Recent Work

Full-featured 6×2 matrix presentation switcher and two wallplate transmitters join expanding family of forward-looking, feature-rich products for evolving AV needs

SAN JOSE, California, April 16, 2019 – Atlona, a Panduit company, today announced three new offerings in its rapidly-growing Omega™ Series of switching, extension, and video processing solutions for modern AV communications and collaboration. The AT-OME-PS62 6×2 matrix switcher delivers exceptional performance and value for 4K/UHD presentation and conferencing applications in medium-to-large AV environments, while the AT-OME-EX-TX-WP and AT-OME-EX-TX-WP-Ewallplate transmitters provide discreet, cost-effective AV interfacing for North American and European installations, respectively. The new products will be demonstrated in the Atlona booth (number 3012) at InfoComm 2019, taking place June 12-14 in Orlando, Florida. Register for a free pass using code ATL175.

Leading the latest wave of Omega products is the OME-PS62, a 6×2 matrix presentation switcher featuring three HDMI inputs and two HDBaseT inputs alongside a USB-C AV input for direct, BYOD-friendly interfacing with the latest mobile devices and laptops. The USB-C interface also can be used for data connectivity to the OME-PS62’s integrated USB 2.0 hub, as well as charging the connected device. The switcher features HDBaseT and HDMI outputs, along with 4K/60 4:4:4 capability for all inputs and the HDMI output, plus USB extension over HDBaseT. Meanwhile, high-quality, 4K downscaling and upscaling on the unit’s HDMI output preserve color and spatial detail when converting content between 4K and 1080pfor mixed-format presentation and display applications.

The OME-PS62’s integrated USB extension capabilities combine with compatible Omega Series transmitters and receivers to address the challenge of connecting between USB devices at remote locations, forming an ideal integration solution for use cases including software video conferencing and interactive displays. Additional integration convenience features include auto-switching, audio embedding and de-embedding; audio output matrix mixing; display control; microphone input with mixing and ducking; internal video test patterns for setup and troubleshooting; a customizable welcome splash screen; and the ability to remotely power Atlona HDBaseT devices via PoE.

Transporting 4K/UHD video, embedded audio, control and USB via HDBaseT to compatible receivers and switchers, the new OME-EX-TX-WP and OME-EX-TX-WP-E wallplate transmitters enable convenient HDMI and USB data connectivity on walls, in furniture or in floor boxes for presenters and meeting participants.

The OME-EX-TX-WP features a U.S. one-gang form factor and ships with interchangeable black and white trim kits, allowing inconspicuous installation while simplifying ordering for integrators. The OME-EX-TX-WP-E offers similar benefits for commercial installations in Europe, with a two-gang enclosure and swappable EU and UK faceplates and brackets. Both models can be powered via PoE from Atlona Omega receivers and switchers and, like the OME-PS62, can be remotely managed with the Atlona Management System (AMS 2.0) software.

These new introductions join other recently-unveiled Omega Series products in redefining AV for presentation and collaboration in today’s evolving audio-visual environments and meeting spaces. Recent unveilings of the Omega family also include:

• AT-OME-EX-KIT – 4K, HDBaseT transmitter/receiver kit for HDMI and USB extension
• AT-OME-SR21 – HDBaseT receiver and scaler with USB and additional local HDMI input
• AT-OME-ST31 – 3×1, 4K switcher and HDBaseT transmitter with audio embedding
• AT-OME-ST31A –  3×1, 4K switcher and HDBaseT transmitter with audio de-embedding
• AT-OME-SW32 – 3×2, 4K HDR matrix switcher with HDMI and USB-C inputs
• AT-OME-TX21-WP-E – two-input EU/UK wallplate switcher and HDBaseT transmitter

“The ways in which users leverage AV content and technology to communicate with each other and share information are constantly evolving, and Atlona is continuously innovating to address these trends,” said David Shamir, Director of Product Management, Atlona. “We’re excited to once again expand the Omega family with products that bring our refreshed design approach to additional AV applications, including our most powerful Omega switcher to date.”

