Ensemble Designs 7465 User Manual

Model 7465 HD/SD,

Model 9465 3G/HD/SD

Sync Changeover Switch

User Guide

Revision 1.1 SW v2.2.0

Clearly, Ensemble wants to be in the broadcast equipment business. It’s so rare anymore to nd a company of this
caliber that has not been gobbled up by a large corporation. They are privately held so they don’t have to please the
money people. They really put their eorts into building products and working with customers.

I’m really happy with the Avenue products and Ensemble’s service, and even more important my engineers are happy.
We’ve continued to upgrade the product and add more cards. We will be rebuilding our production control room and
we will use Avenue again.

~ Don McKay, Vice President Engineering, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Who is Ensemble Designs?

By Engineers, For Engineers

In 1989, a former television station engineer who loved
designing and building video equipment, decided to
start a new company. He relished the idea of taking
an existing group of equipment and adding a few
special pieces in order to create an even more elegant

Avenue frames handle 270 Mb/s,

1.5 Gb/s and 3 Gb/s signals,
audio and MPEG signals. Used
worldwide in broadcast, mobile,
production, and post.

ensemble. So, he designed and built his first product and
the company was born.

Focused On What You Need

As the company has grown, more former TV station
engineers have joined Ensemble Designs and this wealth
of practical experience fuels the company’s innovation.
Everyone at the company is focused on providing the

We’re focused on
processing gear–
3G/HD/SD/ASI video,
audio and optical modules.

very equipment you need to complete your ensemble
of video and audio gear. We offer those special pieces
that tie everything together so that when combined, the
whole ensemble is exactly what you need.

Notably Great Service for You

We listen to you – just tell us what you need and we’ll
do our best to build it. We are completely focused on
you and the equipment you need. Being privately held
means we don’t have to worry about a big board of
directors or anything else that might take attention away
from real business. And, you can be sure that when you
call a real person will answer the phone. We love this
business and we’re here to stay.

Bricks and Mortar of Your Facility

The bricks and mortar of a facility include pieces like
up/downconverters, audio embedders, video converters,
routers, protection switches and SPGs for SD, HD and
3Gb/s. That’s what we’re focused on, that’s all we do
– we make proven and reliable signal processing and
infrastructure gear for broadcasters worldwide, for you.

Come on by and visit us.
Drop in for lunch and a tour!

Shipped with care to
television broadcasters
and video facilities all
over the world.

7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Contents

Module Overview 4

Fail-Safe Protection Switch 4

Three Channels 4

Auto Mode 4

Restoring Primary Signals 4

Monitoring 5

Importance of Proper Output Termination 5

7465 Block Diagram 6

9465 Block Diagram 7

Applications 8

Installation 10

Cabling 10

Status and Alarm Cabling 10

7465 3RU and 1RU Backplane Diagrams 11

9465 3RU and 1RU Backplane Diagrams 12

Module Configuration and Control 13

7465 and 9465 Parameter Table 14

Front Panel Controls and Indicators 15

Avenue PC and Avenue Touch Screen Remote Configuration 16

7465 and 9465 Avenue PC Menus 17

Status Menu 17

Signals Menu 19

Cong Menu 21

Gang Menu 22

Diag Menu 24

Troubleshooting 25

Software Updates 25

Warranty 26

Factory Service 26

7465 Specifications 27

9465 Specifications 28

Glossary 29

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Module Overview

Fail-Safe Protection Switch

The Avenue 7465 HD/SD Sync Changeover Switch module and Avenue 9465 3G/HD/SD Sync
Changeover Switch module are fail-safe protection switches for monitoring and switching critical
sync reference signals from any of Ensemble Designs’ reference generators or third-party sync pulse
generators. Ensemble Designs’ generators include: Avenue 5400 Dual Sync Generator and Test Signal
Generator, Avenue 7400 HD/SD Test Signal and Sync Pulse Generator, Avenue 7405 HD Test Signal
Generator, and Avenue 9400 3G Test Signal and Sync Pulse Generator.

When a fault is detected in any of the Primary inputs and the Secondary inputs are verified as good,
the protect switch will activate, causing all of the Secondary inputs to be switched simultaneously to
the module’s outputs, ensuring constant, stable references to a facility. Multiple changeover switches
can be ganged together through the control system. Depending on the application, two or more
Avenue 7465 or 9465 modules may be required to handle all signals that need to be protected.

Three Channels

As illustrated in the block diagram on page 6, these modules are divided into three channels, each
with detection circuits which evaluate input source signal types as configured by the user. The signal
type for each channel can be set locally or remotely. These three channels are referred to in the block
diagram as Channels A, B, and C.

For the Avenue 7465, Channel A tests for HD SDI, SD SDI, ASI and SMPTE 310M signals in terms of
presence and locking. For the Avenue 9465, Channel A tests for these same signals plus 3G. Channels
B and C test for AES audio, Composite Video, Bi-Level Sync and Tri-Level Sync in terms of presence, low
level, high level (overload), and error conditions.

The switch control uses the status of the signal condition from each channel’s signal detector to
determine if the switch will throw from Primary to Secondary. A drop in signal amplitude below a
predetermined auto threshold will trigger the switch. All three channels switch together if any one
signal fails a test.

The user may configure which channels contribute to the decision. Each channel can be disabled
(meaning that it is not tested) if desired. Disabled channels will not test the signal but will still pass the
signal to the output. This allows signals that cannot be tested by the Avenue 7465 or Avenue 9465 to
be used if desired.

Auto Mode

When Auto mode is turned on, a fault in any one Primary signal will cause the switch to automatically
throw to the Secondary signal. With Auto mode turned off, a fault in the Primary signal will generate
an alarm but no switching will take place.

Restoring Primary Signals

Following a fault, the Auto Reset parameter governs how the switch behaves when the Primary signals
are restored. With Auto Reset on, the switch will revert back to the restored Primary reference signals
within a time period pre-set by the user. When Auto Reset is off, manual intervention is needed to
throw the switch back to the Primary reference signals.

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Monitoring

Fault conditions can be monitored with an external alarm system or other device through the 15-pin
Control connector on the rear of the Avenue 7465 or Avenue 9465. Signal status from this connector
can be monitored by a device to show Primary and Secondary signal status and the current position
of the protect switch (Primary or Secondary). Two GPI Override Inputs are also available to allow
changing switch position from an external device. This can be used to manually reset the switch after
the Primary has recovered from a fault condition.

The on-board CPU can monitor and report module ID information (slot location, software version
and board revision) and power status to the optional frame System Control module. This information
can be accessed by the user or set to register an alarm if desired using the remote control options
available.

Importance of Proper Output Termination

The sync changeover switch is designed to be a hard contact device. An input is directly connected
to the output through a relay contact without buffering. Thus, a loss of proper termination of the
output will be seen by the 7465 or 9465 circuitry. Failure of the output termination will cause the 7465
or 9465 to sense the signal as having a fault due to the improper termination. If the module is set for
Auto Mode or Auto Reset, loss of proper termination will cause a flip-flopping of the sync changeover
switch.

While this is usually not a matter of concern in daily operation as the output is properly terminated,
it can produce unexpected results if the switch is installed and powered up without a properly
terminated cable.

