Hyper-density SDI/IP Conversion
Each rear I/O blade provides 48 HD-BNC connectors for SD/HD/3G/UHD SDI interfacing, resulting in 192 SDI/IP conversions per 2RU. .edge provides full support for the SMPTE ST2110 suite of standards with ST2022-7 redundancy built in, providing not only advanced essence-based handling but also ensuring seamless protection switching of audio, video and ancillary data streams in both local and wide-area network operations.

Baseband-like Routing In IP
.edge’s board design is unique: it does not have an audio TDM bus, nor a video matrix in the middle of its architecture. Video is switched on the IP packet level, in one of two ways: “make before break” (MBB) and “break before make” (BBM). Audio signals are switched in MBB mode using a V-fade curve for clean and quiet transitions. .edge’s local loop support allows users to route local inputs to local outputs while the packet replication capability allows a packet received once can be used many times without additional stream management or logic operations: packets in the packet buffer are available to any SDI output.

Software-licensable Infrastructure
Designed as a software-licensable infrastructure, .edge can deliver maximum OPEX flexibility for a hardware-based tool. Each .edge blade can be used in a variety of scenarios simply by unlocking the required feature sets, via a flexible licensing system. In addition to its base license for use of 16 BNC connectors, there are options to unlock additional I/O up to its full 48 BNCs. Additional feature licenses are available for Input Frame Synchronizers, 100GbE port activation and 3G UHD Gearboxing including Lawo’s unique “UHD Link Rotate” feature. This function automatically reshuffles the legs of a four-wire 3G-SDI link whose cables were connected in the wrong order.

Easy Drop-in SDI Router Replacement
For easy drop-in SDI router replacement, all-in .edge bundles are available for 288 x 288, 576 x 576 and 1152 x 1152 matrix capacities, complete with customers’ choice of network switches and a fully-clustered HOME license. To broadcast control systems, the .edge/HOME bundle behaves like a traditional SDI router, which means that there are no changes to users’ UIs or workflows. This allows broadcasters to keep all their existing SDI gear in operation.