The OME-PS62 ships in May and will be joined by the OME-EX-TX-WP and OME-EX-TX-WP-E in June.  All three are backed by Atlona’s award-winning 10-year limited product warranty and support services. For an overview of the entire Omega series, see http://atlona.com/omega.

About Atlona

Atlona, a Panduit company, is a leading global manufacturer of AV over IP distribution, connectivity, and control solutions. The company designs and engineers innovative, award-winning products for a diverse range of residential and commercial AV and IT markets. Backed by an award-winning 10-year warranty, Atlona’s products are developed to enable our customers’ ability to connect and collaborate with simplicity. More information about Atlona is available at atlona.com.

About Panduit

Global connectivity leader Panduit Corp. creates innovative electrical and network infrastructure solutions for applications across the enterprise. Headquartered in Tinley Park, Ill. and operating in 112 worldwide locations, Panduit’s technology leadership and robust ecosystem help support, sustain, and empower business growth in a connected world. panduit.com

Single Frequency Network (SFN) demonstrations, expansion of Phoenix Model Market collaboration headline over-the-air TV leader’s news and activities around the show floor

CINCINNATI, April 4, 2019 — GatesAir, a global leader in wireless, over-the-air content delivery solutions for TV and radio broadcasters, comes to the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas next week with fresh momentum behind its ATSC 3.0 innovations for NextGen television – specifically in the area of Single Frequency Network (SFN) architectures.

GatesAir last year announced its participation in the Phoenix Model Market project, a collaborative trial led by the Pearl TV consortium. The project involves one dozen Phoenix, Arizona area broadcasters, with technology supplied by GatesAir and other key industry supplies to support testing. GatesAir last year supplied a low-power Maxiva™ UAXTE air-cooled transmitter for the initial phase, which used a single transmitter for over-the-air tests.

Pearl TV today announced that the test bed will expand to multiple transmission sites, establishing a true SFN architecture. GatesAir will supply a Maxiva ULXTE-10, 6.6 kW liquid-cooled transmitter for this second phase to help broadcasters evaluate the benefits of SFN transmissions in a NextGen ATSC 3.0 system.

Single Frequency Networks use two or more transmitters within the same market to improve signal coverage and fill in challenging coverage gaps. SFN architectures are key to moving beyond the principal of signal coverage to the signal capable of providing service, and successful in-home and on-the-go service is paramount to NextGen TV’s success. GatesAir supports many of the largest SFN deployments worldwide, including digital TV networks in Brazil (ISDB-Tb) and Asia (DVB-T2); as well as MaxxCasting SFN systems for FM radio in the United States.

ATSC 3.0 Activities and New LPTV Models

GatesAir will also participate in key ATSC 3.0 demonstrations around the NAB show floor, including a North Hall SFN demonstration sponsored by the NAB Science and Technology department. GatesAir will provide one of four transmitters powering live, on-air broadcasts for the network. Visitors to the GatesAir booth (N3303) can see the operational Maxiva UAXTE along with the live, real-time ATSC 3.0 broadcast. An active demonstration at Booth N2512 as part of ATSC’s “Ride the Road to ATSC 3.0” campaign will also allow attendees toexperience the North Hall SFN demonstration, and explore the many opportunities that the ATSC 3.0 standard and NextGen TV offer to local broadcasters.

GatesAir will additionally introduce a new range of ATSC 3.0-ready, low-power Maxiva ULXTE transmitters at NAB. Covering LPTV requirements from 10 W to 2 kW, the new compact transmitter designs have been developed to serve global customers with limited real estate and high operating expenses, as well as low-power U.S. broadcasters moving to new channel assignments in future repack phases.These new models will be demonstrated alongside GatesAir’s broader range of high-efficiency ULXTE and UAXTE transmitters covering all power levels.