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

A Channel

C Channel

7465 Block Diagram

Pri A

HD SDI, SD SDI,

ASI, 310M

Detect

Sec A

Pri B

Out A

B Channel

Sec B

Pri C

Sec C

AES, Composite

Bi-Level Sync

Tri-Level Sync

Detect

AES, Composite

Bi-Level Sync

Tri-Level Sync

Detect

Switch Control

7465 Sync Changeover Switch

Out B

Out C

Other 7465 Modules
Status Relays
GPI In

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

9465 Block Diagram

Pri A

3 Gb/s or 1.5 Gb/s

HD SDI, SD SDI,

ASI, 310 Detect

A Channel

Sec A

Pri B

Out A

B Channel

Sec B

Pri C

C Channel

Sec C

AES, Composite

Bi-Level Sync

Tri-Level Sync

Detect

AES, Composite

Bi-Level Sync

Tri-Level Sync

Detect

Switch Control

9465 Sync Changeover Switch

Out B

Out C

Other 9465 or 7465 Modules
Status Relays
GPI In

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Applications

As shown in the application on the next page, different sync reference sources from Avenue or third­party sync pulse generators can be fed to the three channels on the 7465 or 9465 module. Each
channel output can then be sent to a distribution amplifier to distribute the various sync signals
throughout the facility. It is important that any unused inputs to distribution amplifiers or other
destinations be properly terminated to maintain signal integrity.

Up to four 7465 or 9465 modules can be ganged together to take full advantage of protection for up
to twelve signals. For gang operation, one of the 7465 or 9465 modules is configured as the Master
and the other 7465 or 9465 modules (up to three) are configured as Slaves.

As shown in the illustration below, the Master module makes all decisions about switching based on
signal status from its inputs and those from the Slave module(s). Channel A, B and C status signals
from the Slave module(s) are reported back to the Master module on status indicators labeled Slave
Status in the Gang menu.

The ganged 7465 or 9465 modules may reside in the same frame or in different frames but must be
on the same AveNet network. The Master and Slave configurations are defined in the Gang remote
control menu for each module. Each module is then identified to the other by its AveNet frame
address and its slot location in that frame so the modules can communicate through the control
system.

Relay circuits accessible from the 15-pin D Control connector on the rear backplane (not shown) can
also be connected to alarms for monitoring Primary and Secondary status and switch position.

7465

Master

Configure In Gang Menu:
AveNet Address 1–1000
Slot Number of Slave Module 1–10

Switch Command

Master – Slave Relationship Between 7465 Ganged Modules

Configure In Gang Menu:
AveNet Address 1–1000
Slot Number of Master Module 1–10

Signal Status

7465

Slave

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

9465

Sync Changeover

Primary

9400
Sync

Pulse

Generator

SDI Bars

Analog Bars

Analog Black

SDI Black

AES Audio

HD TLS

Pri A

Pri B

Pri C

To Ganged

Sec A

Sec B

Secondary

9400
Sync

Pulse

Generator

9465

SDI Bars

Analog Bars

Analog Black

SDI Black

AES Audio

HD TLS

To Ganged

9465

Sec C

SDI

Bars

Out A

DA

Analog

Bars

Out B

DA

Analog

Black

Out C

DA

From

Primary

9400

From

Secondary

SDI Bars

Analog Bars

Analog Black

SDI Black

AES Audio

Pri A

Pri B

Pri C

Sec A

Sec B

Switch

Switch

9400

HD TLS

Sec C

Switch

9465

Sync Changeover (Ganged)

Ganged 9465 Modules Fed by Primary and Secondary 9400 Modules

Out A

Out B

Out C

SDI

Black

AES

Audio

HD

TLS

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Installation

Plug the 7465 or 9465 module into any one of the slots in the 1RU or 3RU frame and install the plastic
overlay provided onto the corresponding group of rear BNC connectors associated with the module
location. Note that the plastic overlay has an optional adhesive backing for securing it to the frame.
Use of the adhesive backing is only necessary if you would like the location to be permanent and is not
recommended if you need to change module locations. This module may be hot-swapped (inserted or
removed) without powering down or disturbing performance of the other modules in the system.

Cabling

Refer to the 1RU and 3RU backplane diagrams of the module on the following page for cabling
instructions. Note that unless stated otherwise, the 1RU cabling explanations are identical to those
given in the 3RU diagram.

Status and Alarm Cabling

In addition to full monitoring and access through the control system, the module provides contact
closure status indications through the 15-pin D Control connector on the corresponding rear slot
of the frame. These connections can drive an alarm system or other external monitoring devices
including LEDs. Two override GPI Inputs can also be accessed through the connector. Pinouts for the
status monitoring are given in the illustration on the next page.

Form C relay contacts provide both NO (Normally Open) and NC (Normally Closed) switching to
indicate fault status of the Primary and Secondary inputs and the protection switch output. Both
the NO and NC contacts are simultaneously available on the Control connector. Each output is
independently strappable to provide Ground, current-limited +5V (1k Ω resistor), or a Common which
appears on the D connector.

The three relay contacts provide the following status reporting:

• Primary Good or Failed – indicates Primary input status as Good when NO contact is active
(switched to Common).

• Secondary Good or Failed – indicates Secondary input status as Good when NO contact is
active (switched to Common).

• Switch Position – indicates the position of the protect switch as either Primary or Secondary
selected. The normal position corresponds to the Primary feeding the output.

An individual common is provided to each of the relays. For each of the three status relays there is a
3-position jumper on the module which configures the common signal that will be used by that relay.
The choices are as follows:

• COM – uses the user-provided common signal from the Control connector.

• +5 – provides a +5V signal through a 1k Ω resistor to the relay common.

• Gnd – uses ground as the relay common.

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Control

7465 3RU and 1RU Backplane Diagrams

Channel C – AES audio,
Composite, Bi-Level Sync,
Tri-Level Sync Ref:

Connect a primary analog
composite, AES digital audio,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync
reference input signal to Pri C.
Connect a secondary analog
composite, AES digital audio,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync
reference input signal to Sec C.
Connect the Channel C output
reference signal from Out C to a
properly terminated distribution
amplifier for feeding the signal
throughout the facility.
NOTE: Tri-Level Sync is available
only in Remote mode.

5

10

15

PIN FUNCTION

1

2 Pri NC

3

4 Pri Com

5

6

7

8

9 Prot NC

10 Prot NO

11 Prot Com

12 Pri Sel

13

14 Sec Sel

15

Pri NO

Sec NO

Sec NC

Sec Com

11

3RU Backplane

Channel B – AES audio,
Composite, Bi-Level Sync,
Tri-Level Sync Ref:

7465 SC

Sec C

Connect a primary analog
composite, AES digital audio,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync

Out C

reference input signal to Pri B.
Connect a secondary analog

Pri C

composite, AES digital audio,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync
reference input signal to Sec B.

Sec B

Connect the Channel B output
reference signal from Out B to a
properly terminated distribution
amplifier for feeding the signal

Out B

throughout the facility.
NOTE: Tri-Level Sync is available

Pri B

only in Remote mode.

