Nevion ARC-SD-XMUX4 User Manual

ARC-SD-XMUX4

SD-SDI Aspect Ratio Converter

with 4x AES I/O

User manual

Rev. B

Nevion

Nordre Kullerød 1
3241 Sandefjord
Norway
Tel: [phone]

nevion.com

ARC-SD-XMUX4 Rev. B

Nevion Europe
P.O. Box 1020

3204 Sandefjord, Norway
Support phone 1: [phone]
Support phone 2: [phone]

Nevion USA

1600 Emerson Avenue

Oxnard, CA 93033, USA

Toll free North America: [phone]

Outside North America: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

See http://www.nevion.com/support/ for service hours for customer support globally.

Rev.

Repl.

Date

Sign

Change description

B 1 2015-05-14

MB

Cover page update; DoC removed; no other
changes to content

1 0 2011-11-02

TB

Added chapter 6.2 on GPI alarms and GPI inputs

0 A 2011-03-04

SHH

Initial revision.

Nevion Support

Revision history

Current revision of this document is the uppermost in the table below.

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ARC-SD-XMUX4 Rev. B

Contents

1 Product overview ................................................................................................................ 4

1.1 Product versions .............................................................................................................. 4

2 Specifications ..................................................................................................................... 5

3 Description ......................................................................................................................... 7

3.1 Data paths ....................................................................................................................... 7

3.2 Video blocks overview ..................................................................................................... 8

3.3 Optical/ Electrical input selection ..................................................................................... 8

3.4 De-glitcher ....................................................................................................................... 9

3.5 Aspect Ratio Converter block .......................................................................................... 9

3.6 Frame synchronizer ........................................................................................................15

3.7 Video generator ..............................................................................................................15

3.8 Label generator ..............................................................................................................16

3.9 Video processing block ...................................................................................................16

3.10 EDH processing block ..................................................................................................16

3.11 Video output selection ..................................................................................................16

3.12 Audio overview .............................................................................................................17

3.13 Audio de-embedder ......................................................................................................17

3.14 Audio delay...................................................................................................................17

3.15 Audio cross point matrix ...............................................................................................17

3.16 AES I/O ........................................................................................................................18

3.17 Audio generator ............................................................................................................18

3.18 Audio processing block .................................................................................................18

4 Configuration .....................................................................................................................20

4.1 DIP switch functions .......................................................................................................20

4.2 FACTORY reset function ................................................................................................22

4.3 MULTICON GYDA mode ................................................................................................22

5 Connections ......................................................................................................................23

6 Operation ..........................................................................................................................24

6.1 Front panel LED indicators .............................................................................................24

6.2 GPI alarms .....................................................................................................................25

6.3 RS422 commands ..........................................................................................................25

General environmental requirements for Nevion equipment .................................................33

Product Warranty .................................................................................................................34

Appendix A Materials declaration and recycling information .................................................35

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ARC-SD-XMUX4 Rev. B

SDI

OPTICAL

IN

SDI

ELECTRICAL

IN

SDI OUT

16 ch Audio

De-embedder

16 ch Audio

Embedder

Audio x-point

Reclocker /

De-serialiser

x-point

Frame Sync

w/ Video

generator

Deglitcher

Phase Thru

Aspect Ratio

Conversion

Audio
Delay

Audio Tone

Generator

SDI OUT
SDI OUT
SDI OUT

4 AES OUT

4 AES IN

4 AES Selectable I/O CTRLAudio SRC

Genlock

REF

Control

GPI

GYDA

RS422

Decoder

RS422

OUT

BYPASS

Video

Processing /

Gain /

Label insert

AFD / WSS /

VI

De-embedder

AFD / WSS /

VI

Embedder

Audio

processing

ARC-SD-XMUX4

SD-SDI aspect ratio converter. 4AES I/O, 4 SDI outputs and frame
synchronizer functionality.

ARC-SD-XMUX4-R

As above but with a high sensitivity 9/125µm single mode optical
input.