About GatesAir   

GatesAir, Inc., a portfolio company of The Gores Group, provides complete solutions for over-the-air radio and television broadcasting, leveraging wireless spectrum to maximize performance for multichannel, mission-critical services. Powering over-the-air networks worldwide with unparalleled reliability for nearly 100 years, GatesAir’s turnkey solutions enable broadcasters to create, transport and transmit radio and TV content.  With customers in more than 185 countries, the company leads the industry in innovation and design breakthroughs, improving efficiency and reducing total cost of ownership with all products designed and assembled in the USA. Visit www.gatesair.com for more information, Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gatesair, and follow us on Twitter at @GatesAir.

About The Gores Group

The Gores Group, founded in 1987 by Alec Gores, is a global investment firm focused on acquiring controlling interests in mature and growing businesses which can benefit from the firm’s operating experience and flexible capital base. The firm combines the operational expertise and detailed due diligence capabilities of a strategic buyer with the seasoned M&A team of a traditional financial buyer. Over its 30-year history, The Gores Group has become a leading investor having demonstrated a reliable track record of creating value in its portfolio companies alongside management. Headquartered in Los Angeles, The Gores Group maintains offices in Boulder, CO, and London. For more information, please visit http://www.gores.com.

Combines AI-driven speech recognition and translation technologies to make broadcast programming, live presentations and more accessible to non-native speakers

Southfield, MI, April 4, 2019 – Furthering its mission to help make content more accessible and fully understandable to a wider range of people, ENCO will take the wraps of its new enTranslate automated translation and captioning system in booth N2524 at next week’s 2019 NAB Show. Combining the powerful speech-to-text engine from ENCO’s patented, market-leading enCaption automated captioning solution with advanced translation algorithms, enTranslate provides near-real-time translation of live or pre-recorded content for alternative-language closed captioning, subtitling and more.

enTranslate offers broadcasters and live presenters an easy and affordable solution to automatically translate television programming, board meetings, legislative sessions, lectures, sermons and other content. TV broadcasters can engage wider audiences by offering additional closed caption options – such as CC2 or CC3 – in multiple languages, while government institutions, universities, houses of worship and corporations can embed translated captions in recorded content for subsequent viewing or display live, open-captioned subtitles on local displays for in-person attendees.

“Just like enCaption makes the audio element of video content accessible to hearing-impaired audiences, enTranslate makes it understandable to viewers who aren’t native speakers of the material’s original language,” said Ken Frommert, President of ENCO.“enTranslate delivers fast, high-quality translations at a fraction of the cost of traditional translation services, making live translation practical and affordable for both broadcast and non-broadcast applications. And because it’s available 24/7/365, users can translate content such as breaking news alerts or ad hoc presentations at a moment’s notice, without having to wait for a human translator to arrive.”

enTranslate builds on the highly-accurate, low-latency speech recognition core first implemented in ENCO’s award-winning enCaption closed and open captioning system. Leveraging machine learning technology and a deep neural network approach, the speech-to-text engine interprets incoming live or file-based audio in near real time with continually improving exactitude.

enTranslate then feeds the resulting text to its advanced translation process, which supports 46 languages including English, Spanish, French and more. Blending artificial intelligence with sophisticated linguistics modelling, enTranslate uses a Neural Machine Translation (NMT) methodology to provide high-quality translations based on the context surrounding the current words and phrases.

Deployable on-premises or in the cloud, enTranslate’s flexible architecture supports a wide range of live baseband and network-based audio and video inputs including analog, AES, HDMI, SDI, AoIP, NDI® and MADI. Translated results can be output in standard caption file formats; embedded as closed captions using an external or optional integrated encoder; or keyed as open captions over an SDI, HDMI or NDI® video output.

enTranslate offers both live and offline translation. For file-based applications, audio or video clips can be easily ingested into the system and translated into any supported language, enabling users to quickly and affordably process large libraries of previously recorded content.

enTranslate is expected to be commercially released in Q2, and like all ENCO solutions, will be backed by the company’s renowned, world-class, 24/7 technical support services.

