Barco Ships World’s First 3Gbps-Ready Multi-Format Production Switcher
Sacramento, CA — 16 March 2009 — Barco, a world leader in image processing technology, is proud to announce that the FSN Series multi-format video production switcher is now shipping. Purpose-built for live switching at events, small broadcast installations, corporate and industrial installations and houses of worship, the FSN switcher seamlessly integrates SD-SDI, HD-SDI, and 3Gbps along with VGA and DVI computer resolutions in a powerful, flexible and economical package.
“Our customers asked us to develop a production switcher that could handle any signal they threw at it, including 3Gbps for 1080p,” commented Jed Deame, Vice-President of Image Processing for Barco, North America. “We are pleased to release this revolutionary new product in response to that need, filling this critical void and changing the landscape for production switchers.”Among its many attributes, the FSN series combines advanced video switching functionality with the power of Barco’s high quality image processing. The switcher provides a feature-rich, streamlined package that’s modular, easy to use, and above all, offers a control panel instantly familiar to operators in the production switcher community.
The first products shipping in the series are the FSN-150, a 1.5 Mix-Effect (M/E) control console, and the FSN-1400, the system’s 14-slot video processing chassis. The base configuration includes one 8-channel native input card (NIC) and one 2-channel universal input card (UIC) that accepts any video or computer format. The base system also includes the M/E output card that provides program, preset, clean-feed, and six native aux outputs. In addition to the two standard input cards, users can add up to five additional input cards for a maximum of 38 inputs. The intuitive touch-screen GUI is also standard.
Barco will continue to enhance this platform in the near future with additional cards to extend the switcher’s capabilities. Future releases will include a 2-channel 2D-DVE card, a 16-channel integrated multi-viewer card, a 2-channel universal output card, and an 8-channel native output card. The FSN-250, a larger, more powerful 2.5 M/E console, will also be released later in the year, providing access to additional M/E features.
“One important feature to emphasize is that the entire system is highly upgradeable,” noted Deame. “Not only can customers add cards to expand their system’s capability and creativity, but the FSN-1400 frame runs both the FSN-150 and FSN-250 control panels. It’s an investment for the long term, with a high degree of flexibility built in.”
The FSN Series will be shown in the Barco booth (SL5008) at NAB in Las Vegas, April 20 through 23, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
About Barco
Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3500 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 725 million euro in 2008.
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