Miguel Escoto, an expert in the field of video and audio signal routing systems and representative of the company Knox Video, clarifies some aspects that must be taken into account when selecting a system for signal routing. Why is it important to have a routing switcher for work in the TV industry?
TV&V: In Latin America, routers are not equipment contemplated, in general, during the design and assembly of a TV station because of the costs they represent. This is solved, in most cases, by a patch panel as a more economical resource. What is the importance of having a routing switcher?
Miguel Escoto: Our routing switchers operate under an aggressive price scheme and often have a much more competitive cost compared to the patch panel. Our routing switches have a higher value because they offer greater power, control, versatility and simplicity.
TV&V: What are the benefits that the installation of one or more systems like these brings to the daily operation of a TV station?
Miguel Escoto: They don't have to patch the signal. Our routers eliminate noise, signal loss, and intermittent connections that wear out on connectors and cables. They allow you to have multiple control locations. Therefore, various places, such as the editing posts, the control center, a copy station, a studio, can share the equipment. Also, you can have remote access to the "head-end".
Another advantage is the automation of the station. Signals can be routed to places other than the preset time and day via RS232.
All cables can be hidden in the back of the shelf. It allows a more efficient and clean work. And, with the press of buttons, you can have control of the entire tangle of cables, without having to disconnect and reconnect them all the time.
In most cases you can eliminate distribution amplifiers and other cable paths since an activated router can also act as a DA.
TV&V: What are the fundamental differences between a router, a common switcher, and a patch panel? Why use one instead of another if they essentially accomplish the same task?
Miguel Escoto: They don't necessarily fulfill the same task. Again, you have much cleaner and stronger signals. Switches are made in the vertical range to achieve a fault-free route. Active routers not only patch from one source to a destination, but simultaneously direct many input signals to multiple outputs. Routers also act as distribution amplifiers by routing a source to multiple destinations without signal loss and you get a display of the entire crosspoint pattern. It also has a non-volatile memory so you don't lose the pattern during a power outage, you can save those patterns in memory and then you can bring them back. Greater control of a router can be gained by sending batch commands over many different routes simultaneously at the push of a button, EXCEPT for commands of another type such as those that allow sending a source to a range of destinations simultaneously by pressing a single button. You can simultaneously control the router through the buttons on the front dashboard, by an infrared system, from a sensitive screen, from a computer, from remote keyboards or by modem. You can route, together or separately, the audo and the video. The system can be consolidated to control multiple signal types (e.g. PAL, Y/C, and RGB) into a single path switch. It is also possible to program the router to automatically direct various signals to a specific time or day or to different times on different days. A full-matrix active router is a much more powerful tool than a simple patch board.
TV&V: What alternatives for the application of this technology are offered to the markets of the region?
Miguel Escoto: Our routers are not only used in production and transmission ((satellite head-ends, remote trucks, duplication, production and editing) but also in many other applications such as sports bars and restaurants, nightclubs, cruise ships, race tracks, stadiums, entertainment parks, universities, corporate presentations, teleconferencing and security systems. Anywhere there are multiple audio and video signals that need to go to various places, a router can be very useful.
TV&V: Going forward, as the transition to Digital TV occurs, how can the investment in routing systems? Will it be necessary to put them aside and invest in new systems for this type of signals?
Miguel Escoto: The period of the transition from analog to digital will last several years. Analog signals will not disappear immediately. Until there are no more analog signals, systems will be needed to handle them. In the meantime, we are developing routers for digital signals.
TV&V: From your specialty and as a manufacturer of systems applied to TV production, how does the industry in Latin America look towards the near future?
Miguel Escoto: The production and transmission markets will move towards the digital one. As the economy expands, corporate and industrial markets will grow. Systems will most often use LCD projectors and computers, and router systems will have to handle VGA and RGBHV signals. We already have routers that can take care of these types of signal and we continue to develop this line of route switches.
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