NEW LIGHTWARE PRODUCTS AT ISE 2018

This year Lightware was a Gold Sponsor and Technology Sponsor of ISE 2018. The company showed its two AV Over IP product lines, with unique features and services: Vinx and Ubex.

Vinx is a CATx based AV over IP extender for one Gigabit networks, extending HDMI video, connecting either via a direct CATx cable connection, or through a Gigabit Ethernet Switch in between. The maximum delivery distance can reach up to 100m with minimal latency, the maximum supported resolution is 3840 x 2160 @ 30Hz with 7.1 audio. Pair maximum 15 devices using the front panel DIP switches, or pair hundreds of units using the embedded web surface. LDC also includes the genius Video Wall Wizard to manage gap and bezel compensation, cropping and scaling to adjust for individual video walls; it helps reduce installation time to one tenth of the time needed with third party products. Besides the device’s USB KVM capability, USB 2.0 data transfer is also possible.

Ubex is an optical fibre based AV over IP video system product line, designed to transfer 4K UHD @ 60Hz 4:4:4 signals uncompressed on a 10 Gbit Ethernet network, which is unique on the market of AV over IP extenders. Ubex can operate both point-to-point and also as a networked AV system. Each Ubex can operate in sender or receiver modes, and also as a transceiver unit, switch among these operation modes can be easily performed by a firmware change. A virtual matrix system can be built using Ubex units as input and output endpoints and by including a standard Ethernet switch as crosspoint. The device has dual, field-replaceable SFP+ optical modules, with extension distances ranging between 400 m with MultiMode (MM), and 80 km with Singlemode (SM).

Specifically designed for conference room and similar environments, Lightware released two matrix switchers with enhanced audio and control capabilities. MMX8x4-HT420M has four HDMI and four TPS (HDBaseT) inputs, and two HDMI and two TPS (HDBaseT) outputs. The device features a dedicated Special Audio Input Block for microphone and line-in. The built-in sound mixer DSP allows for free mixing of the audio signals from the de-embedded HDMI, the microphone or the line-in. The Mic port can also supply phantom power to the connected microphone. This new Special Audio Input Block includes a voice activation feature, allowing the voice of the speaker to become automatically focused, and the volume of the rest of the sounds to be lowered, as soon as the presenter starts speaking. The device also has balanced audio connectors for audio insertion at two of the HDMI inputs, and one shared, balanced audio output for de-embedding purposes of any video signal inputs, or for the sound mix provided by the built-in sound mixer. PoE 48V remote powering is available on every I/O TPS ports for cost-effective installations, the extra power needed is supplied by a built-in power source. The unit offers Ethernet, RS-232, Serial and IR command injection services. The built-in Event Manager feature provides control via RS-232, IR, Ethernet, Relay and GPIO ports.

MMX8x4-HT400MC is a variant of the MMX8x4-HT420M designed for corporate users, the main difference being the lack of output TPS (HDBaseT) ports and offering four HDMI ports at the output side instead.

Another new Lightware matrix switcher will also be introduced, the MMX8×8-HDMI-4K-A, which is a standalone matrix switcher designed for rental and staging and fixed installs alike. It has eight HDMI video inputs and eight outputs, and manages maximum 4K / UHD (30Hz RGB 4:4:4, 60Hz YCbCr 4:2:0) videos. MMX8x8-HDMI-4K-A has balanced audio inputs and outputs and has RS-232, Serial and IR command injection services to send any control command directly to end points, while the built-in Event Manager feature provides the necessary control via RS-232 and IR ports for most collaboration room environments.

The HDMI20-OPTJ-TX90 and HDMI20-OPTJ-RX90 optical fibre extenders are fully HDMI 2.0 compatible and can transfer 4K UHD video with embedded audio to up to 300m distance over one MultiMode fibre cable. These devices have massive, solid aluminium casings, providing excellent cooling, safety, and maximum reliability. The chassis has loops for Velcro belts, to fasten the extender to basically anywhere. The device has an SC optical connector and port saver, fixed HDMI and USB tail-cables. A rack tray will also be available for this product allowing 16 of them installed on a single tray, which has its own power source for all installed units.

Lightware: www.lightware.com.au