ARC-SD-XMUX4-R-L

As above but with an APD 9/125um single mode optical input

1 Product overview

The Flashlink ARC-SD-XMUX4 converts the aspect ratio of an SD-SDI signal. The module
changes the scaling during the vertical blanking period so that the changes appear to be
instantaneous.

The ARC-SD-XMUX-4 has 4 x SDI outputs and 4 x AES I/Os.
The ARC-SD-XMUX4 is also a frame synchronizer with an adjustable offset relative to the

sync signal.
The ARC-SD-XMUX4 also has a de-glitcher to give error-free synchronous switching.
The audio embedded in the SD-SDI stream is de-embedded and can be delayed relative to

video. The stereo audio channels can be swapped in the audio matrix before they are re­embedded in the SD-SDI data output stream.

A selection of user parameters of the card can be controlled by switches on the board.
Complete control of all parameters is available by use of the Flashlink RS422 Control
Protocol Version 4, which is supported by the Multicon GYDA system controller from
software release 2.13.

Figure 1: ARC-SD-XMUX4-R block diagram.

1.1 Product versions

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ARC-SD-XMUX4 Rev. B

Data rate:

270 Mbps

Sensitivity:

Better than -20dBm (PIN)/-30dBm (APD)

Detector overload threshold:

-3dBm

Detector damage threshold:

>+1dBm

Optical wavelength:

1200-1620nm

Transmission circuit fiber:

9/125um Single Mode

Return loss:

>40dB w/ SM fiber

Connector:

SC/UPC

Connectors

75 Ohm BNC

Equalization

Automatic:

- >300m @270Mbps w/Belden 8281, BER < 10E-12

Input Return loss

>15dB, 5MHz -1.5GHz

Jitter tolerance

- SD limit:

- 10Hz-1kHz: >1 UI

- 10kHz – 5MHz: >0.2 UI

Connector

75 Ohm BNC

Format

Black & Burst, Tri-level

Input Return loss

<-35dB @ < 10MHz,
30dB @ < 30MHz

Termination

Selectable internal or external 75 Ohm termination

Number of outputs

4

Polarity

2 non-inverting, 2 inverting

Connectors

75 Ohm BNC

Output Return loss

>15dB, 5MHz -1.5GHz

Output signal level

800mV +/- 10%

Output signal rise /
fall time, 20% - 80%

- SD limit: [0.4ns – 1.5ns]; <0.5ns rise/fall var.
Amplitude overshoot

<10%

Output timing jitter

- SD: <0.2 UI

Output alignment jitter

- SD: <0.15 UI

Number of inputs/outputs

4

Connectors

WECO

Return loss

110R +/-20% 0.1MHz – 6.144MHz

Output jitter

<0.0025UI peak

Impedance

110 ohm transformer balanced

Input audio data rate

24 kHz to 100kHz, converted to 48 kHz uf not isochronous to
either SDI input or sync input.

Embedded audio word
length

24 bits

Embedded audio Channels
status

As received when isochronous, otherwise fixed.
SD, 270 Mbps

SMPTE 259M, SMPTE 272M-AC, SMPTE297M

Analog video

SMPTE 170M, SMPTE 274M, ITU-R. BT.470,

Centre of picture definition

SMPTE RP187, ITU-R. BT.470

Aspect ratio preservation

SMPTE RP199-1999, SMPTE RP221

2 Specifications

Optical SD-SDI input

Electrical SD-SDI input

Electrical Sync input

Electrical SD-SDI outputs

AES output

Supported standards

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ARC-SD-XMUX4 Rev. B

Video switch point
definition and sync

SMPTE RP168 (tri-level), SMPTE 170M, ITU-R. BT.470
AES

AES3-1996

Optical

SMPTE 297M

EDH

Compliant to SMPTE RP165

Video Payload
Identification

SMPTE 352M-2002, SMPTE 2016-1, SMPTE2016-3, SMPTE
RP186

Minimum delay

256 lines

Power consumption

+5V DC/ 5W max
W/o optical input module

-0.3W

All AES configured as inputs
(unused)

-0.5W

Minimum video signal delay through processing

Other

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ARC-SD-XMUX4 Rev. B

3 Description

3.1 Data paths

The SD-SDI input selected from the optical or electrical input is equalized, re-clocked and de­serialized and transferred to a processing unit (FPGA). In the FPGA the signal is sent
through a de-glitcher that cleans up erroneous video lines, for instance due to switching.
After the de-glitcher the video is sent to the Audio de-embedders, where audio is split from
the video.

