Ensemble Integrates Gennum's 3Gbps Solutions to its Next-gen Broadcast Signal Generator

(Product News, 22 Sep 2008)

Continuing to spur 3Gbs design and infrastructure development, Gennum Corp. has announced that Ensemble Designs has selected the company's 3Gbps transmit solution for Ensemble's next-generation test signal generator (TSG), a critical piece of equipment used to distribute test signals in broadcast studios. A leading provider of signal processing and infrastructure products to the professional broadcast industry, Ensemble developed the signal generator/synchronizing pulse generator (SPG) using Gennum's single-chip solution in just under three months.

"Ensemble's product represents the tremendous time-to-market advantages that our transmit and receive solutions offer companies developing 3G equipment, particularly as the transition to HD gathers momentum beyond North America," says Vijay Sharma, Director of Marketing, A/V Connectivity, of Gennum. "With this success, Ensemble showcases the ability for the broadcast industry to quickly and easily migrate to 3Gbps-capable equipment such as cameras and monitors, which are essential for content generation and display of uncompressed 1080p 50/60 and RGB 4:4:4:4 video signals."

Ensemble was able to significantly reduce typical design time for this product, in large part due to the single-chip solution provided by Gennum. The highly integrated GS2962 transmit solution from Gennum provided all the SD, HD and 3G SDI functionality, eliminating the need for code development, which would have added many more months of design time to the project. Ensemble's new TSG/SPG is fully 3Gbps compliant and offers programmable outputs includingTri-level sync, HD SDI, SD SDI, 3G, composite, AES and LTC.

Leveraging the compact, integrated solution from Gennum, the new TSG/SPG from Ensemble is part of the BrightEye series and is just 143x40x140mm. BrightEye 57's outputs are programmable and offer many signal choices including: Trilevel sync, HD SDI, SD SDI, 3G, composite, AES and LTC. Offering a reference solution for broadcast and post facilities working with 3G signals, the TSG/SPG provides more than 30 selectable test patterns, including bars and pathogenic, which are controlled from the front panel or from PC or Macintosh control software.

Providing the signal integrity and processing functionality within Ensemble's TSG/SPG, Gennum's solution, the GS2962, is a single-chip 3Gbps transmit offering. Equipped with an integrated VCO and a very narrow loop bandwidth PLL, the GS2962 accepts parallel clock inputs with jitter well in excess of 300ps while outputting an SDI stream with less than 50ps of alignment jitter. Moreover, it features an integrated SMPTE-compliant cable driver. The GS2962 transmitter also offers over 30 percent savings in cost, power, and board area compared to existing HD solutions.

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