The FCC flipped the switch on the U.S. digital TV transition in 2009, but nearly three years later many commercial integration customers are still struggling with analog.
In venues that require a lot of multi-channel video—think hotels, sports bars, long-term health care facilities—the price of distributing high-definition content is prohibitive and those clients often settle for sending digital signals through a grainy, analog solution.
With its Hdb2380 8-channel SD modulator, ZeeVee is rewriting the rules when it comes to the price of deploying video distribution, according to co-founder and CEO Vic Odryna. “We are about to take a big chunk out of the cost of modulation,” he says.
ZeeVee’s target price for the composite video Hdb2380, part of its new HDbridge 2000 Series, is $2,299, which equates to $288 per channel and is less than one third the cost-per-channel of predecessor Hdbridge 420. It makes digital “ridiculously affordable,” says Kai Rostcheck, ZeeVee’s director of marketing.
The dual-QAM Hdb2380 is the newest addition to ZeeVee’s line of digital QAM encoder/modulators, and its first SD encoder that mixes eight channels onto two RF frequencies in a single RU chassis. That’s critical, Rostcheck says, because “rack space is typically at a premium on retrofit projects” in which ZeeVee’s coax distribution solutions are often deployed.
It’s not HD, but the digital 480i solution reflects a huge upgrade over analog modulators that are sorely lacking in picture and signal quality. “Integrators understand that, and the proof is in the picture,” Odryna says. The Hdb2380 delivers picture quality that won’t degrade from poor wiring and won’t suffer from noise and graininess that plague analog solutions.
With this Hdbridge release, ZeeVee gives integrators a better opportunity to close the gap between analog and HD. “We also expect to see mixing and matching scenarios,” Rostcheck says, meaning that integrators can provide completely digital solutions for clients that include some HD channels through ZeeVee’s other modulators and some SD channels with the Hdb2380.
Meanwhile, the ZeeVee SD modulators include local and remote management functionality via the web, making them better fits for commercial environments than analog modulators.
There are also simplicity benefits for integrators. It’s easy to set up because it auto-tunes; encryption isn’t required because it’s not HD; it is, however, digital so integrators needn’t worry about TVs dropping analog tuners. ZeeVee calls its new SD modulator the “least expensive, most fully-functional choice for upgrading from analog to digital video.”
From ZeeVee:
- Each HDb2380 is directly connected to 8 composite video sources and converts each source into a digital cable channel. Hundreds of channels can coexist simultaneously on the same coax cable, and are simply viewed by using the tuner built into every HDTV!
- Easy installation—simply unplug your old analog modulator and plug those same wires into your new digital modulator, and go.
- Direct connection to satellite or cable receivers—redistribute high-quality content on-premise or campus-wide.
- Composite Video and Analog Video—allow for simple connections.
- Coax wiring—easily integrate and balance into new or existing MATV/SMATV RF distribution systems to upgrade digital video.
- Simple configuration and remote management—Front panel LCD for easy channel viewing and LAN port for advanced remote configuration.
- Built to last—steel enclosure, rack mounting, robust internal power supply, and fan-cooled.
ZeeVee plans to begin shipping the Hdb2380 in October 2012.
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