3.1.1 Audio data path

The stereo audio channels from the de-embedder are sent to an audio store buffer. The
audio is fetched from the audio store buffer after the user specified delay. It is then sent to
the Audio matrix.

Two other sources are available in the audio matrix: A 1 kHz stereo sine tone and a
generated black sound which is a legal audio stream with muted audio.

Depending of how many of the configurable AES I/Os have been designated as inputs, there
may also be up to four AES inputs available in the matrix.

Outputs with missing inputs are routed to a fallback signal. The fallback signal may be
silence or the tone generator.

Each output from the matrix is sent to an Audio Processing Block where channels can be
processed or rearranged within the channel pair.

Finally, eight stereo pairs are routed to the Audio Embedder. Depending on how many of the
four AES I/Os have been designated as outputs, up to four stereo pairs are also routed the
AES outputs.

3.1.2 Video data path

The video is routed to an aspect ratio converter block and the resulting SD video is passed to
a Frame synchronizer block.

An internal video generator can be switched in as a fallback source if the input video is
missing.

The audio is re-embedded and the video then passes through a Video processing block with
an integrated Legalizer, before entering an EDH processing block. Embedding of the EDH
packet is configurable.

The parallel video is sent out from the FPGA and into a serializer that re-clocks the data and
sends the SDI to a buffered output switch.

The output switch is used to bypass the video processing core so that DVB-ASI may pass
through the module. The switch selects between the FPGA output (Processed mode) and
video that has only been re-clocked (Through mode).

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3.2 Video blocks overview

Figure 2: Video block diagram

3.3 Optical/ Electrical input selection

The ARC-SD-XMUX4-R has both an optical and an electrical input. The active input can be
selected either:

1. Automatically based on a prioritized list of inputs and a rule of switching.

2. Manually.

When controlled by DIP switches, the card will use the fall back source and generator
settings saved from the last Multicon GYDA session.

3.3.1 Automatic selection mode

Video in Mode set to auto: There are three priority levels. Each level may be assigned an
input setting; optical, electrical, video generator or mute.

The priority is the order in which the board will look for a valid input. The card will switch to
the next priority after a loss of lock to the input signal.

If the active input is either electrical or optical, and the other is selected as the first priority
(main), the module will not switch back to main unless signal is lost on the active channel, or
the user hits the Latch reset button.

Hold time determines how long a signal has to be missing/out of lock before it is considered
lost. This is useful to avoid switching when the input has intermittent faults.

Lock time determines how long a higher prioritized signal has to be locked before it again
can be considered to be present and stable. This is only active when the module has lost
both optical and electrical video inputs.

If video input disappears

Given that stable SDI input and sync input exists: If the SDI input disappears and Video in is
set to Auto, the board will hold on to the current input for the time set by Hold time whilst
frame freezing.

The board will then select the next input in the priority list (or go up to the main input, if no
fallback exists).

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ARC-SD-XMUX4 Rev. B

3.3.2 Manual selection mode

If the SDI signal disappears the board will frame freeze indefinitely.

3.4 De-glitcher

The de-glitcher corrects timing errors within a line of video due to source switching. This
allows perfect synchronous switching.

Non-synchronous switching can result in a frame that is split between the old and the new
video, but the output will always be continuous.

3.5 Aspect Ratio Converter block

The aspect ratio converter block is a 13 tap high quality linear resampling scaling engine. It
may be used to stretch or shrink a picture vertically and horizontally. The picture may also be
offset with respect to the centre of the picture.

The block can detect a change in aspect ratio information embedded in the input signal and
change the scaling during the vertical blanking period allowing on-air automatic switching of
aspect ratio conversion.

Externally triggered changes of aspect ratio are also deferred until the next vertical interval to
allow the use of the module in a transmission signal path.

