NAB 2006 - CIFER - Universal Standards Converter Launched With 60 Man-Years Behind It
Booth SU4347, NAB, Las Vegas – 24th April 2006: Pro-Bel, the premier manufacturer and supplier of routing switchers, signal processing, master control, automation, control and monitoring technologies, announced today the launch of Cifer, its groundbreaking HD/SD SD/HD standards converter that forms part of its Vistek product line.
Developed in conjunction with Sweden’s Digital Vision, Cifer was first announced at IBC last year as a project. This is not the first time that Digital Vision and Vistek have joined forces to break new ground: their previous SD collaboration – the Vector-VMC – was awarded an Emmy™ by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Cifer is designed to satisfy today’s multi-format, multi-resolution requirements and is based on proprietary motion estimation techniques that facilitate pixel-accurate estimations and hence conversion. Cifer is truly universal as it can convert between any SD standard and between the primary HD standards. It can also convert from SD to HD and HD to SD with the resulting pictures virtually indistinguishable from the original.
Digital Vision’s expertise is used to calculate the motion vectors while Pro-Bel’s deep understanding of HD conversion processes produces the resulting converted picture stream.
Cifer is based on a modular – and therefore scalable – architecture in order to satisfy the divergent and expanding needs of today’s broadcasters. Different modules can be added to the fundamental video converter in order to support varying demands. Kim Francis, Product Specialist, explains, “Audio is a prime example. Nowadays so much of it is embedded that a lot of audio is no longer routed around the converter but through it. If that is the case for a customer then we can satisfy that demand cost-effectively. If other parts of the digital signal stream also need to be converted customers can simply add modules to suit.”
Graham Pitman, Pro-Bel’s CEO, adds, “Signal conversion is of paramount importance in the modern broadcasting world, alongside flexibility and the ability to respond to change quickly and cost-effectively. Cifer satisfies those requirements and provides the absolute quality that HD demands.”
About Pro-Bel:
The Pro-Bel name is synonymous with innovative automation, media management and master control solutions as well as outstanding routing, control and signal distribution systems - all designed to be flexible and scalable, protecting the investment of the customer. With nearly 30 years of service to the international broadcast, post-production, cable & satellite communities, Pro-Bel has a unique understanding of broadcast workflow, and is an established leader in the provision of cost-effective solutions that compromise neither performance nor quality.
Contact Information:
Company contact:
Katharine Guy
Pro-Bel Ltd
Tel: +44 1189 214 294
katharine.guy@pro-bel.com
Press contact:
Jennie Evans
Manor Marketing
Tel: +44 1635 44991
jennie@manormarketing.tv
Images available at:
www.pro-bel.com/news_and_events/c/Press Information/