Thatcham, UK – 21 August 2023: Test & measurement innovator, PHABRIX, has announced that long-term customer, 7thSense, a global leader in media serving, pixel processing, show control and pixel management technologies, has selected two QxP portable waveform monitors for vigorous testing and compliance verification of its advanced ST 2110 solutions – from media servers to cutting-edge pixel processors.
Inheriting all of the class-leading features and flexibility of the QxL, the QxP features an integral 3U multitouch LCD screen and an integral V-Mount or Gold-Mount battery plate, integral mains PSU and 12V external DC input. The waveform monitor supports up to 12G-SDI and 25G IP workflows, including Extended UHD formats option offering analysis and generation of UHD/4K YCbCr/RGB 444 8/10/12bit formats in the range 47.95P – 60P.
Dr Anton Grounds, PhD, Senior Electronics Engineer at 7thSense says, “In the realm of evolving standards like ST 2110 it’s vital to employ multiple references during testing and verification because of the limitations of self-assessment. At 7thSense we’re at the vanguard of the ST 2110 standard, working with 25Gbit/s streams of 12-bit 444 4096×2160 60p uncompressed media,”. Dr Grounds goes on to say, “These rates represent a paradigm shift in the uncompressed network media, and currently only PHABRIX offers a proven set of test equipment that aligns with our rigorous testing needs. Our team is crafting senders, receivers and bridges that utilize ST 2110 media streams, and the versatility of PHABRIX analyzers enables us to evaluate all operational modes and data channels using a single QxP unit.”
7thSense is employing the QxPs as its default sources and receivers. It enables its team to ascertain compliance with ST 2110 network media specifications for an array of products – from media servers to pixel processors. In addition, the instruments help validate the company’s PTP and media network compliance.
Dr Grounds explains, “By distributing multiple PHABRIX units over several high-speed leaf switches, we ensure the stability of our primary media backbone, verify PTP synchronization, and conduct health checks prior to deploying our developmental products. The PHABRIX units’ ability to evaluate the network infrastructure bolsters our confidence, ensuring everything works as anticipated.”
7thSense has already deployed the QxPs during a number of major projects – including the creation of the world’s first 12-bit 444 4096×2160 60p uncompressed video network media system for a forthcoming large-scale attraction – and has found the units ST 2110-21 analyzer panel to be especially invaluable. “It’s incredibly intuitive,” remarks Dr Grounds, “and facilitates testing the virtual receive buffer (VRX) model and instantaneous packet (CINST) values. The data visualization, particularly the compliance status and overhead, is displayed comprehensively, eliminating the need for additional calculations.”
Dr Grounds is also effusive about the level of collaboration experienced with PHABRIX throughout the upgrade and implementation process, noting that it has “significantly streamlined” the company’s testing & verification processes. “Tackling the challenges posed by the sheer bandwidths of these media streams is no small feat” he says. “It entails orchestrating a myriad of intricate components to ensure optimal performance and reliability. Having PHABRIX as a partner has been instrumental in this journey, and we’re excited about forging ahead with more groundbreaking projects in the pipeline.”
Martin Mulligan, CEO of PHABRIX, comments: “It has been great working with 7thSense, a long-term customer of our solutions, to support its ground-breaking ST 2110 workflows. The company has always been at the cutting-edge of technology, working on some of the most innovative live event and visitor attraction projects in the world. It’s a delight to hear that the 7thSense team is finding the QxPs to be so multi-faceted and intuitive to operate, as those were at the very top of our priority list when we developed this product. We look forward to seeing the results of the projects on which the QxPs are currently being used, and to the future of this dynamic collaboration.”
PHABRIX will be demonstrating the QxP at IBC 2023, (Amsterdam RAI, 15 – 18 September) on stand 10.C01.