Managing multiple formats

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The greatest issue facing the switcher business today is the management of the many different formats available for production.

The fact is that while the majority of content producers continue to work in SD, they must consider shifting to HD production - even if their output remains SD - simply to preserve the future value of their media archives. Likewise, when a channel or an entire network moves into new definitions and frame rates, this commitment raises a new set of questions with respect to production standards.

Having a lot of options is generally a good thing, but choosing which formats to accommodate and how to build a system that supports these formats is no easy matter. At some point, there is a cost for trying to accommodate a variety of signal types, and this goes not only for the switcher, but also the rest of a company's equipment, as well.

Within a fixed environment, where production is not targeted to different distribution channels, it's much easier to fix on one format. This decision makes life a lot simpler, but it's not entirely realistic, as few facilities receive all production material in just the right format for their needs.

To meet the demands of the dynamic media industry, vendors of production switchers have developed multi-definition products that can handle multiple formats at once. While a few systems truly can support multiple formats simultaneously, most simply offer operation in one of a number of formats and standards.

In the latter instance, the user may choose to work in HD 1080i, for example, but then will need to use an external conversion system to crossconvert HD 720p to match that HD standard. Likewise, working with a combination of SD and HD signals often requires external equipment, along with extra cabling and connections, to carry out conversion and thus enable integration of multiple formats within one production.

The extra cost of external conversion gear, the larger footprint and the greater complexity of signal routing makes this an inefficient approach. A small number of manufacturers have solved this problem by incorporating conversion tasks into the switcher itself to create a truly multi-definition system. The user can go ahead and fix a production standard while continuing to accept other types of signals on the input. This mix-and-match capability yields a high degree of flexibility in working with different formats and sources.

A number of other features and capabilities being integrated into today's switcher systems add efficiency and versatility to production. While traditional broadcasters are used to engineering their own systems and supplying the genlock and references needed to switch a live production successfully, not all production teams are quite so accustomed to working with such a complicated system design.

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