Recent Work

Market-leading camera-mounted fiber transport family now addresses virtually all production verticals across broadcast, cinema and professional AV markets

Hauppauge, NY, February 20, 2019 — MultiDyne Fiber Optic Solutions will refresh its market-leading SilverBack series of camera-mounted fiber transport solutions at the 2019 NAB Show with three additions to serve live production needs across all budgets. The updated series, anchored by the now-shipping, IP-enabled SilverBack V, includes the global debut of two models that extend MultiDyne’s reach into new production verticals. MultiDyne will demonstrate all three systems at Booth C5013 from April 8-11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The SilverBack V broke ground in the convergence of fiber and IP-based production workflows upon its introduction in 2018. The industry’s first 12G- and 4K-capable camera-back system to incorporate an IP output, the SilverBack V offers a gateway to multipoint IP networks, enabling users to move field-acquired content to many destinations. Broadcasters and content producers can send video, audio and data captured on location to studios, post houses and mobile production trucks at once, for example.

The SilverBack V remains the high-end option for broadcast and digital cinema customers working with Ultra HD resolutions. Its optimized bandwidth efficiency reliably accommodates the high data rates that live 4K and 8K productions require — a substantial benefit for live sports, concerts, and motion picture productions.

New for NAB, MultiDyne has added power management capabilities to the SilverBack V that eliminates the need for external power supplies. This will prove especially valuable for camera operators and cinematographers for powering focus, iris and zoom directly from the unit without risk of power supply failure. The compact, lightweight design also supports two camera heads that are configurable to today’s leading cameras, with a common, integrated multiviewer to monitor both cameras.

MultiDyne will additionally introduce the SilverBack HP, a re-imagined version of the popular SilverBack II fiber transceiver that adds two-channel intercom and Ethernet alongside video, audio, and data. Like its predecessor, the SilverBack HP provides  robust, full bandwidth fiber-optic links for 3G, HD and SDI signals from the field to a truck, control room or other receive point along with genlock, tally and audio.

MultiDyne will also extend the operational benefits of SilverBack to commercial AV and smaller event productions for the first time with SilverBack Pro. The SilverBack Pro offers the same engineering innovation, live production benefits and ease of use associated with all SilverBack products at a much lower cost. This provides worship facilities, corporations and K-12/higher education systems with a highly configurable camera-back fiber transport system to cover live performances, presentations, lectures and high school/college sports at an affordable price point.

MultiDyne President Frank Jachetta notes that the popularity of the SilverBack line inspired the company to diversify the product line, with specific models and price points that can serve a much broader customer base.

“All three of our next-generation SilverBack systems integrate the same user-friendly features, interfaces and menus, with just the right amount of signal density and networking capabilities to serve each price point,” said Jachetta. “Whether the customer is using SilverBack for professional AV applications, cinematography, or the largest, mission-critical live broadcasts, the model that suits their needs will offer the same flexible, project-to-project configurability for their signal acquisition goals in the field.”

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About MultiDyne

With over 40 years of experience serving the Broadcasters and video production communities worldwide, MultiDyne Fiber Optic Systems leads the industry in developing pioneering signal conversion and fiber-optic-based transport systems for the broadcast, cable, satellite, production, digital cinema, pro A/V, corporate, retail, surveillance, teleconferencing, judicial arraignment, transportation, government, military, and healthcare markets.

AV professionals earn industry credits and certifications while broadening their knowledge of AV over IP technology and transitions

SAN JOSE, Calif., February 20, 2019 – As the demand grows for professional training and certification in the AV over IP industry, Atlona has updated and expanded the quality, relevance, and value of the accredited online courses offered through the Atlona Education Portal.

Specifically, Atlona has streamlined and revised its 100 and 200 level online certification courses. These changes provide the most up-to-date instruction and information for rolling out, configuring, and using Atlona’s complete suite of AV over IP products and solutions. Atlona has also added new accredited courses for its Velocity™ IP-based control AV control platform.

“This update aligns with the evolution of Atlona as a company, as we help our customers transition from foundational HDMI and HDBaseT technologies to IP networks,” said Ken Eagle, Director of Field Training and Technical Sales, Atlona. “AV professionals will now gain comprehensive knowledge, tools, and industry best practices on the entire end-to-end process. This spans the design, rollout, and integration of AV over IP systems, as well as set-up, management and control of the underlying AV network.

The Atlona Education Portal is one of many training resources Atlona offers. Atlona’s overarching goals are to teach established and aspiring AV industry professionals how to maximize the company’s industry-leading AV and control solutions, as well as the broader array of AV over IP technologies on the market today. Atlona also offers a video on demand Education Video Library and periodic webinars.

