Anywave Communications Technologies has unveiled a complete ATSC 1.0/3.0 signal chain aimed at addressing a frustration some broadcasters have expressed about working with multiple vendors and dealing with incompatibilities between their products, especially as relates to the 3.0 transition, the company said.
The key items in the signal chain consist of two rack-mount chassis Anywave products: Exciter+, a 1.0/3.0 exciter with adaptive correction capability exceeding the performance of Anywave’s previous exciters; and Encoder+ that is configurable for HEVC and AC-4 encoding or MPEG-2/MPEG-4 and AC-3 encoding, it said.
Exciter+ also can incorporate a full ATSC 3.0 broadcast gateway with all modes of 3.0 supported. It can also be configured as an RF input translator for 3.0 or 1.0 service. Encoder+ also contains the signaling server needed for 3.0 implementations, the company said.
Both work with 3.0 and 1.0 with no hardware changes and can be enabled for all modes with simple license keys, making it possible to convert from legacy DTV to 3.0 with no added hardware, it said.
The signal chain offers:
- Stream Sync Technology that performs rate adaptation on the stream coming to the exciter, eliminating the need to synchronize the gateway and exciter to GPS or NTP for non-SFN applications.
- Broadcast gateway function for 3.0 built into the same hardware platform as the exciter, which is well-suited for LPTV or other stations with no studio or a studio collocated with the transmitter site. For stations with separate studios, Exciter+ can be configured as a standalone gateway to reside at the studio.
- Translator operation support powered by the 1.0/3.0-compatible built-in tuner/demod incorporated into Exciter+. With onboard 3.0 gateway functionality, the gateway can operate as a translator in either 3.0/1.0 service. Whether 1.0 or 3.0, signaling information (PSIP in 1.0) can be edited to include the translator’s call letters and major/minor channel identification, the company said.
Anywave’s offer gives broadcasters a single point of responsibility and provides them with a system engineered and tested to work together, it said.
More information is available on the company’s website.
