The SW803 3G is an 8 x 3 crosspoint routing switch designed to route eight 3Gb/s, HD or SD sources to any of three destinations.

Ideal for those applications requiring a small pocket of extra routing, the SW803 3G is perfect as a secondary matrix for small studio uses and is particularly suited to applications already using other Crystal Vision boards – such as providing a selection of backgrounds for a chroma keyer.

Housed in the standard frames alongside the rest of the Crystal Vision interface, keying and picture storage boards and with up to six SW803 3G fitting in 2U, this ‘double decker’ 100mm x 266mm module saves valuable rack space compared to a stand-alone routing switch.

It uses two RM50 frame rear modules to access the eight inputs and three outputs.

The SW803 3G makes it easy to set individual switches: simply select the output, select the input and press the ‘Take’ button. Alternatively multiple switch macros can be created to change a number of crosspoint switches simultaneously.

To avoid picture disturbance, the SW803 3G can switch in the vertical blanking interval according to SMPTE RP 168-2009, with timing information provided by either an HD tri-level syncs or SD Black and Burst analogue reference, or by a digital reference generated from any of the four main board inputs.

The SW803 3G can also be set to switch immediately – useful in cases when all the signals have different timings and there is no common reference.

Control of the SW803 3G is quick and easy – whichever method you choose.

Those who prefer tactile hands-on operation should select the SW808 Controller 1U control panel. Connected to the SW803 3G using an RS422 serial link, it has dedicated illuminated buttons for each of the three destinations and eight sources as well as buttons for ‘Take’ and the ‘Save’ and ‘Recall’ of macros.

Useful features include the ability to quickly identify which input is connected to which output – press the destination button and the source connected to it will light – along with the ‘off’ switch being dimly lit to simplify operation in low light.

At only 90mm deep the SW808 Controller fits easily in a control desk and is ideal for live operation and for when the SW803 3G has regular adjustment.

Alternative control options include board edge switches, active front and remote panels, SNMP and the Statesman PC control software.

Using any of these control methods, as well as GPIs, up to 15 macros and presets can be easily created and stored - allowing you to pre-configure the SW803 3G for various situations and then recall these configurations as required.

A macro is a batch of crosspoint assignments which are changed together and will only affect those crosspoints – allowing you to change part of the routing but leave the rest alone.

A preset, meanwhile is a snapshot of the router table which shows the state of every crosspoint as well as set up data, switching mode and reference selection, and should be used when all the routing needs to be brought into a known state.

Ideal for bigger systems, macros and presets are ideal if you have several system set ups that you switch between on a regular basis.

For additional ease of use names can be assigned to the sources and destinations – either using Statesman and the active front panels or by inserting labels under the keycaps on the SW808 Controller.