Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear® initiative brought their IPMX-compliant solutions to NAB 2025. The Company’s SAPPHIRE mini converters and PACIFIC encoders were both shown enhanced with support for IPMX and enriched with an array of new functionalities. Additionally, Cobalt’s UltraBlue IP-MV multiviewer were shown with exciting new tools, and ARIA Audio Monitors were added to the ARIA line. These enhancements joined Cobalt’s extensive platform of products that represent the latest technology, including support for ST 2110.
COBALT® SAPPHIRE IPMX-compliant mini converters
The SAPPHIRE BBG series of mini converters deliver high-quality design, function, and reliability in a small package. The units are the ideal choice for directly displaying incoming IPMX content on HDMI monitors, including content originating from a WAN connection, or for converting from HDMI to compressed or baseband IPMX streams.
The converters are available in single, dual, and quad-channel configurations, with some models capable of simultaneously transmitting and receiving. They feature dual SFP cages with support for 10G and 25G Ethernet ports, audio sample rate conversion, and the receiving units can mix-and-match audio channels without time base synchronization with the video. The space-saving converters can be mounted directly behind the monitor, and are incredibly quiet, which makes them ideal for small editing or control suites.
SMPTE 2110 Input Option to the PACIFIC 9992-ENC
The COBALT® PACIFIC 9992-ENC is a very flexible MPEG-2/AVC/HEVC encoder, capable of handling up to four signals up to 1080p60, or one 4K signal. New for NAB 2025, PACIFIC now offers full support for ST 2110-20 (baseband) and an ST 2110-22 option for JPEG-XS video. Each of the four channels can be individually selected between SDI and ST 2110. In addition, support is included for full asynchronous operation (IPMX-compatible) or IPMX operation in the INDIGO 2110-DC-02 factory-installed option for SMPTE ST 2110.
PACIFIC now offers support for up to two essences of ST 2110-30 (audio); each essence can have up to 16 channels of audio, and the product offers the ability to mix and match channels. Support for asynchronous audio/video operation has been added as has support for ST 2110-40 (ancillary data). Dual SFP cages for ST 2022-7 seamless switching, supporting both 10Gb/s and 25Gb/s interfaces.
The combination of the award-winning PACIFIC 9992-ENC with the ST 2110 input interface option creates a very powerful integrated solution that can be directly deployed in an IPMX facility for local encoding, low-latency transport over the Internet using RIST, or to drive a traditional ASI workflow, without having to deploy separate gateway devices. The ability to mix traditional SDI, ST 2110 and IPMX feeds in the same device provides even greater flexibility.
ARIA Audio Monitor
The new ultra-flexible COBALT ARIA AUD-MON Audio Monitor supports a wide range of inputs including: 2xSDI up to 12G or MADI, 2 SFP for SDI over fiber, AES, balanced analog audio, and GPI for automation. Features include a live video thumbnail, SDI output for monitoring, individual channel volume controls for mixing, and is configurable from the front panel with a touch display or through a web interface.
The 4” deep, 4-pound monitor fits in 1RU and can be powered from the control Ethernet port (PoE++), as well as external redundant power supplies.
Cobalt is also showcasing the ARIA OG-AUD4-DANTE bi-directional audio embedder/de-embedder router card with 12G, SDI, MADI, AES, and DANTE inputs and outputs.
ULTRABLUE IP-MV MULTIVIEWER
Cobalt is introducing exciting new features for the UltraBlue IP-MV Multiviewer, a software-based multiviewer for compressed and baseband streams over IP that can also be available as a turn-key server. Features include support for receiving audio/video content over IP across a variety of protocols and formats with very flexible audio routing, bringing a multitude of options to suit every application.
The intuitive web interface incorporates support for compressed and baseband (ST 2110 and/or SDI) inputs and multiple outputs allowing the multiviewer to grow alongside customers’ needs.
Mosaic configurations are a snap with arbitrary sizes and orientations, graphic overlays, ancillary data, tallies, UMDs and IDs. PIPs can also be arbitrarily placed and rotated, PIP configurations can be easily copied, and setups can be saved and restored. UltraBlue IP-MV will drive multiple HDMI displays in any orientation (landscape or portrait, selectable per-display).
The COBALT UltraBlue IP-MV incorporates support for the most common types of ancillary data, including various types of closed-captioning display. The multiviewer features full audio support, with flexible output audio routing and fully configurable audio bars.
About Cobalt Digital
Cobalt Digital Inc. designs and manufactures award-winning IP and 12G/6G/3G/HD/SD conversion, throwdown, compression, routing and multiviewer technology for the production and broadcast television environment. As a founding member in the openGear® initiative, Cobalt offers a full range of openGear® compliant solutions as well as video and audio processing products for closed caption compliance, production trucks, master control, HD news, signal transport, audio loudness processing, and color correction. Cobalt’s Blue Box Group™ line of interface converter throwdown boxes streamlines and simplifies a wide range of IP and 12G/6G/3G/HD/SD conversion and processing tasks. In addition, the company’s multi-image display processors enable multiviewer capabilities in the most demanding studio and remote production/broadcasting environments. Cobalt Digital products are distributed through a worldwide network of dealers, system integrators, and other partnerships. For further information visit: www.cobaltdigital.com
