Cobham claims smallest wireless HD transmitter
Cobham will feature Nano HDTX, claimed to be the world’s smallest wireless HD transmitter, and a new receiver platform at NAB 2014. The ultra miniature Nano HDTX is an HD digital video transmitter designed specifically for POV and body-worn applications. With Cobham COFDM and H.264 encoding technology at its core, the transmitter provides high image quality retention over the wireless link and supports composite, SDI, HD-SDI and HDMI video input formats.
According to Cobham’s Broadcast Systems Director Stuart Brown, “Nano HDTX has almost limitless uses for sports and other applications. It has already been successfully trialled at major sporting events around the world, including everything from motor racing and downhill skiing to camel racing and professional rugby.
“What we’ve chosen to demonstrate at NAB, which we believe will capture the imagination of the North American sports broadcast market, is the use of Nano HDTX with a head-mounted ‘RefCam,’ a POV camera designed to follow the precise gaze of a sports referee and capture his full view of the game for the audience at home. If you’ll pardon the cliché in this instance, Nano HDTX has the potential to be a genuine game changer for both sports broadcasters and the viewing public.”
Cobham is also launching a new receiver platform at NAB, with 1080p60 4:2:2 10-bit decoding capabilities. Available in 1RU or 2RU configurations, each receiver is capable of decoding two separate HD signals, effectively making them two receivers in one. The unit’s decoding algorithm has been specially engineered by Cobham to ensure full compatibility with all leading encoders. The receiver can also decode MPEG2 HD.
If required, the receiver can also act as an IP decoder using the interruptible foldback (IFB) audio input, which when used with a Cobham IP encoder automatically provides IFB for the presenter. When acting as an IP decoder in conjunction with a Cobham encoder, the system automatically adjusts its encoding bit rate capacity to ensure optimum picture quality by compensating for variations of ‘contention’ on IP networks.