The What: Arista Corporation (InfoComm booth C2800) has launched the ARD-5816-31 cluster for use with the company’s IP Flash Caster AV over IP Copper/Fiber Transmitter and Receiver Cards. With the ability to house 16 AV-over-IP copper and/or fiber transmitter/receiver cards, the Arista ARD-5816-31 incorporates SDVoE uncompressed 4K/60 4:4:4 AV-over-IP core technology combined with Arista’s video conversion technology.
The What Else: The ARD-5816-31 supports a wide range of video formats, including HDMI, DVI-D, 3G-SDI, and 6G/12G-SDI. With the ARD-5816-31’s hot-swappable, modular design, the transmitter and receiver cards can be inserted and removed without the need to power the unit down—thus simplifying field service. As the ARD-5816-31 serves as the unit that houses the various transmitter and receiver cards, the enclosure’s thermal management design provides optimal cooling and ventilation in environments where continuous, 24/7 operation is essential.
The ARD-5816-31 system’s features include HDMI 2.0, HDR video, windowing and audio downmixing, audio embedding/de-embedding, and more. Further, the ARD-5816-31 provides multisource video compositing capabilities for multiview, picture-in-picture (PIP), and picture-and-picture capabilities (PAP) within the AV signal distribution system. The Arista IP Flash Caster’s multisource video compositing capability enables each receiver to combine multiple video sources onto a single display to accomplish PIP and PAP.
The ARD-5816-31 provides video-splitting and bezel correction capabilities to create a full video wall of any size, without additional equipment. The system’s multisource video compositing capability enables each receiver to automatically split an incoming video and render only a portion of the image as part of a video wall. Configurable bezel correction support compensates for the thickness of the bezel to hide the pixels needing to be obscured by the display’s bezel. The ARD-5816-31 can be controlled via web-enabled control software that puts the system’s AV control at one’s fingertips.
“The ARD-5816-31 redefines AV signal processing and distribution architecture by delivering a single, cost-effective, and scalable AV signal processing and distribution system that integrates the functionality of several costly, discrete, single-function components,” said Paul Shu, president of Arista Corporation. “Either fiber optic or twisted pair (Cat-6) cabling can be used with the system. I’m confident AV integrators will find much to like with the product due to its ability to eliminate individual power supplies for each transmitter or receiver card— streamlining installation in the process.”
The Bottom Line: As a unit capable of housing upwards of 16 copper and fiber transmitter/receiver cards, the ARD-5816-31 is able to address complex requirements in transmitting hybrid video signal sources over long distances, thus simplifying integration for large and complex professional AV system installations by serving as a convenient, centralized solution for controlling multiple video displays and providing expansion capability.