Channel A – HD SDI, SD SDI, ASI,

1

6

Sec A

Out A

310:
Connect a primary HD SDI, SD SDI
input signal to Pri A.
Connect a secondary HD SDI, SD
SDI input signal to Sec A.

Pri A

Control

Connect the Channel A output
reference signal from Out A to a
properly terminated distribution
amplifier for feeding the signal
throughout the facility.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All channel output destinations must
be terminated properly. Improper termination will affect the
integrity of the sync signal and cause errors. Be sure any unused
inputs to distribution amplifiers or other destinations are
terminated.

1RU Backplane

7465 SC

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Out C

Pri AOut BSec B Sec A

Pri BPri CSec C

Out A

Control

Page 11

7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Control

9465 3RU and 1RU Backplane Diagrams

Channel C – AES audio,
Composite, Bi-Level Sync,
Tri-Level Sync Ref:

Connect a primary analog
composite, AES digital audio,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync
reference input signal to Pri C.
Connect a secondary analog
composite, AES digital audio,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync
reference input signal to Sec C.
Connect the Channel C output
reference signal from Out C to a
properly terminated distribution
amplifier for feeding the signal
throughout the facility.
NOTE: Tri-Level Sync is available
only in Remote mode.

5

10

15

PIN FUNCTION

1

2 Pri NC

3

4 Pri Com

5

6

7

8

9 Prot NC

10 Prot NO

11 Prot Com

12 Pri Sel

13

14 Sec Sel

15

Pri NO

Sec NO

Sec NC

Sec Com

11

3RU Backplane

Channel B – AES audio,
Composite, Bi-Level Sync,
Tri-Level Sync Ref:

9465 SC

Sec C

Connect a primary analog
composite, AES digital audio,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync

Out C

reference input signal to Pri B.
Connect a secondary analog

Pri C

composite, AES digital audio,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync
reference input signal to Sec B.

Sec B

Connect the Channel B output
reference signal from Out B to a
properly terminated distribution
amplifier for feeding the signal

Out B

throughout the facility.
NOTE: Tri-Level Sync is available

Pri B

only in Remote mode.

Channel A – 3G, HD SDI, SD SDI,

1

6

Sec A

Out A

Pri A

Control

ASI, 310:
Connect a primary 3G, HD SDI,
SD SDI input signal to Pri A.
Connect a secondary 3G, HD SDI,
SD SDI input signal to Sec A.
Connect the Channel A output
reference signal from Out A to a
properly terminated distribution
amplifier for feeding the signal
throughout the facility.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All channel output destinations must
be terminated properly. Improper termination will affect the
integrity of the sync signal and cause errors. Be sure any unused
inputs to distribution amplifiers or other destinations are
terminated.

1RU Backplane

9465 SC

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Out C

Pri AOut BSec B Sec A

Pri BPri CSec C

Out A

Control

Page 12

7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Because both the NO and NC connections are provided, it is possible to have independent status lines
for each of the two states of a status signal. For example, if the jumper is set to +5V, the Primary NO
output will source +5V when the relay is in the normal position (Signal Failed) and the Primary NC
output will source the +5V when the relay is closed (Signal Good). Additionally, in the case of selecting
+5V as the common, the 1k Ω resistor on the module will act as a current limiter, allowing the direct
connection of ordinary LEDs to each of these output pins. A green LED could be connected to the NC
output and a red LED to the NO output. This would provide very complete and explicit indications to
the operator as to the signal status.

Also available through the Control connector are two Override GPI inputs that when closed to ground,
will force the switch to either Primary or Secondary. These inputs may also be used to reset the Primary
after a fault has cleared.

Module Configuration and Control

The configuration parameters for each Avenue module must be selected after installation. This can
be done remotely using one of the Avenue remote control options or locally using the module front
panel controls. Each module has a REMOTE/LOCAL switch on the front edge of the circuit board
which must first be set to the desired control mode.

The configuration parameter choices for the module will differ between Remote and Local modes.
In Remote mode, the choices are made through software and more selections are available. The
7465 and 9465 Parameter Table on the following page summarizes and compares the various
configuration parameters that can be set remotely or locally and the default/factory settings.

If you are not using a remote control option, the module parameters must be configured from the
front panel switches. Parameters that have no front panel control will be set to a default value. The

Local switches are illustrated in the Front Panel Controls and Indicators section following the 7465
and 9465 Parameter Table.

Avenue module parameters can be configured and controlled remotely from one or both of the
remote control options, the Avenue Touch Screen or the Avenue PC Application. Once the module
parameters have been set remotely, the information is stored on the module. This allows the module
be moved to a different cell in the frame at your discretion without losing the stored information.
Remote configuration will override whatever the switch settings are on the front edge of the module.

For setting the parameters remotely using the Avenue PC or Avenue Touch Screen option, refer to the
Avenue PC and Avenue Touch Screen Remote Configuration section of this document.

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

7465 and 9465 Parameter Table

CONTROL LOCAL REMOTE DEFAULT

Primary Selected with Control

Switch

Secondary Selected with Control

Switch

Auto Selected with Control

Switch

Auto Reset Switch 8:

On (left)
Off (right)

Reset Time 5 seconds 0 - 60 seconds 15 seconds

Ch A Mode Switch 1

A Enable (left)
A Disable (right)

Ch B Mode Switch 3

B Enable (left)
B Disable (right)
Switch 4
Vid (left)
AES (right)

Ch C Mode Switch 5

C Enable (left)
C Disable (right)
Switch 6
Vid (left)
AES (right)

Gang Enable Off Off

Slave Select 1 1

Slave Enable Disabled Enabled

Frame Adr 1 1 - 1000 1

Slot Number 1 1 - 10 1

Selects Primary Selected

Selects Secondary Deselected

Selects Auto Selected

On
Off

Off
Serial

Off
Composite
AES
Tri-Level
LTC

Off
Composite
AES
Tri-Level
LTC

Master
Slave

2
3

Disabled

On

Serial

Composite

Composite

Off

1

Disabled

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Front Panel Controls and Indicators

Each front edge indicator and switch setting of the 7465 and 9465 is shown in the diagram below.
Note: The switches (A Enable, B Enable, B Vid/AES, C Enable, C Vid/AES, Auto Reset) are functional
only in local mode. They have no effect when the module is in remote mode.

Auto green LED:
ON when Auto mode is active.

Pri In OK green LED:
ON when Primary input passes

all enabled tests.
OFF when Primary input fails an
enabled test.

Pri Active green LED:
ON when Primary input is

feeding the output.
OFF when Primary input is not
feeding the output.

Control Switch has the following
four settings:

1. Set Output to Primary and
turn Auto Reset OFF.

2. Set Output to Primary and
turn Auto Reset ON.

3. Set Output to Secondary
and turn Auto Reset ON.

4. Set Output to Secondary
and turn Auto Reset OFF.

Remote/Local switch:
Set to the mode you wish to use:
Up for Remote mode and down
for Local mode.

Run green LED:
OFF A power fault or halted CPU
ON A halted CPU
FAST BLINK CPU Run error
SLOW BLINK System OK. (If SPI

control is active from the main
frame System Control Module, all
Run indicators will be
synchronized.).

Pwr green LED:
Indicates the presence (ON) or
absence (OFF) of power (+5V).

