GRASS VALLEY MAESTRO Datasheet
Maestro
MULTI-CHANNEL MASTER CONTROL AND
CHANNEL BRANDING
The Maestro platform is designed to
meet your needs today and into the
future. Upgrading from standarddefinition to high-definition (SD to HD)
or adding new features never involves
replacing the Maestro system’s main
board. The Channel Branding option
helps you to present and preserve your
brand in today’s competitive broadcast
marketplace.
PRODUCT DATA SHEET
The Grass Valley™ next-generation
Maestro™ master control system
offers an exceptional combination of
integrated features, expandability, and
control options, including support for
multi-format video and audio on a single
board. In addition, the Maestro system
fits within a Grass Valley Concerto™
Series routing matrix frame, offering
the convenience of master control and
routing within the same frame.
Maestro comes with a modular control
panel and optional PC-based graphical
user interface (GUI) that provides all
the control functions of a traditional
hardware control panel. As the hardware
and GUI control panels have near
identical forms, it eliminates the need for
an operator to learn two different user
interfaces.
A single Maestro master control system
supports up to 48 channels with operator
channel selection and control from the
hardware or GUI control panels.
KEY FEATURES
Architecture ready for today and •
designed for the future
Up to eight on-air keys and four •
audio voiceovers
Up to 10 simultaneous internal •
branding sources
Internal branding still images, CG text •
displays, animations, text crawls, and
audio voiceovers
Extremely flexible control options•
10-bit 2D digital effects •
(SqueezeBack™ and other effects)
Maestro is designed to meet your
needs today and into the future. When
upgrading from SD to HD or adding new
features, you never have to replace the
Maestro system’s main board. You can
even add select new features through
software and firmware upgrades. While
certain features require simple add-on
boards, they will never require extra
slots in the frame.
Maestro’s architecture is designed to
accommodate changing technologies.
Major components such as CPUs, digital
video effects, and channel branding
DSPs are built on replaceable addon boards. Rather than the planned
obsolescence built into conventional
systems, Maestro is ready to grow with
your needs and as available technologies
advance.
Supports up to 48 channels per •
system with operator selection and
control
Uses just one slot per channel in any •
Concerto Series router frame
Supports SD, HD, AES, embedded •
audio, and Dolby audio formats
Modular operator hardware control •
panel and PC-based graphical user
interface
Worry-free source and program •
selection from external sources
Branding Flexibility
Using external key cut/key fill, AES audio
inputs, and internal channel branding
sources, Maestro provides up to 10
active branding sources that can be onair simultaneously.
The external branding features of the
Maestro system include:
Four key cut/key fill inputs•
Four voiceover audio inputs•
Four upstream keys and four •
downstream keys (total of eight keys)
Full keyer control, shadow, border, and •
matte generation
Linear and luminance keys•
The internal branding features of the
Maestro system include:
Four still image or CG text sources•
Two animation sequence or text crawl •
sources
Four voiceover audio sources•
Independent control of up to four •
multi-channel audio-overs
Supports up to 16 audio channels •
(embedded and AES)
Dolby E pass-through supported•
™
Saturn•
automation protocol
(extended for new Maestro features)
supports easy integration into
existing systems
Interfaces to Encore and Jupiter •
control systems
www.grassvalley.com
PRODUCT DATA SHEET
Channel Branding Option
Maestro Channel Branding is available
in Basic or Enhanced options. Basic
Channel Branding provides a solution for
most brand needs including logos, bugs,
ID, trouble slide, time and temperature
display, and dynamic data displays such
as school closure, program teasers,
and audio announcements. Enhanced
Channel Branding expands branding
to include animations and text crawls.
This provides you with solutions to your
branding needs including animations,
backgrounds, snipes, animated teasers,
and dynamic text crawls.
Still images may be full-screen in all
Maestro video standards. Still images
are displayed as they are created by
your graphics department, allowing
control over brand look and position. Still
images support transparency and may be
repositioned, if required.
