Following up visit to NEP UK in Bracknell here it is a brief on 2 Axon products.
Neuron – IP processing platform
19” 1U 40 channel baseband and SMPTE 2110 FPGA based video processor. Comprises of two independent modules of 40 channels to make up a single rack space (purchasable individually where less capacity is required). Each unit comprises of 40 Micro BNC which are Bi-Directional, and will allow the unit to act as an ‘IP Gateway’, converting baseband SDI signals to be used in an IP environment and IP signals back to baseband. Eight of the 40 MicroBNC are 12G SDI compatible inputs and 8 are outputs, the remaining 24 SDI are 3G level A/B.
As well as providing conversion between baseband video and IP, the unit also provides many forms of format conversion and processing to video signals which are currently found in the form of cards and mini converters. The aim is to replace legacy ‘Glue infrastructure’ products with an all in one software defined solution, typically Blackmagic to CT, or their legacy ‘Synapse’ range to Axon.
Some of the processing capabilities of the Axon Neuron includes:
- Frame rate conversion
- Format conversion
- Scaling
- 2SI -> Quad
- Multi-viewers (Forthcoming)
- HDR conversion
- JPEG XS Streaming
- Audio Matrix
- Shuffling
- Embedding
- H264 TS processing
Would be a very powerful tool in an environment with lots of SMPTE 2110 distribution, a couple of Neurons located centrally within the network would allow for dynamic processing of many feeds without having to have more traditional processing such as an Image Pro assigned to a specific video signal or a specific location. Also being able to generate seveal multiviews of signals present on a network would be advantageous, as the multiview can either be output on baseband SDI or carried as a 2110 signal its self for easy distribution.
More details to follow once we have received demo unit.
Cerebrum – Control and monitoring
Cerebrum is a broadcast control software platform which allows for large scale control and monitoring of many different bits of hardware and software, all from a centralised location. Cerebrum supports many protocols including ones which are proprietary to allow it to ‘talk’ to many of the products which CT already owns as part of its hire stock. This can predominately be achieved using Ethernet, however it also provides support using older technologies such as Serial RS-422 and Analogue GPIOS.
Cerebrum could be purposed for several different tasks, including within PPUs for unifying matricies, mixers and comms control into a simple, redesign able GUI as well as for larger ‘stadium’ or sports style events, which clients specify that environmental and power details must be monitored over time to meet a RFP, as well as offering the ability to control a fleet or projectors, UPSs or servers from a single location.
Cerebrum provides all of the features of TSL Tallyman, as well as many more, however the cost is also higher at around £2500 for a basic licence, although this is in the form of a ‘dongle’ which can easily be moved. In order to control devices which are NOT routers, a control ‘points’ license must also be brought. For example, in order to control a Panasonic projector, including environmental monitoring, on, off and shuttering etc 2 control points would be required. In order to control an entire Riedel Artist system 10 control points would be required. The number of control points required to control a device depends on the complexity. Control points licenses cost around £60 each, and can be repurposed between devices and shows.
Adding devices to be controlled by Cerebrum is easy and many devices that CT own are already provided as part of the software. One of the points that was raised with Axon was regarding the speed of configurability, and it was demonstrated that a project file can be loaded and reconfigured fairly quickly depending on the control requirements of that particular system. Any equipment that is not part of Cerebrum, Axon are willing to create custom templates for at zero cost, as long as its not extremely complex.
Cerebrum is currently having a new feature implemented which will allow for the automatic rerouting and dynamic configuration of Mellanox and Arista switches from within their software, as route changes are made within Cerebrum. This would reduce the need for specialist knowledge in order to setup complex network switches and enable more efficient use of network resources.
The Cerebrum server application runs on Windows, and the control interfaces also need to run on windows, Axon suggested a cheap windows tablet. Sadly Cerebrum is not compatible with TSL control panels.
Axon have provided a demo licence and I’ll update with more details after setting up Cerebrum in house.
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