7465

Sync

Change

Over

Pri

Sec

In OK
Active
Auto
Active
In OK

Control

Remote
Local

A Enable

B Enable
B Vid/AES
C Enable

C Vid/AES

Auto Reset

On/Off

OFF when Auto mode is turned
off.

Sec Active red LED:
ON when Secondary input is

feeding the output.
OFF when Secondary input is
not feeding the output.

Sec In OK green LED:
ON when Secondary input

passes all enabled tests.
OFF when Secondary input fails
an enabled test.

A Enable switch:
Select ON (left) to enable fault
detection for Channel A or OFF
(right) to disable fault detection.

B Enable switch:
Select ON (left) to enable fault
detection for Channel B or OFF
(right) to disable fault detection.

B Vid/AES switch:
Select Vid (left) to select analog
composite video as Channel B
signal type or AES (right) for AES
digital audio as signal type.

C Enable switch:
Select ON (left) to enable fault
detection for Channel C or OFF
(right) to disable fault detection.

C Vid/AES switch:
Select Vid (left) to select analog
composite video as Channel C
signal type or AES (right) for AES
digital audio as signal type.

Auto Reset switch:
Select ON (left) to enable module
to auto reset when Primary input
is restored or OFF (right) for
manual reset when Primary input
is restored.

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Avenue PC and Avenue Touch Screen Remote
Configuration

The Avenue PC remote control status menus for the 7465 and 9465 modules are illustrated and
explained below. Refer to the 7465 and 9465 Parameter Table for a summary of available parameters
that can be set remotely through the menus illustrated. For more information on using Avenue PC,
refer to the Avenue PC Control Application Software data pack that came with the option.

Parameter fields that are grayed out can indicate one of the following conditions:

• An option is not installed.

• The function is not active.

• The module is locked.

• The User Level set with Avenue PC is not accessible from the current User Level.

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

7465 and 9465 Avenue PC Menus

Status Menu

The Status menu screen shown below displays overall status of the Primary and Secondary channels,
including the ganged channels (if present and enabled). Status indicators for each channel will light as
follows: Green = Good, Red = Faulted, Gray = Not enabled. In addition, the text fields along the right
side, Pri Status and Sec Status, indicate the channel status (Good or Failed). The Switch Pos text field
indicates Primary or Secondary to reflect which input is feeding the output. Auto Reset and Reset Time
controls for the switching function are also set with this menu.

• Pri Status – Shows the status of the Primary A, B and C channels and the ganged channel (if
present and enabled in the Gang menu). The OK indicator will report a failure when any one
channel has faulted.

• Sec Status – Shows the status of the Secondary A, B and C channels, and the ganged channel
(if present and enabled in the Gang menu). The OK indicator will report a failure when any one
channel has faulted.

• Pri – Lights green when the Primary inputs are feeding the output. Select this switch control to
select the Primary as the output.

• Auto – Lights green when Auto is turned on. Switch Auto on and off with this switch control.
When Auto is on, the module will automatically switch to the Secondary input if the Primary
fails and the Secondary is good.

• Sec – Lights red when the Secondary inputs are feeding the output. Select this switch control
to select the Secondary as the output.

• Auto Reset – Set to On or Off to determine if the switch will automatically switch back from
Secondary to the Primary channel after it recovers.

• Reset Time – Set the amount of time the Primary signals must be good before the Auto Reset
switches back to Primary from Secondary.

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7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Status Avenue PC Menu

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Status Touch Screen Menu

Page 18

7465 Sync Changeover Switch and 9465 3G Sync Changeover Switch

Signals Menu

The Signals menu shown below displays the status of each of the Primary and Secondary A, B and C
channels. Signal status is reported as the following for each channel signal type:

• Pri A Status – Status indicators for SDI serial digital reference are Not Tested, Not Locked or
Normal.

• Pri B Status – Status indicators for Analog Video, AES audio and Tri-Level Sync reference are
Not Tested, No Signal, Low Level, Normal, Overload or Error.

• Pri C Status – Status indicators for Analog Video, AES audio and Tri-Level Sync reference are
Not Tested, No Signal, Low Level, Normal, Overload or Error.

• Sec A Status – Status indicators for SDI serial digital reference are Not Tested, Not Locked or
Normal.

• Sec B Status – Status indicators for Analog Video, AES audio and Tri-Level Sync reference are
Not Tested, No Signal, Low Level, Normal, Overload or Error.

• Sec C Status – Status indicators for Analog Video, AES audio and Tri-Level Sync reference are
Not Tested, No Signal, Low Level, Normal, Overload or Error.

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Signals Avenue PC Menu

Signals Touch Screen Menu

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Config Menu

The Config menu shown below allows you to configure the signal type to be detected for each of the
three channels:

• Chan A Mode – Set Channel A mode to Off or Serial.

• Chan B Mode – Set Channel B mode to Off, Composite, AES, Tri-Level, or LTC .

• Chan C Mode – Set Channel C mode to Off, Composite, AES, Tri-Level, or LTC .

Cong Avenue PC Menu

Cong Touch Screen Menu

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Gang Menu

The Gang menu shown below allows you to configure the 7465 or 9465 module for operating in a
ganged mode in conjunction with another 7465 or 9465 module in an Avenue frame on the same
AveNet network. Refer to the Applications explanation given earlier in this data pack for more details
on how to gang modules.

• Gang Enable – If not using the module in ganged mode with another 7465 or 9465, set to Off.
For ganged mode, set the module to act as Master or Slave. Note that to operate in ganged
mode, one module must act as a Master and the other ganged 7465 or 9465 modules must be
set to Slave.

• Slave Select – Note that this control is grayed out unless the module is set to Master. When
the module is set to Master, use this control to select which slave you wish to configure (Slave
1, Slave 2 or Slave 3). Once you have selected a slave module, you can adjust settings for it
using the controls Slave Enable, Frame Adr and Slot Number.

• Slave Enable – This control can either be Enabled or Disabled. Enable this control if you want
to operate in ganged mode. If the module is functioning as a slave, the Slave Enable control
will be grayed out.

• Frame Adr – Set the AveNet frame address to point to the ganged 7465 or 9465 module on
the AveNet network. Enter a number from 1 through 1000. Note that the other 7465 or 9465
module must also be configured to point back to the location of this module. A master can
set up to 3 of these (one for each slave), while a slave can set up only one (for the associated
master).

• Slot Number – Set the slot number of the frame where the ganged 7465 or 9465 module is
installed. Select a number from 1 through 10. Note that the other 7465 or 9465 module must
also be configured to point back to the slot number of this module. A master can set up to 3 of
these (one for each slave), while a slave can set up only one (for the associated master).

• Mstr/Slav1 Stat, Slave2 Status, Slave3 Status – The status of the ganged connection will be
reported as “---” (meaning “Off ”), No Comm, Pri OK, Pri Failed, Comm OK.

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Gang Avenue PC Menu

Gang Touch Screen Menu

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Diag Menu

The Diag menu provides a Secondary Switch Count field. It reports the number of times that the
module has switched from the Primary to the Secondary signal. When desired, double-click the field to
reset it to zero.