For those seeking more personalized training and hands-on product experience, Atlona will offer eight Atlona AV Factory Training events in 2019, including four to be held at its San Jose, CA headquarters. Internationally, Atlona will offer four multi-lingual events at its Zurich facility in English, French, or German. Eagle expects to also announce up to 18 dates for Atlona’s 2019 Roadshow.

Atlona’s current course offerings has been updated to include 100-Technology Specialist, 200-Atlona Certified Technology, AV over IP-Technical Networking Certification, and Velocity Control Certification. The newly revised course materials, as well as quizzes and tests, have been approved for AVIXA and CEDIA certifications and credits. These credentials, which are awarded upon completion of a course or program, signify the qualifications achieved by AV professionals, and are especially valuable to those seeking to advance within the industry.

“We’re offering free, award-winning training, industry accreditation, and occasionally, an opportunity to win rewards such as select Atlona products,” said Eagle. “Most importantly, AV professionals acquire an invaluable understanding of the key technologies that empower the networked AV user community.”

The Atlona Education Portal is accessible to anyone at http://www.atlona.com/training.

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

New device overcomes network connection issues with backup signaling connectivity to ensure alarm continuity, with pre-alarm audio clip capture for troubleshooting

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, February 20, 2019 — Audio over IP innovator Barix will unveil the company’s new Silence Monitor solution at the 2019 NAB Show, reaffirming its commitment to assured connectivity with active monitoring of live audio broadcasts. Silence Monitor is a web-accessible, analog-input audio monitoring device that delivers the highest levels of quality assurance, monitoring audio streams 24/7 and sending real-time alerts when an outage or silence is detected.

Barix will showcase the new product in booth C1139 at the event, which takes place April 6-11 in Las Vegas.

Unlike other solutions on the market, Silence Monitor does more than just detect silence—it also captures and sends a 10-second pre-alarm audio clip that users can listen to and analyze to determine what might have happened before the error occurred. In addition, Silence Monitor offers optional LTE 4G/ 3G/ NB-IoT transmission for RF out-of-band connectivity. This backup communication link ensures alarm detection signals are transmitted, even in the event of an IPnetwork outage. Other products with silence detection send alarm notifications over the same network where the audio should be transported—a definite limitation. Silence Monitor allows the use of both local and out-of-band connection technology at the same time for robust reliability.

Silence Monitor checks transmission and monitors broadcast streams continuously, sending immediate alerts to the user’s email or mobile device via SMS/text message. Once users receive a notification, they can click on the link provided in the message to automatically stream the last audio transmission.

Users can monitor the status of the network and transmission online through a cloud-based management portal. Silence Monitor devices and alarms can be easily managed through the portal, and a full overview history of logs and audio clips is available for all connected sites. Users can also listen live to the audio at each monitoring site through the web-based interface, with specific location designations identifying points quickly and easily.

“Silence Monitor is designed to offer a cost-effective, quality assurance monitoring tool for broadcast transmissions,” said Reto Brader, CEO, Barix. “Broadcasters need affordable monitoring and prefer a decoded audio signal so they can receive alarms at an affordable cost. They need to be sure their audio signals arrive as intended, and it’s not just silence being delivered. Combining an independent network for backup alerting with a pre-alarm audio clip and the power of the cloud bolsters reliability while making troubleshooting easier.”

Barix: We Move Audio (www.barix.com)

Barix supplies simple and reliable solutions and components to systems integrators and end users worldwide.  We move high-quality audio across IP networks, adding value to customer solutions for more than a decade with hundreds of thousands of devices installed worldwide.  Background music distribution with dynamic advertising insertion for retail shops, bars and hotels; public address solutions for schools and public spaces; and intercom and entry systems for facility surveillance, protection and security are among the many applications of Barix solutions.  Barix also supports OEM projects for a number of Global 500 listed companies serving many industries worldwide.

WXLO(FM) has a ratings presence in the downtown Boston county of Suffolk for the first time, and an improved signal inMiddlesex County; specialized IP technology drives best-sounding MaxxCasting system to date

CHICAGO, February 21, 2019 — WXLO(FM), a Hot Adult Contemporary radio station serving the Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts markets, has become the latest MaxxCasting™ licensee to increase coverage-to-contour ratio immediately after going on air with the system. WXLO’s newly robust FM signal is now reaching Nielsen Portable People Meters (PPM) and audiences throughout both markets, with approximately one-million new listeners at home, in businesses and in automobiles receiving clear signals.

Importantly, the MaxxCasting system makes WXLO a competitive ratings force in Boston, the nation’s tenth largest market, by delivering a listenable signal through the city of Boston in Suffolk County. The system also establishes a ratings presence for WXLO across a broader strategic travel corridor section of adjacent Middlesex County, the largest county in New England by population, covering a large section of eastern Massachusetts north of Boston all the way to the New Hampshire border.

