Grass Valley Sirius: Flexibility and Scalability for the future of broadcasting
View the original article from Digital Production TV
A range of multistandard, scalable routers that ensure a high level of reliability thanks to various integrated redundancies. These routers are capable of managing multiple signal processes internally, offering numerous outputs for multiviewers and various remote monitoring options, including alarm monitoring. Additionally, they benefit from the high level of support provided by Video Progetti.
The heart of every audio-video production system is the router, which, in any case, represents the most critical element due to the central and fundamental functions it performs in a production facility, regardless of its size or level. Therefore, robustness, reliability, and operational flexibility are key factors for these types of products, both to facilitate broadcast operations and ensure service continuity.
Grass Valley boasts extensive know-how in the router domain, thanks to the technologies of various acquired brands or subsidiaries over the years, such as Miranda, Quantel, Snell & Wilcox, SAM, and ProBel.
Grass Valley currently offers two families of routers: Vega and Sirius.
The first is dedicated to small and medium-sized applications. The Sirius 800 series (available in three different models: Sirius 830, Sirius 840, and Sirius 850) is aimed at mid-to-high-profile systems.
This is a tailor-made range offering advanced technological features, great flexibility, and reliability, making it highly favored by system integrators (who can easily integrate it into complex systems and meet clients’ specific requirements) and technical directors (who appreciate its high reliability). Additionally, it can be adapted to the needs of any production setup, with easy and quick adjustments.
The Sirius router series from Grass Valley supports all major audio and video standards, such as SDI, AES, MADI, 12G-SDI, etc., and supports both FHD and UHD signals. It is also designed for hybrid configurations, integrating IP modules in SMPTE 2110 and 2022 standards.
The implementation of Advanced Hybrid Processing (AHP) enables many complex tasks within the same rack, without needing additional external modules. This simplifies cabling and reduces space requirements. These tasks include audio processing, frame synchronization, video and audio delay compensation, and conversions.
In terms of flexibility, the Sirius 800 series is available in different configurations, with port options ranging from 288×288 to 1152×1152, allowing for great scalability to meet the demands of various applications.
In summary, the Sirius series presents itself as a powerful, reliable, and versatile routing solution, capable of handling a wide variety of formats and offering the most advanced signal processing functionalities.
We had the opportunity to discuss further details about the Sirius 850 model, the top-tier model of the Sirius range, which was available at Video Progetti’s headquarters for configuration before delivery.
Interview with Marco Annibali, Product Manager at Video Progetti
First, can you introduce the Grass Valley router range?
Certainly. Grass Valley offers two router product lines. One is the Vega series, which is an intermediate solution ranging from 96 ports up to 432 ports. When I refer to “ports” in this context, I mean bi-directional BNCs. So, on a 96-port router, you could have 95 inputs and one output, or any other in-between configuration. On the other hand, the Sirius 800 series is a more high-end solution, with three models.
- The Sirius 830 has 15 rack units +2 PSU, with a 288×288 configuration.
- The Sirius 840, historically the most sold, features a 576×576 configuration in 27 RU, and depending on the onboard components, it can have two or four RU of Power Supply.
- The Sirius 850 offers a 576×1152 configuration, with 34 rack units and two or four PSU units, depending on the inserted cards.
All routers allow at least to host two multiviewer cards to be inserted into dedicated slots, or as alternative there are MV 831/841/851 cards available, which can replace input/output cards, increasing the number of multiviewers.
What other important features should be highlighted?
The Sirius series encompasses many features that make it the heart of the infrastructure. We have cards that integrate AHP (Advanced Hybrid Processing), which provides embedding, de-embedding, frame sync, line sync, mixing, shuffling, and supports all video formats, from SDI to 12G, and audio formats such as MADI or AES, or a mix of both. Another important feature is that the audio matrix is treated as a mono matrix, with an equivalent size of 18,432 x 18,432. Audio is handled transparently, accepting non-synchronous audio relative to the station’s reference. There’s also the ability to perform sample-rate conversion at the audio card output. Additionally, with four reference signals, the router can manage formats with different frame rates, allowing different references to be assigned to different destinations.
Beyond the previously mentioned formats, the router also supports ASI signals, passing them through without any processing.