Diag Avenue PC Menu

Diag Touch Screen Menu

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Troubleshooting

As a troubleshooting aid, reference signal status and presence, as well as power and CPU status can be
easily monitored from the front panel of the 7465 or 9465 module using the front panel indicators.

Refer to the troubleshooting tips below:

Can’t control module

• Check status of CPU Run green LED. Should be blinking slowly and in unison with other
modules if System module is present. If not, try removing it and plugging it in again to be sure
it is seated properly.

• System module may not be working properly if installed.

Module remote controls are grayed out

• Module is locked or access to module controls is restricted by User Level.

No signal out of module

• Check status of Active LEDs. Primary or Secondary should be lit. If not, check the inputs for
signal presence and quality.

• Check cabling to input of the module.

Please also refer to the technical support section of the Ensemble Designs web site for the latest
information on your equipment at the URL below:

http://www.ensembledesigns.com/support

Software Updates

Software updates for each module can be downloaded remotely if the optional System Control
module is installed. These can be downloaded onto your PC, then Avenue PC will distribute the update
to the individual module. Refer to the Avenue PC documentation for more information. Updates are
periodically posted on the Ensemble Designs web site. If you do not have the required System Control
Module and Avenue PC, modules can be sent back to the factory for software upgrades.

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Warranty

This module is covered by a five-year limited warranty, as stated in the main Preface of this manual. If
you require service (under warranty or not), please contact Ensemble Designs and ask for customer
service before you return the unit. This will allow the service technician an opportunity to provide any
other suggestions for identifying the problem and to recommend possible solutions.

Factory Service

If you return equipment for repair, please get a Return Material Authorization Number (RMA) from the
factory first.

Ship the product and a written description of the problem to:

Ensemble Designs, Inc.
Attention: Customer Service RMA #####
870 Gold Flat Rd.
Nevada City, CA 95959 USA

tel [phone]
fax [phone]

[e-mail]

www.ensembledesigns.com

Be sure to put your RMA number on the outside of the box.

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7465 Specifications

Input Signals

Number Six
Signal Type HD Serial Digital 1.485 Gb/s
SMPTE 274M, 292M or 296M
SD Serial Digital 270 Mb/s
SMPTE 259M,
Analog Composite,
AES Digital Audio, LTC,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync, selectable
Impedance 75 Ω
Return Loss >15 dB DC to 1.485 Gb/s
Automatic Cable Input Equalization

HD Standards Supported

1080i (SMPTE 274M -4, 5, 6) 50, 59.94 or 60 Hz
720p (SMPTE 296M -1, 2, 3) 50, 59.94 or 60 Hz
1080p (SMPTE 274M -9, 10, 11) 23.98, 24, 25 Hz
1080sF (RP211 -14, 15, 16) 23.98, 24, 25 Hz

Output Signals

Number Three
Signal Type Follows input
Impedance 75 Ω
Return Loss >15 dB DC to 270 MHz

Switcher Characteristics

Type 75 Ω RF Relay
Insertion Loss <0.5 dB

General Specifications

Connectors BNC
Power Consumption <7.0 watts
Temperature Range 0 to 40°C ambient (all specs met)
Relative Humidity 0 to 95% noncondensing
Altitude 0 to 10,000 ft
Fusing 1.5 Amp PTC resettable fuse
7465 module cannot be installed in slot 3 of a 1RU frame when 5035 System Control module is installed.

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9465 Specifications

Input Signals

Number Six
Signal Type HD Serial Digital 2.97 Gb/s
SMPTE 424M, 425M
HD Serial Digital 1.485 Gb/s
SMPTE 274M, 292M or 296M
SD Serial Digital 270 Mb/s
SMPTE 259M,
Analog Composite,
AES Digital Audio, LTC,
Bi-Level Sync or Tri-Level Sync, selectable
Impedance 75 Ω
Return Loss >15 dB DC to 1.485 Gb/s
Automatic Cable Input Equalization

HD Standards Supported

1080i (SMPTE 274M -4, 5, 6) 50, 59.94 or 60 Hz
720p (SMPTE 296M -1, 2, 3) 50, 59.94 or 60 Hz
1080p (SMPTE 274M -9, 10, 11) 23.98, 24, 25 Hz
1080sF (RP211 -14, 15, 16) 23.98, 24, 25 Hz

Output Signals

Number Three
Signal Type Follows input
Impedance 75 Ω
Return Loss >15 dB DC to 270 MHz

Switcher Characteristics

Type 75 Ω RF Relay
Insertion Loss <0.5 dB

General Specifications

Connectors BNC
Power Consumption <7.0 watts
Temperature Range 0 to 40°C ambient (all specs met)
Relative Humidity 0 to 95% noncondensing
Altitude 0 to 10,000 ft
Fusing 1.5 Amp PTC resettable fuse
9465 module cannot be installed in slot 3 of a 1RU frame when 5035 System Control module is installed.

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Glossary

AES/EBU

The digital audio standard defined as a joint effort of the Audio Engineering Society and the European
Broadcast Union. AES/EBU or AES3 describes a serial bitstream that carries two audio channels,
thus an AES stream is a stereo pair. The AES/EBU standard covers a wide range of sample rates and
quantizations (bit depths). In television systems, these will generally be 48 KHz and either 20 or 24 bits.

AFD

Active Format Description is a method to carry information regarding the aspect ratio of the video
content. The specification of AFD was standardized by SMPTE in 2007 and is now beginning to appear
in the marketplace. AFD can be included in both SD and HD SDI transport systems. There is no legacy
analog implementation. (See WSS).

ASI

A commonly used transport method for MPEG video streams, ASI or Asynchronous Serial Interface,
operates at the same 270 Mb/s data rate as SD SDI. This makes it easy to carry an ASI stream through
existing digital television infrastructure. Known more formally as DVB-ASI, this transport mechanism
can be used to carry multiple program channels.

Aspect Ratio

The ratio of the vertical and horizontal measurements of an image. 4:3 is the aspect ratio for standard
definition video formats and television and 16:9 for high definition. Converting formats of unequal
ratios is done by letterboxing (horizontal bars) or pillar boxing (vertical pillars) in order to keep the
original format’s aspect ratio.

Bandwidth

Strictly speaking, this refers to the range of frequencies (i.e. the width of the band of frequency) used
by a signal, or carried by a transmission channel. Generally, wider bandwidth will carry and reproduce
a signal with greater fidelity and accuracy.

Beta

Sony Beta SP video tape machines use an analog component format that is similar to SMPTE, but
differs in the amplitude of the color difference signals. It may also carry setup on the luminance
channel.

Bit

A binary digit, or bit, is the smallest amount of information that can be stored or transmitted digitally
by electrical, optical, magnetic, or other means. A single bit can take on one of two states: On/Off,
Low/High, Asserted/ Deasserted, etc. It is represented numerically by the numerals 1 (one) and 0
(zero). A byte, containing 8 bits, can represent 256 different states. The binary number 11010111, for
example, has the value of 215 in our base 10 numbering system. When a value is carried digitally, each
additional bit of resolution will double the number of different states that can be represented. Systems
that operate with a greater number of bits of resolution, or quantization, will be able to capture a

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signal with more detail or fidelity. Thus, a video digitizer with 12 bits of resolution will capture 4 times
as much detail as one with 10 bits.