About ENCO

Founded in 1983, ENCO pioneered the use of computer-based, digital audio and program automation for radio station and TV studios. The company has since evolved its product line to cross all aspects of today’s automated broadcast and production workflows, including closed-captioning, visual radio, audio compliance, instant media playout, remote contribution, and cloud-based web streaming. Its two flagship systems, DAD and MOM, bring the industry’s best reliability, cost-efficiency and intuitive operation to automated radio and TV operations worldwide. ENCO is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan USA and retains a global distribution network, plus a growing network of partnerships with complementary industry vendors. For more information, please visit: www.enco.com.

CTO Ted Korte will present an official NAB paper on Big Data for OTT monitoring and predictive analysis, and contribute as an IABMpanelist; Qligent’s Big Data solution shortlisted for two key industry awards

MELBOURNE, Florida, April 3, 2019 — Qligent will contribute to key educational initiatives at the 2019 NAB Show, taking place next week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Qligent CTO Ted Korte returns as a presenter for this year’s NAB Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology Conference (BEIT), and will also join an IABM panel on the topic of content chain management.

Korte will deliver his paper, Over the Top and Through AI to Big Data’s House We Go, on Tuesday, April 9th from 4:00-to 4:20pm in North Meeting Room N258. The paper will cover a wide variety of topics related to Big Data analysis across the OTT content chain, including how content owners can harness Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to more efficiently aggregate QoS, QoE and viewer behavior datawith predictive analytics to uncover silent suffers, and reverse the trend of viewer churn.

The paper will additionally explore how control of the infrastructure is changing as OTT services proliferate, and how broadcasters and content owners can adjust their strategies and “close the loop” around QoE monitoring and analysis to grow their audience and keep them engaged longer. As Korte will explain, technical issues remain the primary contributor to viewer churn.

“Video service providers that used to manage the end-to-end content chain now often cede control to third parties that license and carry their programming across different platforms and networks,” said Korte. “Media files can be transcoded, uploaded, downloaded, repackaged and forwarded multiple times in these various hand-offs, and passed through CDNs, ISPs and many other IP-based entities. This can adversely impact video quality and network performance. Media companies and content owners must close the loop on the distribution of their branded content both within their operations and wherever third parties relay it throughout the multiplatform world. Without this visibility, they can never truly know the quality of experience of end viewers.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Korte will serve as a panelist for IABM’s BaM Content Chain panel discussion on the topic of Manage. Taking place at 1:30pm in IABM’s TV studio located between North and Central Hall, the panel will explore trends and drivers of change around the management and preparation of audio, video and metadata content in today’s multiplatform world. More information on the BaM Content Chain and the Manage stage can be found at https://www.theiabm.org/iabm-bam-content-chain.

Innovation Recognition

Qligent is also proud to share that its Vision-Analytics platform for Big Data and predictive analysis has been shortlisted for two awards: the IABM BaM Awards® 2019 and the NAB Product of the Year Awards.

Qligent was recognized in the Monetize category of the IABM BaM Awards® 2019. All shortlisted entries are submitted to an independent panel of specialist judges that ultimately choose each category winner. Category winner results and awards will be presented at IABM’s awards party on Tuesday, April 9 at 6pm in Ballroom B of the Westgate Las Vegas Resort. Qligent is one of 40 entrants selected out of 160 IABM BaM Awards® 2019 submissions. A complete list of shortlisted companies can be found at https://www.theiabm.org/news/shortlist-announced-for-iabm-bam-awards-at-nab-show-2019/.

The 2019 NAB Show marks the first year for the NAB Product of the Year Awards. Winners will be announced during an awards reception in Ballroom A of the Westgate Las Vegas Resort on Wednesday, April 10 from 5:30-7pm. General information on the awards can be found at https://www.nabshow.com/news-releases/nab-show-launch-product-year-awards.