The module is intended to be used primarily to convert SD video between standard aspect
4:3 and widescreen 16:9.

The primary difficulty with the conversion is the sheer number of possible conversions. This
can be greatly reduced by setting the output aspect ratio to be 4:3 or 16:9. We call this the
output environment. The actual scaling will then depend on the input signal.

The output environment setting actually describes the aspect ratio of the pixels. The fill
factor is the term for the amount that the picture fills the output frame, the presence of
horizontal or vertical curtains or black bars.

The output signal will have the appropriate AFD, VI WSS and S352M embedded. All of these
metadata types may also be disabled.

There are four operational modes for the module:

1. AFD -> Frame fill setting -> default conversion

2. AFD -> default conversion

3. Frame fill setting -> default conversion

4. Fixed default conversion

The primary assumption for the first three modes is that an input signal with the same aspect
ratio as the output environment will not be scaled. (There are a couple of exceptions if the
picture has both horizontal and vertical curtains.)

The scaling that is set in default conversion will be used for all input signals.

3.5.1 Automatic scaling modes

The following applies to the first three automatic modes of operation.
The scaling performed by the module is determined by the input picture aspect ratio and fill

factor (presence of ‘curtains’) but normal SD video does not natively state what aspect the
pixels are or if another conversion has already been applied. There are three sources of
information that may be present in the video that can provide some or all of this information.

Active Format Descriptor (SMPTE 2016, referred to as AFD) and Video Index (SMPTE
RP186 referred to as VI) describe both the aspect ratio and the fill factor of the picture.

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However, the fill factor descriptor may contain a code to indicate that the fill factor of the
picture is unknown. In that case, the code for the input aspect ratio is used.

SMPTE352M is a data packet that can be used to identify the aspect ratio of the picture.
Wide Screen Signaling present in the input video (WSS) can also be used to identify the

aspect ratio of the incoming picture. The trouble is that WSS codes are by themselves
indistinguishable from WSS Extended codes, but have a completely different meaning. This
means that the user must select if WSS should be interpreted as WSS or WSS-Ext, and if
this selection does not match the choice made in the equipment that inserted the WSS
information, the resulting scalings will seem unpredictable.

Mode 1: Full automatic mode

The aspect ratio control block will start by looking for AFD presence in the input signal to
select the aspect conversion. If that is not present it will look for VI, then WSS and finally
SMPTE S352M information. If no aspect ratio information is present in the video, the default
scaling setting will be used.

When a valid format descriptor is present, either from AFD or VI, all the conversions in the
AFD code drawing are possible for the given output environment.

In the case where only input environment information is available, a subset of the
conversions is used. The desired filling method must be set. This may be one of the
following:

 Protect input frame : No cropping. Full curtains.
 Zoom to fill frame : The image will be cropped and zoomed to fit. No curtains.
 14:9 : The image will be zoomed and cropped. Narrow curtains (pillar or letter box).

If the input environment is the same as the output environment, no conversion will be
performed.

Mode 2: AFD or default

This mode will only use the AFD information if present. The default scaling will be used if
there is no AFD packet, no video index and no WSS, or if the active format descriptor is set
to ‘Unknown’.

Mode 3: Fill mode or default

This mode will only use the input aspect information from the AFD information if present.
The S352M packet will be used if it is present and neither AFD packets, VI, nor WSS are
present. The default setting will be used if there is no AFD packet, no video index, no WSS
and no S352M packet.

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ARC-SD-XMUX4 Rev. B

AFD conversions

The figure below shows the different transitions that are defined. The incoming format is
given by the VI/AFD, and the user has supplied wanted output environment. To avoid clutter,
transitions from a state to itself are not shown in the figure. The corresponding AFD format is
shown for reference.

At first the figure looks confusing, but observe that each state have only one arrow leading
from itself to the other column. The arrows define the normal conversion when the input
environment is different to the output environment. Find the picture type that you have on the
input and follow the arrow which points out of that state to find the conversion that will be
performed by the ARC-SD-MUX when the AFD code is present.

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