Blackmagic Design Announces Universal Videohub

IBC 2010, Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Blackmagic Design today announced Universal Videohub, two new card based SDI routers that allow customers to build their own router by adding interface cards for custom designed routers up to a massive 288 x 288 size. Universal Videohub also features redundant cross point and power cards for a truly reliable design suitable for the most mission critical 24/7 broadcast environments.

Universal Videohub will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design IBC 2010 booth #7.B25

Universal Videohub comes in two models, letting the customer choose the rack frame chassis size they need to then plug in as many SDI interface cards as needed. Each BNC or optical fiber SDI interface card supports 4 inputs, 4 outputs and 4 deck control connections. That means the Universal Videohub 288 model supports up to 72 plug in SDI cards for up to 288 x 288 SDI routing. The Universal Videohub 72 model supports 18 plug in SDI cards for up to 72 x 72 SDI routing. Interface cards can be BNC SDI or optical fiber SDI, and the customers can mix and match between types in any order.

Ideal for the world’s leading broadcasters and post production facilities, Universal Videohub includes the latest technologies, such as 3 Gb/s SDI, auto switching between SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI formats, RS-422 deck control ports for each crosspoint, full SDI re-clocking, multiple simultaneous video format support, ethernet and serial router crosspoint control, optional BNC SDI and optical fiber SDI interface cards, redundant crosspoint cards and redundant power supplies. No other router offers such leading edge technology and at such an affordable price.

Universal Videohub ships to customers without any plug in cards, so the customer is free to build their router any way they like! For example, customers can plug in either BNC SDI cards or optical fiber SDI cards in any combination depending on the equipment they have. This makes it easy to partially load SDI interface cards, to start at an affordable size, and then add more SDI interface cards over time to grow to a massive 288 x 288 size! To make scalability even easier, the 72 x 72 cross point card and power supply cards from the Universal Videohub 72 can be plugged into the Universal Videohub 288. Only Universal Videohub lets users upgrade to a larger rack frame and keep their entire investment in interface cards and power supplies.

One of the biggest benefits to Universal Videohub’s card based design, is true 24/7 reliability. Universal Videohub has no electronic components on the motherboard and all electronics can be hot swapped for replacements in case of failure, or when upgrading. Universal Videohub 288 even includes an extra slot for a redundant cross point and power supply. In case of failure, the cross point will instantly change over allowing continuous operation.

Universal Videohub 288 also offers true multiple fault redundancy, where different faults in both crosspoint cards can be handled. In the rare event of multiple faults occurring in both cross point cards, Universal Videohub 288 automatically detects and combines the still functioning parts of both cross point cards together to keep the router running. That’s true multiple fault tolerance, unique to Universal Videohub, and eliminates any situation where a faulty crosspoint can go unnoticed and then be unavailable if the main crosspoint fails.

Universal Videohub is sold in two models of unpopulated rack frames. The customer simply adds the SDI interface cards, power supplies and crosspoint cards as needed. This provides true scaleability allowing lower entry cost, or when used in broadcast environments where full redundancy is required, the Universal Videohub 288 model supports adding duplicate crosspoint and power supply cards. Universal Videohub 72 does not support redundant crosspoint cards, however it does support redundant power supplies when the 300 watt power supply card is used.

With Universal Videohub, large routers can be built at an affordable cost. For example, a 288 x 288 BNC SDI router without redundancy would use 1 x Universal Videohub 288 rack frame (US$8,345), 72 x BNC SDI interface cards (US$385 each), a single 288 x 288 crosspoint card (US$19,995) and a 300 watt power supply card (US$295) for a total cost of US$56,355. This is about US$200,000 less than a competitive router with the same size and technology and is a dramatic saving for customers. Prices can start even lower if a full 288 x 288 size router is not required, dramatically lowering startup costs. Customers can then choose optical fiber SDI interfaces and redundant crosspoint and power supplies if required.

“Ever since we designed our original Videohub routers, broadcasters have asked us for a card based model that gives them the flexibility to add optical fiber or BNC SDI connections on the same router, plus full redundancy and hot swappable cards. We listened and designed Universal Videohub to be the perfect solution for broadcasters who need 24/7 reliability, as well as the freedom to build a router customized for their specific needs.”, said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design, “This is such an exciting router because customers can start small so it’s affordable, and then just keep adding cards as they grow to build a massive 288 x 288 size router! That’s the perfect combination of affordability, reliability and size all, in the one model!”

Universal Videohub, like all Blackmagic Design Videohub routers, allows for the widest range of control options. These include the free Videohub software control panels for easy to use icon-based push button control from any computer. Software control is ideal for video editors and designers who are already working on computers and prefer control from their desktop. Videohub routers also support the new Videohub Smart Control hardware control panels, for routing with a push of a button. Videohub Smart Control is an attractive looking 40 button control panel in a 1 rack unit size that can be installed under each monitor or deck for fast to use input routing.


Universal Videohub Key Features

* Up to 288 SDI inputs, supports SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI.
* Up to 288 SDI outputs, supports SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI.
* Up to 288 RS-422 deck control ports, requires optional control cable.
* Ethernet network connection on each crosspoint card for crosspoint control.
* Serial port in each crosspoint for crosspoint control. Supports standard protocols.
* 12 volt 800 Watt and 300 Watt power supply cards available.
* BNC SDI interface and optical fiber SDI interface cards available.
* Optical Fiber SDI interface cards allow direct fiber optic routing without converters.
* Supports plugging in 2 crosspoint cards for redundancy on Universal Videohub 288 model.
* Supports plugging in 2 power supply cards for redundancy on Universal Videohub 288 model.
* Reference input compatible with black burst and tri-sync.
* All SDI outputs include full SDI re-clocking.
* Allows simultaneous SD, HD and 3 Gb/s SDI formats on the router at the same time.
* Includes free software control panels for Mac and Windows.
* Includes software developer kit (SDK) for developers who need custom control solutions.
* Fully compatible with Videohub Smart Control 40 button hardware control panel.

Availability and Price

Universal Videohub will be available in November from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.
Press Photography

Product photos of the Universal Videohub, and all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagic-design.com/press/images.


About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, color correctors, video converters, routers, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post-production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in the television industry, while the company’s DaVinci Emmy™ award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984 and continue ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagic-design.com.