Lawo debuts .edge, a next-generation IP processor compatible with SDI environments, at NAB 2022

.edge, a next-generation processor designed to be completely versatile in IP environments while helping to transition from SDI, is the big bet of Theirs for NAB 2022.

The compact housing 2RU of .edge accommodates up to four blades of 25/100 GbE .edge processing. Each of its rear I/O boards provides 48 HD-BNC connectors for interconnection SDI SD/HD/3G/UHD, which results 192 SDI/IP conversions per 2RU. .edge provides full support for the set of standards SMPTE ST2110 with redundancy ST2022-7 built-in, providing not only advanced core-based handling, but also ensuring seamless protective switching of audio, video and ancillary data streams in both local and wide area network operations.

Phil Myers, CTO of Lawo, provides more details of the solution presented in NAB 2022: “.edge complements Lawo's established V__matrix video processing and multiviewer solution with a hyper-density SDI/IP gateway. It is designed from the beginning to be a native Home client. It is automatically discovered and registered within our Home network environment and benefits from all of Home's next-generation management features: user access control, unknown device quarantine, network security, parameter tuning, and network monitoring. health in real time.

An unprecedented proposal expandable by software

The design of the plate .edge It is unique: it does not have a bus TDM audio, nor a video matrix in the middle of its architecture. The video is switched at the IP packets “make before break” (MBB) or “break before make” (BBM). The audio signals are switched in the modo MBB using a V fade curve to achieve clean and silent transitions. .edge local loop support allows users to route local inputs to local outputs, while the packet replication capability allows a packet received once can be used many times without the need for additional operations flow or logic management: packets in the packet buffer are available for any SDI output.

Designed as software licensable infrastructure, .edge can offer “maximum OPEX flexibility” for a hardware-based tool. Each .edge blade can be used in a wide variety of scenarios by simply unlocking the necessary feature sets through a flexible licensing system. In addition to your basic license to use 16 BNC connectors, there are options to unlock additional I/O up to their 48 complete BNCs. Additional feature licenses are available for incoming frame synchronizers, 100GbE and the gear UHD 3G, including Lawo’s exclusive “UHD Link Rotate” feature. This feature automatically reorders the legs of a four-wire 3G-SDI link whose cables were connected in the wrong order.

An option to jump from SDI to IP

To facilitate router replacement SDI, the packages .edge of Theirs are available for matrix capacities 288 x 288, 576 x 576 y 1152 x 1152. They are completed with the network switches that the client chooses and a license HOME. For emission control systems, the package .edge/HOME behaves like a traditional SDI router, which means that there are no changes in the user interfaces nor in the workflows. This allows broadcasters to maintain all your SDI equipment existing in operation.

Andreas Hilmer, marketing director at Lawo, details the keys that make this solution valid for those broadcasters who plan the jump to IP in the medium term: “After migrating to a replacement solution for the .edge/HOME router, you have an SDI router that You can scale according to your needs. If your needs grow, simply connect more .edge I/O to your network switch. Since your primary routing system is now IP-based, your router doesn't have to remain a monolith in one place. It can be distributed throughout the installation. Place I/Os where they are needed and save significant wiring costs. “Users can distribute their .edge routing infrastructure across multiple facilities, across the country, or even across continents.”

Access to the NAB 2022 Special

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