ABOUT Qligent

Qligent architects complete monitoring, visualization and delivery analytics solutions for broadcasters, content distributors, ad agencies, regulators and network operators. Based in Melbourne, Florida, Qligent’s software-defined approach provides an open, vendor-agnostic platform to monitor performance, integrity and compliance of multiple signals, streams and systems across enterprises of any size. Its solutions provide the same consistent quality of content and service across multiple delivery platforms simultaneously.

 Eight CRP-owned FM channels will share the innovative Dielectric FM antenna and combiner to save space at the overcrowded el Morro Solar tower site, in Lima, Peru

RAYMOND, Maine, April 2, 2019 — Dielectric is preparing to ship a unique DCBR 20-panel FM antenna and dual-manifold combiner to CRP Medios y Entretenimiento, a privately-held commercial radio station group based in Lima, Peru.

Considering that the tower site—el Morro Solar in the Chorrillos district of Lima—is one of the most crowded broadcast antenna farms in the world, CRP chose the Dielectric package for its ability to cost-efficiently combine eight FM stations onto a single antenna system while covering the entire target market.

After carefully evaluating several technical proposals submitted by competing antenna manufacturers, CRP’s Operations Manager Giancarlo Garzon, engineering team; and RF consultant Luis Bordo recommended the purchase of the Dielectric solution to CRP management on the basis of its innovative design, reliability, and price/performance.

“With its total power input of 240kW and dual input array, our antenna system offered CRP the best option for improving their stations’ signal strength, reception, and coverage across the Greater Lima area. In addition to meeting CRP’s expectations about the target coverage pattern, the dual-manifold combiner makes it possible for the company’s eight separate high-power FM channels to share the same antenna,” said Federico d’Avis, Dielectric’s International Sales Manager.

Factors leading to the sale

CRP’s management, engineering team, and third-party consultant were also impressed by the detailed technical presentation given in Lima by Jay Martin, Dielectric’s Vice President of Sales. Martin and d’Avis also invited CRP’s CEO Abraham Zavala to tour Sutro Tower in San Francisco, and to speak with Eric Dausman—the site’s technical operations manager—about the performance of the many Dielectric FM antennas installed at that site.

CRP management was also persuaded by their consultant’s familiarity with several Dielectric-brand antennas that have been in continuous service across Peru for over 20 years. The hilltop site, which is jam-packed with towers, antennas, and transmitter buildings, is a coastal perch overlooking the sea – a location that brings a unique set of operational challenges around performance and longevity.

“Dielectric has antennas that have been installed and fully operational in coastal regions like Florida and the Caribbean for many years,” said d’Avis. “CRP’s engineering team felt confident that the Dielectric antenna and combiner would perform reliably and resist corrosion in the salty sea air and high winds that are prevalent at el Morro Solar.”

An engineering team from CRP visited Dielectric’s Raymond  Maine factory in mid-March to inspect their equipment and witness a factory acceptance test of the new system.

Dielectric is now preparing the RF system—including the antenna, combiner, and filters—for shipping to the Lima site this month. “We’re delighted that CRP has placed their trust and confidence in our efficient, economical antenna and combiner system,” said Martin. “We look forward to building a long, rewarding relationship with CRP and standing behind our technology so that it serves them for years to come.”

About Dielectric

Based in Raymond, Maine, Dielectric LLCis a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group. Dielectric is a leading provider of innovative broadcast products. Now celebrating its 77^thyear of operation, the company builds and delivers antennas and RF systems optimized for every TV and FM radio broadcast need since 1942. Dielectric is an innovative, customer-centric organization with a long history of engineering excellence in designing and manufacturing high-quality broadcast solutions. As a trust partner of broadcasters worldwide, Dielectric maintains its legacy of advanced, precision RF solutions while building in features that prepare broadcasters for the future. More information can be accessed at www.dielectric.com