Canon U.S.A. And Telecast Fiber Systems Announce Enhanced High Definition Production With Canobeam DT-150 HD And Shed Adapter Combination

Addressing the television production industry’s increasing demand for a reliable wireless HD link, Canon U.S.A., Inc’s. Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver provides bi-directional, uncompressed 1.5 Gbps transmission of embedded digital video, audio and camera-control signals on a single HD-SDI or SD-SDI stream with no delay. Based on Free Space Optics technology, the Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver uses line-of-sight infrared light, sets up quickly, and requires no RF licensing or coordination, providing wireless HD capability in situations where fiber or microwave can’t be used.


Telecast Fiber Systems, Inc., specialists in fiber optics for television broadcast production, has further enhanced HD production by designing its SHED ™ (SMPTE Hybrid Elimination Device) adapter to interface with the Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver. Using SHED ™ adapters, broadcasters can connect to the Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver using compact and lightweight single-mode optical-fiber cables instead of bulky hybrid wire/fiber cables. Benefits and applications of these shared technologies will be highlighted at NAB2007, the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, held April 14-19 in Las Vegas (Canon booth #SU 3020).

Another Telecast Fiber Systems product, the HDX unit, is designed to power television cameras through as much as 500m of hybrid cable. A combination SHED™/HDX solution consists of two adapters, which convert signals from hybrid copper/fiber cables to signals suitable for standard all-fiber cables and connectors. The SHED™/HDX solution allows a camera and base station to communicate on two ordinary, inexpensive single-mode fibers, and they also provide the appropriate power delivery option for the camera.

The single-mode fiber connection between the Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver and the SHED™/HDX system is made possible due to Canobeam’s Small Form Pluggable (SFP) module system. Use of an SFP HD module allows the Canobeam DT-150 transceiver to interface via single-mode fiber LC connectors.

“The combination of Telecast Fiber Systems’ SHED™ adapter with the Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver is an important enhancement for the television production industry,” stated Gordon Tubbs, director, Broadcast and Communications division, Canon U.S.A. “Together, they provide users with a seamless, affordable, wireless, point-to-point uncompressed digital-transmission solution that will play a major role in revolutionizing the broadcast industry as the transition to HDTV accelerates. We have a great working relationship with Telecast Fiber Systems. The simplicity of how their products interface with ours helped make it possible for us to introduce the Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver into multiple applications.”

The Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver is the newest member of Canon’s acclaimed series of point-to-point Free Space Optics transceivers that use infrared light to bridge gaps in high-bandwidth transmission situations. The Canobeam DT-150 HD can relay embedded HD-SDI and SD-SDI video from multiple cameras or other HD/SD video sources, along with embedded return video and audio to the camera operator, camera-control signals, and robotic camera-control data. The Canobeam DT-150 HD has an approximate range of up to one kilometer and - like all Canobeam DT-100 series products - features Canon’s exclusive Auto Tracking feature to help maintain beam alignment despite vibration due to wind, rain or unsteady camera platforms.

For connections to an HD camera, a SHED™/HDX unit interfaces with the camera side, and then passes the signal via single-mode fiber to a Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver. Signals received by a second Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver are output to single-mode fiber and fed to a SHED™ adapter for conversion back to SMPTE hybrid cable in the remote truck or production-control facility. The combination of a set of Canobeam DT-150 HD transceivers and SHED™/HDX solutions enables the mobile production truck to maintain complete control over the camera via the camera-control signals that can be embedded in the bi-directional HD-SDI or SD-SDI stream. (Canobeam DT-150 HD transport of bi-directional HD-SDI not originating from cameras employs two pairs of Telecast Fiber Systems Rattler™ miniature fiber optic SDI transmission modules.)

Recent uses of the Canobeam DT-150 HD transceiver interfaced with Telecast Fiber Systems’ SHED™ adapters and SHED™/HDX units include relaying HD-SDI video captured in front of a famous Hollywood theater for a live award show telecast. This HD video was beamed to a mobile television production truck in a parking lot approximately 1,500 feet away by a set of Canobeam DT-150 HD transceivers interfaced with SHED™ adapters and SHED™/HDX units. This bi-directional link provided full transmission of HD video and embedded audio back to the truck and transmission of camera-control signals, return video, tally’s, and IFB from the truck back to the camera locations. Pristine-quality HD signals were relayed without delay or interference via Free Space Optics amid the heavy RF environment of Hollywood Boulevard.