TWO OUTPUTS AND TWO SYNCHRONISERS ON NEW UP/DOWN/CROSS CONVERTER (July 2011)

Crystal Vision is delighted to announce the release of the Up-Down-S 3G up/down/cross converter. Available in four different versions to suit all applications (as the Up-Down-AS 3G, Up-Down-AFDS 3G, Up-Down-ATS 3G and Up-Down-ATXS 3G), it takes all the great features of the highly successful Up-Down 3G and adds signal timing functionality – meaning you can now synchronise sources timed to a different reference or correct any processing delays while you are up or down converting.

Up-Down-S 3G allows flexible up, down and cross conversions between 3Gb/s, HD and SD sources and provides an output picture quality that broadcasters standardise on. It also includes special features to allow studios to easily operate in HD and SD at the same time – with its ability to perform two different conversions simultaneously and give out co-timed dual outputs that remain unchanged in format, even if the input changes.

Amongst its four versions Up-Down-S 3G offers an extensive range of features: signal timing, integrated fibre I/O connectivity, four group audio handling, audio routing, aspect ratio conversion including AFD insertion and reading, instant reconfiguration for live playout, video delay, signal probing, timecode conversion and transport of both teletext and closed captions.

The key to keeping the output valid at all times is having an up/down converter followed by a synchroniser – and this is exactly what Up-Down-S 3G does. In fact, it includes two synchronisers downstream of the converter – one in the 3G/HD path and one in the SD path.

Explains Managing Director, Philip Scofield: “This means that Up-Down-S 3G gives a clean output even when the input standard changes. For example, if you have chosen to have both an SD and an HD output and the input changes between SD and SD, you will have continuous clean outputs of both SD and HD. We thought that was such a great feature, it justified putting in two synchronisers!”

Continues Philip: “Up-Down-S 3G is ideal for those applications where a signal comes in from elsewhere – you know that whatever format or timing the signal arrives with, you’ll get timed signals in two desired formats to use in your system.”

Cross-locking allows a 3Gb/s, HD or SD source to be referenced to either HD tri-level syncs or SD Black and Burst, while it is easy to compensate for mistimed sources elsewhere in the system with full vertical and horizontal timing adjustment between 0 and one frame, independently adjustable on each synchroniser.

The Up-Down-ATXS 3G version includes features not found before on a Crystal Vision up/down/cross converter. For example, when down converting Up-Down-ATXS 3G can take teletext data out of OP-47 packets and encode it as analogue waveforms on an SD output. It can also transport closed captions between different definitions – making it ideal for the US market. When down converting it can take closed caption data from CEA-708 and output the corresponding CEA-608 waveform, while when up converting it will decode the CEA-608 waveform and insert the data into the appropriate section of CEA-708 on the 3G/HD output.

With the introduction of the four Up-Down-S 3G modules, Crystal Vision now offers a range of ten up/down/cross converters, along with the Q-Down short-delay down converters. Up-Down-S 3G will start shipping from July, with the basic versions available first.