V__matrix positions IP at the core of broadcast
Published: PRODUCTS
At the 2016 edition of IBC, Lawo seized the opportunity to showcase the V__matrix before its target audience: the broadcast industry. The system is a software-defined IP core routing and processing platform and is designed to provide a future-proof core infrastructure based on open standards while occupying less rack space, consuming less power and supporting the transition to a fully IP-based workflow. The IP nature of the system allows it to be installed anywhere for live production, including studios and OB vans, and even across multiple locations, as signal chains are not defined by the physical connections of hardware modules.
Described by the German manufacturer as a ‘virtualised real-time broadcast production infrastructure’, it utilises several cores that are connected to a COTS (commercial of-the-shelf) switch and 10GE and 40GE redundant connections, forming a distributed IP routing and processing matrix that reportedly offers clean switching with frame accuracy. The software-defined virtual modules are loaded via core processing blades that allow the creation of any required function, allowing the user to remap the whole workflow quickly. The core processing blades come in 1U, 2U or 3U frames and can be connected to existing SDI equipment by way of optional I/O cards that make use of the manufacturer’s VSM Broadcast Control and Monitoring system for control.
Signal switching and routing can is facilitated for both IP and SDI feeds. The system features Lawo’s Routing Layer Control technology, which enables video routing over IP, control and monitoring of legacy SDI systems and of third party IP equipment.