Polatis Enters Professional Audio Visual Market To Address Demand For HD Content And Mission Critical Performance

All Optical Video Routing Switch Enables Seamless Routing of Any Video, Audio or Data Stream

Polatis Inc., a supplier of high performance optical switch technologies, today announced its move into the Professional A/V market with its Trinity all optical routing switch. Photonic switching has long been the standard in other applications but this is the first time it will be available to the Pro AV market. Trinity will be demonstrated at INFOCOMM 2008, taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, June 18 to 20.

The move comes as fiber transport for high bandwidth video, audio and data is becoming more widespread in Pro A/V applications. Large venues such as stadiums, corporate and college campuses as well as medical centers are implementing fiber infrastructures. Therefore a more reliable and high performance switch, which can remotely route signals to disparate destinations is required.

“There is a real convergence happening in the video market with Pro A/V applications turning increasingly to HD and 1080p, much like traditional broadcast,” said Sean Gordon, Sales Director, Video Products.  “With deeper HD penetration fiber transport is the only practical transport medium; optical switching and routing therefore becomes key in creating efficient video architectures.”

“While optical transport has been used for some time in defense and mission critical applications today there are new and exciting applications using HD cameras in operating theaters and routing the video to classrooms and other viewing areas at considerable distance. Fiber and fiber routing are facilitating these applications.” adds Gordon.

While the vast majority of audio, video and data transport signals have been carried over copper, distances are limited to only 50-100 meters for transporting new high definition standards such as 1080p.  Transport by optical fiber permits far greater distances without amplifying and re-clocking.  All-optical switching enables the signal to be routed with universal interfaces capable of handling virtually any audio and video signal, whether analog or digital.

The Trinity series is designed specifically for the video transport and broadcast market.  It supports virtually all protocols and feed rates – AES, SMPTE-276M, 259M, and 292M, ASI/DVB, NTSC, PAL, QAM, and others.  Under-pinning the Trinity design is Polatis’ unique beam-steering technology.  Unlike other photonic solutions, Trinity can establish and maintain connection routes without a signal present, in a pre-provisioned “ready and waiting state”.   Not relying on an optical signal feedback to maintain the connection also means no modulation is introduced to the signal, a feature valued by customers who use Polatis products for RF-over-fiber applications today.  Like all Polatis products, traffic can be bi-directional, and carry single or multiple wavelengths. 

To see a live product demonstration of Trinity these new technologies, visit the Polatis booth C829 at INFOCOMM, Las Vegas, 2008, Monday June 17 through Thursday June 20.