Blanking

The Horizontal and Vertical blanking intervals of a television signal refer to the time periods between
lines and between fields. No picture information is transmitted during these times, which are required
in CRT displays to allow the electron beam to be repositioned for the start of the next line or field.
They are also used to carry synchronizing pulses which are used in transmission and recovery of the
image. Although some of these needs are disappearing, the intervals themselves are retained for
compatibility purposes. They have turned out to be very useful for the transmission of additional
content, such as teletext and embedded audio.

CAV

Component Analog Video. This is a convenient shorthand form, but it is subject to confusion. It is
sometimes used to mean ONLY color difference component formats (SMPTE or Beta), and other times
to include RGB format. In any case, a CAV signal will always require 3 connectors – either Y/R-Y/B-Y,
or R/G/B.

Checkfield

A Checkfield signal is a special test signal that stresses particular aspects of serial digital transmission.
The performance of the Phase Locked-Loops (PLLs) in an SDI receiver must be able to tolerate long
runs of 0’s and 1’s. Under normal conditions, only very short runs of these are produced due to a
scrambling algorithm that is used. The Checkfield, also referred to as the Pathological test signal, will
“undo” the scrambling and cause extremely long runs to occur. This test signal is very useful for testing
transmission paths.

Chroma

The color or chroma content of a signal, consisting of the hue and saturation of the image.
See also Color Difference.

Component

In a component video system, the totality of the image is carried by three separate but related
components. This method provides the best image fidelity with the fewest artifacts, but it requires
three independent transmission paths (cables). The commonly used component formats are
Luminance and Color Difference (Y/Pr/Pb), and RGB. It was far too unwieldy in the early days of color
television to even consider component transmission.

Composite

Composite television dates back to the early days of color transmission. This scheme encodes the
color difference information onto a color subcarrier. The instantaneous phase of the subcarrier is the
color’s hue, and the amplitude is the color’s saturation or intensity. This subcarrier is then added onto
the existing luminance video signal. This trick works because the subcarrier is set at a high enough
frequency to leave spectrum for the luminance information. But it is not a seamless matter to pull
the signal apart again at the destination in order to display it or process it. The resultant artifacts of
dot crawl (also referred to as chroma crawl) are only the most obvious result. Composite television is

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the most commonly used format throughout the world, either as PAL or NTSC. It is also referred to as
Encoded video.

Color Difference

Color Difference systems take advantage of the details of human vision. We have more acuity in our
black and white vision than we do in color. This means that we need only the luminance information to
be carried at full bandwidth, we can scrimp on the color channels. In order to do this, RGB information
is converted to carry all of the luminance (Y is the black and white of the scene) in a single channel.
The other two channels are used to carry the “color difference”. Noted as B-Y and R-Y, these two signals
describe how a particular pixel “differs” from being purely black and white. These channels typically
have only half the bandwidth of the luminance.

Decibel (dB)

The decibel is a unit of measure used to express the ratio in the amplitude or power of two signals. A
difference of 20 dB corresponds to a 10:1 ratio between two signals, 6 dB is approximately a 2:1 ratio.
Decibels add while the ratios multiply, so 26 dB is a 20:1 ratio, and 14 dB is a 5:1 ratio. There are several
special cases of the dB scale, where the reference is implied. Thus, dBm refers to power relative to 1
milliwatt, and dBu refers to voltage relative to .775V RMS. The original unit of measure was the Bel
(10 times bigger), named after Alexander Graham Bell.

dBFS

In Digital Audio systems, the largest numerical value that can be represented is referred to as Full
Scale. No values or audio levels greater than FS can be reproduced because they would be clipped.
The nominal operating point (roughly corresponding to 0 VU) must be set below FS in order to have
headroom for audio peaks. This operating point is described relative to FS, so a digital reference level
of -20 dBFS has 20 dB of headroom before hitting the FS clipping point.

DVI

Digital Visual Interface. DVI-I (integrated) provides both digital and analog connectivity. The larger
group of pins on the connector are digital while the four pins on the right are analog.

EDH

Error Detection and Handling is a method to verify proper reception of an SDI or HD-SDI signal at the
destination. The originating device inserts a data packet in the vertical interval of the SDI signal and
every line of the HD signal which contains a checksum of the entire video frame. This checksum is
formed by adding up the numerical values of all of the samples in the frame, using a complex formula.
At the destination this same formula is applied to the incoming video and the resulting value is
compared to the one included in the transmission. If they match, then the content has all arrived with
no errors. If they don’t, then an error has occurred.

Embedded Audio

Digital Audio can be carried along in the same bitstream as an SDI or HD-SDI signal by taking
advantage of the gaps in the transmission which correspond to the horizontal and vertical intervals
of the television waveform. This technique can be very cost effective in transmission and routing, but

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can also add complexity to signal handling issues because the audio content can no longer be treated
independently of the video.

Eye Pattern

To analyze a digital bitstream, the signal can be displayed visually on an oscilloscope by triggering the
horizontal timebase with a clock extracted from the stream. Since the bit positions in the stream form
a very regular cadence, the resulting display will look like an eye – an oval with slightly pointed left and
right ends. It is easy to see from this display if the eye is “open”, with a large central area that is free of
negative or positive transitions, or “closed” where those transitions are encroaching toward the center.
In the first case, the open eye indicates that recovery of data from the stream can be made reliably and
with few errors. But in the closed case data will be difficult to extract and bit errors will occur. Generally
it is jitter in the signal that is the enemy of the eye.

Frame Sync

A Frame Synchronizer is used to synchronize the timing of a video signal to coincide with a timing
reference (usually a color black signal that is distributed throughout a facility). The synchronizer
accomplishes this by writing the incoming video into a frame buffer memory under the timing
direction of the sync information contained in that video. Simultaneously the memory is being read
back by a timing system that is genlocked to a house reference. As a result, the timing or alignment of
the video frame can be adjusted so that the scan of the upper left corner of the image is happening
simultaneously on all sources. This is a requirement for both analog and digital systems in order to
perform video effects or switch glitch-free in a router. Frame synchronization can only be performed
within a single television line standard. A synchronizer will not convert an NTSC signal to a PAL signal,
it takes a standards converter to do that.

Frequency Response

A measurement of the accuracy of a system to carry or reproduce a range of signal frequencies. Similar
to Bandwidth.

H.264

The latest salvo in the compression wars is H.264 which is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10. MPEG-4
promises good results at just half the bit rate required by MPEG-2.

HD

High Definition. This two letter acronym has certainly become very popular. Here we thought it was all
about the pictures – and the radio industry stole it.

HDCP

HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a content encryption system for HDMI. It is
meant to prevent copyrighted content from being copied. Protected content, like a movie on a Blu-Ray
disc, is encrypted by its creator. Devices that want to display the protected content, like a television,
must have an authorized key in order to decode the signal and display it. The entity that controls
the HDCP standard strictly limits the kinds of devices that are allowed decryption keys. Devices that
decrypt the content and provide an unencrypted copy are not allowed.

