An Explainer from Leader’s Steve Holmes About Hybrid Test Signal Generation and the New Leader LT4670
A sync pulse generator is the heartbeat of your facility. Make sure yours provides you with unmatched flexibility, reliability, and versatility.
The new Leader LT4670 sync pulse generator not only offers you multiple PTP engines, hot-swappable power supplies and fans, and up to 4 independent 12G SDI outputs and up to 4 IP outputs, but it also lets you tie the SDI and IP layers together, which is great for doing maintenance. You can switch everything to back up and go to work on the SDI or IP part of the system as needed.
The SDI side and IP side are perfectly in sync at all times. You can have up to 4 independent 12G SDI outputs, and up to 4 IP outputs. You can have test patterns on the IP outputs, too, including with your logo, ID, bug, and even custom test patterns.
To explain more about hybrid test signal generation and what’s different about the LT4670, our own Steve Holmes provided an explainer…
“Typically, the IP layer is separate from the SDI layer from a control point of view. If you have a failure, one will walk over to the backup, but the other one may not.
“It’s a big concern that those 2 layers are independent and able to be tied together. If a maintenance engineer needs to work on the SDI side of the sync pulse generator, for example, they can make sure that both sides are tied together and switch everything on the SDI and the IP sides over to the backup. They can do the work they need to do, without fear of it taking down the opposite side of the house.
“The talk has always been that you should tie the IP side to control the SDI because IP doesn’t go through the ECO like black burst, the word clock, and the SDI test patterns do. And the ECO takes care of changing signals from one to the other.
“But now we have the ability to have the SDI side control the IP side also. So if there’s an SDI problem, it can make the IP switch over. And if there’s an IP problem, it can make the SDI side switch over. So the whole system will switch to the backup. And that way, your maintenance engineer can go in and work on the unit and not disturb anything when he’s troubleshooting and fixing an issue.
“The new test signal generation feature on the LT4670 offers you a fully functional sync pulse generator” with all of the test patterns on up to 4 independent 12G SDI outputs, and up to 4 IP outputs. You can have test patterns on the IP outputs, too, including your logo, ID, bug, and even custom test patterns. “That makes it a full hybrid.”
“In the past, all the test patterns were only on the SDI side. Nobody was putting out test patterns on IP. They were putting out PTP, they were putting out the sync, but they didn’t have signal sets because everybody wants bars, black, and all the different things that they can wrap around the house.
“The LT4670 has every signal that you need for the SDI side of the house, and also has every signal that you need for the IP side of the house. Both of them sync together. They all come off the same clock source. It feeds both of them, so they are always in time with each other. They can never be free running apart from each other.”
Click the button below to find out more about how the LT4670 can reduce the chances of disastrous errors in your hybrid facility – as well as future proof your setup if you work in SDI.