Vega Platform Boosts Routing Flexibility in EMAV OB Unit

Snell have announced that EMAV, one of Portugal's leading production companies, has installed a Vega routing platform in one of its midsize OB vans in order to maximize routing capacity and flexibility. Vega is the industry's most flexible asymmetric routing solution in a 4RU 192-port chassis and allows the EMAV OB production team to configure any signal port independently for fiber or coax (copper) connectivity, and to configure any signal port as either an input or output. The system was supplied and installed via Snell's Portuguese channel partner, Amperel.
"Snell's Vega platform gives us a great deal more flexibility in routing configuration and fiber/coax connectivity, in turn enabling our staff to meet even the most complex customer requirements," said Miguel Amorim, technical director at EMAV. "We can add only the fiber connections we need, with different 'flavors' of wavelength, thus making the most of our I/O ports. The ability to increase our routing capacity without the higher costs and space demands of conventional routing solutions gives us a critical competitive advantage in the OB marketplace. We also benefit from the reliability of Snell equipment and the availability of support throughout Europe."
With services based in Portugal and expanding across Europe, EMAV can send its OB vans to cover a wide range of live events, ranging from sports to cultural and political events. The company's skilled operators and technical engineers already work with Snell's Kahuna multi-format production system, IQ Modular infrastructure, and RollPod control panel in meeting the exacting demands of EMAV clients. The addition of the Vega routing platform and complementary Luna panels, both integrated with the OB unit's RollCall control and configuration software, enables the team to employ ports most cost-effectively according to the demands of any given application.
The fully asymmetric I/O port designation of the high-density Vega routing platform enables EMAV to configure the router with just one input and 191 outputs, 191 inputs and one output, or any combination in between. The system leverages proprietary algorithms to monitor every subassembly continuously. To ensure maximum redundancy, it offers a full range of options — dual crosspoints, dual controllers, dual power supplies, and dual fans — all of which are hot-pluggable or replaceable. Each pair of ports consists of a receptacle cage that accepts a very small plug-in module supporting either fiber (LC-type small form-factor pluggable or SFP) or copper coaxial (HD BNC) connectivity.
Vega's ports can be configured simply and quickly, so EMAV operators can choose the appropriate connection medium on the fly. Convenient support for fiber connectivity without the need for external converters makes it easy and affordable to maintain high data rates over long-distance links. The Luna LCD panels installed along with the routing platform feature a rotary encoder control knob for user-friendly "paging."
"Vega offers OB operations such as EMAV an unprecedented degree of routing versatility while enabling them to deliver the highest quality of SD and HD content," said Kim Francis, senior product manager at Snell. "With its unrivalled density and flexibility, the Vega routing platform — in both 2RU and 4RU models — is becoming a popular choice among Europe's leading production companies."
More information about Snell and the company's products is available at
www.snellgroup.com
(MH/CD)