CG Text is a unique Maestro Channel
Branding feature, that combines the
display of multiple still image and text
boxes in a single branding source. Up
to eight image or text boxes may be
defined referencing up to 16 still images
and four character generator fonts. Still
image and text content can be dynamic
with the displayed images and text
displays controlled from simple external
text files. The external text files can be
created using a simple text editor or
from a data source such as the Internet,
election, or auction reporting system.
CG Text is a full-screen, template-based
display that provides a solution to
branding needs such as dynamic logos,
time and temperature, school closure,
data ticker, program log, or teasers with
multiple active components.
Animations include animation sequences
and text crawl sources. An animation
sequence may be full-screen in all
Maestro video standards. The length
of an animation playout is determined
by the size of the screen area being
animated. A full-screen HD animation
may play for several seconds while a
small logo or “snipe” might play for
hundreds of seconds. Looping playout
is supported allowing any animation to
play continuously without interruption. A
text crawl is a full-screen template-based
display, which may include a colored
background with transparency.
The text data displayed with CG Text or
a text crawl may consist of many lines
of data displayed in sequence until the
entire text page has been displayed,
at which time the text is reloaded
containing any additions or updates that
have been loaded since the last page
display began. CG Text and text crawl
support formatting escape sequences,
which are simple text commands
included in the text file that provide user
control of parameters such as time,
date, font color, drop shadow effects
and colors, underline, and color and font
selection. CG Text and text crawl also
allow the insertion of still images as part
of the text display. Up to 16 still images
may be referenced and inserted as
desired. A text crawl also supports the
insertion of an animation sequence into
the text display. Each CG Text and text
crawl element is a separate source and
may contain unique formatting, fonts,
and content.
The still images displayed using CG Text
or a text crawl are referenced using
a still image filename. Although the
filename cannot be changed, the actual
still images may be changed or updated
by simply saving a new or edited still
image with the associated filename. The
new image will then be displayed the
next time the source is loaded.
Simplified Branding Creation and
Workflow
Still images, animation sequences, and
audio messages are created using the
tools you already have. Elements are
transferred to the Maestro channels
using simple drag-and-drop actions or
by saving the file to a mapped disk drive
using standard Windows and Mac tools.
No complex element transfer methods
such as jump memory or FTP transfers
are required. Ingest, processing, and
loading of the branding elements to
associated Maestro on-air channels is
completed automatically and does not
require the master control operator or
any technical supervision. The simple
exchange method allows your graphics
department to create content and control
brand with little change to the current
workflow.
Unprecedented Control Flexibility
The Maestro platform also provides
unprecedented control flexibility.
Its control panel is comprised of
modular sub-panels, which allow
you to determine which controls you
actually need. With various panel sizes
available (typical 4x2 panel configuration
pictured), you can decide what is more
important—a small panel footprint or all
the controls at your fingertips in a larger
footprint.
Available sub-panels include:
Source Control (3 control units)•
Keyer Control (1 control unit)•
Audio Control (2 control units)•
Channel Control (1 control unit)•
Source Assignment (1 control unit)•
Maestro control panels are available in
the following sizes:
4x2 (accommodates 8 control units)•
5x2 (accommodates 10 control units)•
In addition to the hardware control
panel, Maestro offers a full-featured
touchscreen GUI. This software-based
control panel can complement or
replace the hardware control panel as it
offers all of the same control features.
If desktop space is a concern or only
occasional manual control is needed, the
touchscreen option may be an attractive
alternative to the traditional hardware
control panel. Either way, the choice is
yours.
Maestro Modular Control Panel
You can combine individual source
control, source assignment, keyer, audio,
channel control, transition, and other
panels as needed to create a master
control panel tailored to your needs. The
intuitive touchscreen GUI is available
to complement or replace the system’s
hardware control panel.
www.grassvalley.com
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