The Sirius has two unique features for this class of routers: a PC installed on the front panel, which provides real-time status monitoring of the router. This is essentially a virtual panel useful to allow on-the-fly switching. Another interesting feature is the multicolor LEDs integrated into the BNC crowns, which illuminate in different colors depending on the type of signal, frame rate, or whether the audio is embedded.
This is a useful refinement because it allows operators to quickly identify the presence of signals and, when maintenance is needed on a cable or BNC, the LED color helps pinpoint the connector that needs attention.
In which type of system is the GV Sirius series ideal, and what makes it particularly competitive?
As I mentioned, thanks to AHP technology, you can centralize performances in a single rack that were previously delegated to external modules, such as frame sync or line sync. So, there’s no need for external frames to handle these processes. The same applies to embedding and de-embedding tasks.
For audio mixing, up to 16 onboard audio mixers are available, allowing track mixing. You can control both video and audio delay, which is useful for compensating for lip-sync issues on external feeds. This is particularly helpful in virtual production scenarios, like in sports broadcasts, where you may need to add graphics and introduce delay on the video without using extra devices.
The multiviewer feature is also significant. The largest router can support up to 168 multiviewer outputs. It’s important to note that the multiviewer card does not reduce the number of available outputs, as it uses dedicated BNC ports for the multiviewer signals. There are 48 HD-BNCs dedicated to outputting the signals destined for the multiviewer layouts, meaning you can centralize almost all required processes without impacting available outputs.
Speaking about IP evolution, how can we migrate to this new technology?
There are cards available that support IP signals, which are very useful during this technological transition, helping to maximize the investment.
With multiformat operation and multiviewer capabilities, the Sirius 800 series can be integrated standalone into a structure or as part of a distributed routing system, with connections to studio routers and playout. Flexible configuration and control options simplify both setups.
So, a real hybrid system?
Yes, exactly. You can have a card that supports SDI, ASI, and even IP signals, such as SMPTE ST 2022, for connecting to encoders, as we did with a solution we’ve already installed. The router is completely hot-swappable. You can insert frames or processes as needed without interrupting service continuity. This is a very important feature, especially for routers that are nearly always in operation.
Let’s also talk about redundancy and service reliability.
This is certainly an important point, especially for “Mission Critical” routers, which are constantly in operation. Everything “core” in the router is redundant. Two controllers are implemented. Both fan controllers and alarm controllers are redundant. Of course, the power supply and the crosspoint cards, the most crucial components, are also redundant. The power supplies are 48V DC, directly powering the frames, and all adjustments are made at the card level. There are no regulators inside the frame that could affect functionality in the event of a failure.
How about alarm visualization?
There are multiple ways to present alarms. Firstly, through the front PC, which has synoptic views that can be quickly assessed and drilled into. For example, if an alarm appears for a card, just tapping the touchscreen shows which fan is faulty. You can also receive SNMP Trap alerts, log systems based on Grass Valley software that go into an SQL database, and GPO contacts for activating visual or audible alarms.
If the router has a multiviewer, you can even display alarms on the multiviewer layout. So, in addition to monitoring the passing signals, you can also check for any issues or service interruptions.
Finally, an important and timely point: power consumption, particularly regarding backup energy solutions?
This is a direct result of centralizing all processes within the router. You don’t have additional consumption related to external frames where various embedders, de-embedders, and multiviewers are installed. So, there’s a savings in both space and energy, as well as reduced environmental conditioning.
Five Key Points of the GV Sirius 800 Series:
- Multiformat: Handles various video and audio signal types, including SDI, AES, MADI, 12G-SDI, and IP (SMPTE 2110/2022).
- Advanced Hybrid Processing (AHP): Centralizes multiple signal processing tasks (e.g., mixing, frame sync, embedding) into a single system.
- Flexible Configurations: Available in multiple configurations, with port options ranging from 288×288 to 1152×1152.
- Hybrid IP/SMPTE 2022 Integration: Supports a seamless migration from SDI to IP infrastructures, ensuring future-proof solutions.
- High Redundancy & Reliability: Key components like power supplies, controllers, and crosspoint cards are fully redundant, ensuring continuous operation.