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HDMI

The High Definition Multimedia Interface comes to us from the consumer marketplace where it is
becoming the de facto standard for the digital interconnect of display devices to audio and video
sources. It is an uncompressed, all-digital interface that transmits digital video and eight channels of
digital audio. HDMI is a bit serial interface that carries the video content in digital component form
over multiple twisted-pairs. HDMI is closely related to the DVI interface for desktop computers and
their displays.

IEC

The International Electrotechnical Commission provides a wide range of worldwide standards. They
have provided standardization of the AC power connection to products by means of an IEC line cord.
The connection point uses three flat contact blades in a triangular arrangement, set in a rectangular
connector. The IEC specification does not dictate line voltage or frequency. Therefore, the user must
take care to verify that a device either has a universal input (capable of 90 to 230 volts, either 50 or
60 Hz), or that a line voltage switch, if present, is set correctly.

Interlace

Human vision can be fooled to see motion by presenting a series of images, each with a small change
relative to the previous image. In order to eliminate the flicker, our eyes need to see more than 30
images per second. This is accomplished in television systems by dividing the lines that make up
each video frame (which run at 25 or 30 frames per second) into two fields. All of the odd-numbered
lines are transmitted in the first field, the even-numbered lines are in the second field. In this way, the
repetition rate is 50 or 60 Hz, without using more bandwidth. This trick has worked well for years, but
it introduces other temporal artifacts. Motion pictures use a slightly different technique to raise the
repetition rate from the original 24 frames that make up each second of film—they just project each
one twice.

IRE

Video level is measured on the IRE scale, where 0 IRE is black, and 100 IRE is full white. The actual
voltages that these levels correspond to can vary between formats.

ITU-R 601

This is the principal standard for standard definition component digital video. It defines the luminance
and color difference coding system that is also referred to as 4:2:2. The standard applies to both PAL
and NTSC derived signals. They both will result in an image that contains 720 pixels horizontally, with
486 vertical pixels in NTSC, and 576 vertically in PAL. Both systems use a sample clock rate of 27 MHz,
and are serialized at 270 Mb/s.

Jitter

Serial digital signals (either video or audio) are subject to the effects of jitter. This refers to the
instantaneous error that can occur from one bit to the next in the exact position of each digital
transition. Although the signal may be at the correct frequency on average, in the interim it varies.
Some bits come slightly early, others come slightly late. The measurement of this jitter is given
either as the amount of time uncertainty or as the fraction of a bit width. For 270 Mb/s SD video, the

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allowable jitter is 740 picoseconds, or 0.2 UI (Unit Interval – one bit width). For 1.485 Gb/s HD, the
same 0.2UI spec corresponds to just 135 pico seconds.

LKFS

LKFS (Loudness K-weighted relative to Full Scale) is a loudness amplitude level based on the ITU-R
BS.1770 Loudness Measurement Method. It is a scale for audio measurement similar to VU or Peak,
but rather than measuring gain, it measures perceived loudness. Based on a complex algorithm, this
method takes into account audio processing that increases perceived loudness without increasing
gain. LKFS is the measurement method required to comply with the Calm Act.

Luminance

The “black & white” content of the image. Human vision had more acuity in luminance, so television
systems generally devote more bandwidth to the luminance content. In component systems, the
luminance is referred to as Y.

MPEG

The Moving Picture Experts Group is an industry group that develops standards for the compression
of moving pictures for television. Their work is an on-going effort. The understanding of image
processing and information theory is constantly expanding. And the raw bandwidth of both the
hardware and software used for this work is ever increasing. Accordingly, the compression methods
available today are far superior to the algorithms that originally made the real-time compression and
decompression of television possible. Today, there are many variations of these techniques, and the
term MPEG has to some extent become a broad generic label.

Metadata

This word comes from the Greek, meta means ‘beyond’ or ‘after’. When used as a prefix to ‘data’, it can
be thought of as ‘data about the data’. In other words, the metadata in a data stream tells you about
that data – but it is not the data itself. In the television industry, this word is sometimes used correctly
when, for example, we label as metadata the timecode which accompanies a video signal. That
timecode tells you something about the video, i.e. when it was shot, but the timecode in and of itself
is of no interest. But in our industry’s usual slovenly way in matters linguistic, the term metadata has
also come to be used to describe data that is associated with the primary video in a datastream. So
embedded audio will (incorrectly) be called metadata when it tells us nothing at all about the pictures.

Multi-mode

Multi-mode fibers have a larger diameter core than single mode fibers (either 50 or 62.5 microns
compared to 9 microns), and a correspondingly larger aperture. It is much easier to couple light energy
into a multi-mode fiber, but internal reflections will cause multiple “modes” of the signal to propagate
down the fiber. This will degrade the ability of the fiber to be used over long distances.
See also Single Mode.

NTSC

The color television encoding system used in North America was originally defined by the National
Television Standards Committee. This American standard has also been adopted by Canada, Mexico,
Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. (This standard is referred to disparagingly as Never Twice Same Color.)

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Optical

An optical interface between two devices carries data by modulating a light source. This light source
is typically a laser or laser diode (similar to an LED) which is turned on and off at the bitrate of the
datastream. The light is carried from one device to another through a glass fiber. The fiber’s core acts
as a waveguide or lightpipe to carry the light energy from one end to another. Optical transmission
has two very significant advantages over metallic copper cables. Firstly, it does not require that the
two endpoint devices have any electrical connection to each other. This can be very advantageous
in large facilities where problems with ground loops appear. And secondly, and most importantly, an
optical interface can carry a signal for many kilometers or miles without any degradation or loss in the
recovered signal. Copper is barely useful at distances of just 1000 feet.

Oversampling

A technique to perform digital sampling at a multiple of the required sample rate. This has the
advantage of raising the Nyquist Rate (the maximum frequency which can be reproduced by a given
sample rate) much higher than the desired passband. This allows more easily realized anti-aliasing
filters.

PAL

During the early days of color television in North America, European broadcasters developed a
competing system called Phase Alternation by Line. This slightly more complex system is better able
to withstand the differential gain and phase errors that appear in amplifiers and transmission systems.
Engineers at the BBC claim that it stands for Perfection At Last.

Pathological Test Pattern – see Checkfield

Progressive

An image scanning technique which progresses through all of the lines in a frame in a single pass.
Computer monitors all use progressive displays. This contrasts to the interlace technique common to
television systems.

Return Loss

An idealized input or output circuit will exactly match its desired impedance (generally 75 ohms) as a
purely resistive element, with no reactive (capacitive or inductive) elements. In the real world, we can
only approach the ideal. So, our real inputs and outputs will have some capacitance and inductance.
This will create impedance matching errors, especially at higher frequencies. The Return Loss of
an input or output measures how much energy is returned (reflected back due to the impedance
mismatch). For digital circuits, a return loss of 15 dB is typical. This means that the energy returned is
15 dB less than the original signal. In analog circuits, a 40 dB figure is expected.

RGB

RGB systems carry the totality of the picture information as independent Red, Green, and Blue signals.
Television is an additive color system, where all three components add to produce white. Because the
luminance (or detail) information is carried partially in each of the RGB channels, all three must be
carried at full bandwidth in order to faithfully reproduce an image.

