can handle 3-gigabit-per-second, 1080p HD; 1.5-gbps HD and SD/ASI signals in 72x72, 34x34 and 17x17 configurations. AES and analog audio comes in 288x288, 216x216, 144x144 and 72x72, which can be configured as mono or stereo. There are also wideband analog video cards available, as well as RS422 in 128, 64 and 32 ports. The SDI and analog-video cards can also handle a wide variety of telco signals including STM-1, STM-4, T4, E4, T3 and E3, as well as XVGA signals.
Pro-Bel CEO Graham Pittman said the company is experiencing strong sales of its 3-gbps Cygnus large-scale routers, particularly in the mobile-production-truck market.
“There’s a huge number of trucks out there with 512 [by 512] routers,” Pittman said, adding that mobile vendors are buying 3-gbps routers to future-proof themselves for 1080p sports production and massive input-output capabilities to provide maximum flexibility for clients.
Pro-Bel also announced that it partnered with test-and-measurement supplier Tektronix to create an integrated video-quality and broadcast-management system that combines Tektronix’s Cerify monitoring product with Pro-Bel’s new Morpheus Quality Control Manager, part of its Morpheus large-scale automation software product used by programmers such as Turner Broadcasting System.
The company also announced a sale of its Morpheus system to Thomson-owned Technicolor Network Services for a new 10-channel playout facility it is creating in Singapore.
Technicolor already successfully uses Morpheus at its playout center in London, Pittman said, and it is “trying to duplicate the same functionality they have in London” at the Singapore site.