The WXLO MaxxCasting system, which went live in early January, has solved the station’s greatest coverage problemsassociated with signal density, building penetration and challenging commuter routes. The single-frequency network (SFN) includes three low-power transmission sites, or “nodes,” to maximize coverage for two markets, including a transmission node located on top of the John Hancock building in downtown Boston. All nodes are located in areas prone to weak signal coverage, leveraging GBS’ unique predictive modeling software to eliminate interference in areas where signals overlap. This provides a clean transition between transmitters as listeners commute throughout the region.

The WXLO system represents an important first in MaxxCasting that noticeably improves audio quality. The architecture integrates specialized IP networking technology from GatesAir to support composite digital FM multiplex (MPX) signal transport. GatesAir’s Intraplex IP Link MPX codecs keep FM signals in the digital domain while maximizing network bandwidth, making this the best-sounding MaxxCasting system to date. As usual, the codecs integrate Intraplex SynchroCast technology to tightly synchronize program audio across all transmission nodes.

MaxxCasting systems continue to pay dividends for broadcasters that have long struggled to deliver clear and listenable signals across 100 percent of their legal broadcast contours. As with MaxxCasting’s other Boston licensee, WXRV, as well as licensees live today in Chicago, Milwaukee, Seattle and other medium-to-major markets, WXLO’s broader signal will increase revenue potential by reaching more PPMs and attracting new advertisers.

“We’re excited about how good the station sounds and to reach more potential audience in downtown Boston and beyond with this new technology,” Bob Goodell, Regional Vice President, Cumulus Media.

Bill Hieatt, CTO for MaxxCasting architects GeoBroadcast Solutions, notes that the MaxxCasting system is now delivering a very robust, high-quality audio signal across the Boston area’s most challenging commuter routes. In addition to the sound-quality benefits of digital composite FM MPX transport, the GBS team customized directional antenna patterns at each node to optimize signal propagation across all transmission nodes.

“Downtown Boston is an enormous challenge due to the density of buildings, tunnels and other environmental considerations that make signal penetration difficult,” said Hieatt. “While our transmitter site within city limits solves these problems, our nodes outside of the city deliver listenable signals to drivers commuting to and from Boston Metro West and Worcester for the first time. Around the region, WXLO is now reaching audiences traveling along all major corridors,including I-95 and I-93 heading north and south. WXLO is the latest MaxxCasting system to prove the technical validity and business benefits that our solution offers to radio broadcasters across any terrain.”

About GeoBroadcast Solutions

GeoBroadcast Solutions, LLC (GBS) offers proprietary products and solutions to enhance radio station coverage areas to maximize both coverage and revenue as well as the ability to zone audio (pending FCC approval) and RBDS/RDS. The company hold two patents for new Single Frequency Network techniques (MaxxCasting and ZoneCasting) that have been developed to improve coverage. GeoBroadcast Solutions’ charter is to innovate and bring to market technologies that help radio broadcasters maximize their signal and grow revenues. MaxxCasting expands the coverage area of FM signals. ZoneCasting, pending FCC approval, will provide technology to geographically target radio advertisements, news, weather and other important local information. These competitive innovations give broadcasters tools to compete in the face of innovations internet and cellular message distribution. GBS partners with GatesAir for transmission and IP distribution equipment.

ATLANTA, GA – February 28, 2019 – Visix, Inc. has been awarded the Bronze Stevie® Award in the category of Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Software – Up to 100 Employees in the 13th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. The company has maintained a 96% or higher customer satisfaction rating for more than five years.

“We’re very honored to be recognized for our superior customer service,” says Sean Matthews, president and CEO of Visix. “Our motto is ‘we’re here to help’, and every one of our employees take that seriously. We pride ourselves on going beyond technology sales to make sure our clients get the best consulting, training and support possible; and to ensure they get the most from our products and have a positive experience throughout the process. I’m extremely proud of everyone at Visix for contributing to this success.”

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development, and sales professionals. More than 2,700 nominations from organizations in 45 nations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition. Winners were determined by the average scores of more than 150 professionals worldwide in seven specialized judging committees.

“All of the Stevie Award winners should be very proud of their achievements. Independent professionals around the world have agreed that their accomplishments are worthy of public recognition,” said Stevie Awards President and founder, Michael Gallagher.

Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of Stevie winners in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/sales.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.
About Visix

Visix, Inc. offers a robust suite of digital signage software, content designs and meeting room signs for any organization wanting to engage, excite, and inform their audiences. Our products work separately or together, are competitively priced and scalable, and have powerful interactivity and data integration features for a unified, enterprise signage solution. Our award-winning service and support teams consistently rank the highest in customer satisfaction for fast, professional responses and solutions. Learn more about Visix digital signage products and services at www.visix.com.