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ScH Phase

Used in composite systems, ScH Phase measures the relative phase between the leading edge of sync
on line 1 of field 1 and a continuous subcarrier sinewave. Due to the arithmetic details of both PAL and
NTSC, this relationship is not the same at the beginning of each frame. In PAL, the pattern repeats ever
4 frames (8 fields) which is also known as the Bruch Blanking sequence. In NTSC, the repeat is every 2
frames (4 fields). This creates enormous headaches in editing systems and the system timing of analog
composite facilities.

Setup

In the NTSC Analog Composite standard, the term Setup refers to the addition of an artificial offset
or pedestal to the luminance content. This places the Black Level of the analog signal 54 mV (7.5 IRE)
positive with respect to ground. The use of Setup is a legacy from the early development of television
receivers in the vacuum tube era. This positive offset helped to prevent the horizontal retrace of the
electron beam from being visible on the CRT, even if Brightness and Contrast were mis-adjusted.
While the use of Setup did help to prevent retrace artifacts, it did so at the expense of dynamic range
(contrast) in the signal because the White Level of the signal was not changed.

Setup is optional in NTSC systems, but is never used in PAL systems (see ‘Perfection’ characteristic of
PAL). This legacy of Setup continues to persist in North American NTSC systems, while it has been
abandoned in Japan.

In the digital component world (SD and HD SDI) there is obviously no need for, and certainly every
reason to avoid, Setup. In order for the interfaces between analog and digital systems to operate
as transparently as possible, Setup must be carefully accounted for in conversion products. When
performing analog to digital conversion, Setup (if present) must be removed and the signal range
gained up to account for the 7.5% reduction in dynamic range. And when a digital signal is converted
back to analog form, Setup (if desired on the output) must be created by reducing the dynamic range
by 7.5% and adding the 54 mV positive offset. Unfortunately, there is no truly foolproof algorithm to
detect the presence of Setup automatically, so it’s definitely a case of installer beware.

SDI

Serial Digital Interface. This term refers to inputs and outputs of devices that support serial digital
component video. This could refer to standard definition at 270 Mb/s, HD SDI or High Definition Serial
Digital video at 1.485 Gb/s, or to the newer 3G standard of High Definition video at 2.97 Gb/s.

SMPTE

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers is a professional organization which has done
tremendous work in setting standards for both the film and television industries. The term “SMPTE’” is
also shorthand for one particular component video format - luminance and color difference.

Single Mode

A Single mode (or mono mode) optical fiber carries an optical signal on a very small diameter (9
micron) core surrounded with cladding. The small diameter means that no internally reflected
lightwaves will be propagated. Thus only the original “mode” of the signal passes down the fiber.
A single mode fiber used in an optical SDI system can carry a signal for up to 20 kilometers. Single

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mode fibers require particular care in their installation due to the extremely small optical aperture that
they present at splice and connection points. See also Multi-mode.

TBC

A Time Base Corrector is a system to reduce the Time Base Error in a signal to acceptable levels. It
accomplishes this by using a FIFO (First In, First Out) memory. The incoming video is written into the
memory using its own jittery timing. This operation is closely associated with the actual digitization of
the analog signal because the varying position of the sync timing must be mimicked by the sampling
function of the analog to digital converter. A second timing system, genlocked to a stable reference,
is used to read the video back out of the memory. The memory acts as a dynamically adjusting delay
to smooth out the imperfections in the original signal’s timing. Very often a TBC will also function as a
Frame Synchronizer. See also Frame Sync.

Time Base Error

Time base error is present when there is excessive jitter or uncertainty in the line to line output
timing of a video signal. This is commonly associated with playback from video tape recorders, and
is particularly severe with consumer type heterodyne systems like VHS. Time base error will render a
signal unusable for broadcast or editing purposes.

Timecode

Timecode, a method to uniquely identify and label every frame in a video stream, has become one of
the most recognized standards ever developed by SMPTE. It uses a 24 hour clock, consisting of hours,
minutes, seconds, and television frames. Originally recorded on a spare audio track, this 2400 baud
signal was a significant contributor to the development of video tape editing. We now refer to this as
LTC or Longitudinal Time Code because it was carried along the edge of the tape. This allowed it to
be recovered in rewind and fast forward when the picture itself could not. Timecode continues to be
useful today and is carried in the vertical interval as VITC, and as a digital packet as DVITC. Timecode is
the true metadata.

Tri-Level Sync

For many, many years, television systems used composite black as a genlock reference source. This
was a natural evolution from analog systems to digital implementations. With the advent of High
Definition television, with even higher data rates and tighter jitter requirements, problems with this
legacy genlock signal surfaced. Further, a reference signal with a 50 or 60 Hz frame rate was useless
with 24 Hz HD systems running at film rates. Today we can think of composite black as a bi-level sync
signal – it has two levels, one at sync tip and one at blanking. For HD systems, Tri-Level Sync, which has
the same blanking level (at ground) of bi-level sync, but the sync pulse now has both a negative and
a positive element. This keeps the signal symmetrically balanced so that its DC content is zero. And it
also means that the timing pickoff point is now at the point where the signal crosses blanking and is
no longer subject to variation with amplitude. This makes Tri-Level Sync a much more robust signal
and one which can be delivered with less jitter.

USB

The Universal Serial Bus, developed in the computer industry to replace the previously ubiquitous
RS-232 serial interface, now appears in many different forms and with many different uses. It actually

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forms a small local area network, allowing multiple devices to coexist on a single bus where they can
be individually addressed and accessed.

VGA

Video Graphics Array. Traditional 15-pin, analog interface between a PC and monitor.

Word Clock

Use of Word Clock to genlock digital audio devices developed in the audio recording industry. Early
digital audio products were interconnected with a massive parallel connector carrying a twisted pair
for every bit in the digital audio word. A clock signal, which is a square wave at the audio sampling
frequency, is carried on a 75 ohm coaxial cable. Early systems would daisychain this 44.1 or 48 kilohertz
clock from one device to another with coax cable and Tee connectors. On the rising edge of this Work
Clock these twisted pairs would carry the left channel, while on the falling edge, they would carry the
right channel. In most television systems using digital audio, the audio sample clock frequency (and
hence the ‘genlock’ between the audio and video worlds) is derived from the video genlock signal. But
products that are purely audio, with no video reference capability, may still require Word Clock.

WSS

Wide Screen Signaling is used in the PAL/625 video standards, both in analog and digital form, to
convey information about the aspect ratio and format of the transmitted signal. Carried in the vertical
interval, much like closed captioning, it can be used to signal a television receiver to adjust its vertical
or horizontal sizing to reflect incoming material. Although an NTSC specification for WSS exists, it
never achieved any traction in the marketplace.

YUV

Strictly speaking, YUV does not apply to component video. The letters refer to the Luminance (Y), and
the U and V encoding axes using in the PAL composite system. Since the U axis is very close to the B-Y
axis, and the V axis is very close to the R-Y axis, YUV is often used as a sort of shorthand for the more
long-winded “Y/R-Y/B-Y”.

Y/Cr/Cb

In digital component video, the luminance component is Y, and the two color difference signals are
Cr (R-Y) and Cb (B-Y).

Y/Pr/Pb

In analog component video, the image is carried in three components. The luminance is Y, the R-Y
color difference signal is Pr, and the B-Y color difference signal is Pb.

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