General9.01.2013

VBrick’s major Release of 9000 Series video encoder/decoder

Kathea, a distributor of video communications solutions, has announced that VBrick Systems, an Enterprise IP Video leader, has unveiled Release 2.0 of its 9000 Series. This line of video encoding and decoding appliances delivers HD video quality and channel density. The product’s new capabilities deliver an enhanced streaming experience for organisations such as surveillance, using this technology as a platform

Encoders are devices that use predefined algorithms to encode and compress audio or video data for transmission. It takes time to convert signal into IP and at the far end, convert back (with a decoder) which causes latency or a processing delay. The Release 2.0 of the 9000 series provides a level of performance that used to be nearly impossible to obtain and at costs far less than other broadcast grade alternatives.

“We at Kathea have seen an increase in interest from organisations looking to benefit from the use of streaming technologies for Executive Broadcasts, internal training and communication. The 9000 Series encoder delivers this technology with enhanced features that deliver quality video streaming to the South African market,” says David Sales, Head of Product Management at Kathea.

The growing demand for streaming video in corporate, education, government and healthcare institutions is driving the innovation behind the 9000 Series encoder/decoder. Organisations require:

  • Reduce hardware and ultimately cost : VBrick enables more efficient video distribution from enterprise head-ends where physical space is at a premium, and encoding/decoding per-square-inch becomes a deciding factor for a successful deployment. Additionally, 9000 Series encoder/decoder-based installations are considerably “greener”, reducing per channel footprint, power consumption and HVAC usage/expense. Available in both an appliance and blade form factor, appliances can be configured with up to 4 HD encode channels or a combination of encode and decode resources. Rack mounted blade chassis can be deployed to support up to 44 channels of encode or 11 channels of decode.
  • Better Video Quality:  The 9000 Series encoder/decoder is designed to support mission-critical surveillance, telemedicine or any application where sub-100 millisecond end-to-end latency and multi-channel 1080p 60 frames per second (fps) encoding/decoding are critical. For example, for a surgeon watching an operation remotely or a military operation targeting an enemy via video, decreased latency is critical. Advanced encoding services such as H.264 High Profile and CABAC entropy coding provide the highest quality per bit of video.
  • Superior Price-performance: The 9000 Series encoder/decoder’s scale and quality fundamentally changes the economics of implementing an organisation-wide IP video strategy, saving up to 40%. The 9000 Series introduces broadcast quality video at prices previously inconceivable in an appliance form factor.

“Release 2.0 of the 9000 Series video encoder/decoder continues to raise the bar for performance and quality, better enabling our customers to deliver mission-critical applications such as surveillance, telemedicine and video backhaul. Adding decoder capabilities into the 9000 Series increases deployment choices for our customers while extending our technology and value lead over competing video capture elements,” says Doug Howard, CEO of VBrick Systems. “And since it is a VBrick product, you can be sure it is standards-based and delivers compelling integration with our end-to-end portfolio of IP Video solutions.”

As a core element of VBrick’s Video platform, the 9000 Series is tightly integrated with VBrick’s VEMS Mystro content management solution and its Distributed Media Engine networking solution, which delivers streaming video to various devices over more IP networks. Different devices use different kinds of IP video, i.e. the format you use to deliver to an iPad is different to the format you would use for most PCs. There are a number of IP networks with different performance characteristics that subsequently impact video. The 9000 Series supports video delivery across Ethernet LANS, WiFi, WANs, optical networks, satellite, 3G / 4G, wireless and more.

VBrick encoders and decoders are designed with purpose-built hardware and software as well as a real-time operating system. This unique appliance approach combines encoding, decoding, networking, stream serving and recording functions to deliver unmatched price-performance and ease-of-use. The 9000 Series is also the first video encoding encoder/decoder that can be intuitively managed from a mobile app, as well as traditional device-based controls.

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