By Staff, April 12, 2006
Pleora Technologies unveiled a suite of OEM hardware and software products for developing post-production video applications with standard PCs and IP/Ethernet gear. Pleora's EtherCast IP Studio suite gives integrators, VARs (value-added resellers), and manufacturers the building blocks needed to create digital video products that slash post-production overhead by greatly reducing the need for specialized equipment.
The four-product EtherCast IP Studio suite allows almost any application that distributes, captures, records, archives, and/or plays back digital video to be implemented using standard PC and Ethernet hardware. PCs can be used, for example, as video recorders, playback machines, and servers, eliminating the need for costly video capture cards. Similarly, Ethernet switches can be configured as routing switchers, and Ethernet networks can support real-time workgroup collaboration.
Pleora's EtherCast IP Studio suite is a set of four elements. The first piece is the PL1453A EtherCast Video IP Engine; a palm-sized OEM board set that converts SD-SDI (Standard Definition - Serial Data Interface), SDTI (Serial Digital Transport Interface, or SMPTE 305M), and/or DVB-ASI (Digital Video Broadcast - Asynchronous Serial Interface) digital video to IP and streams it in real time over managed Ethernet LANs/WANs (local- and wide-area networks)
. At the receiving end, there are two options: return the video to its original SD or ASI format using another PL1453A engine, or stream it into PC memory using the EtherCast Driver.
The EtherCast Driver is a software application that runs under Windows on standard Ethernet NICs (network interface cards/chips), eliminating the need for PC video capture cards. It creates a full-duplex, real-time video path between PC memory and an Ethernet LAN/WAN. It uses only a small fraction of the CPU capacity, leaving most of the PC's power available for higher-level applications, such as NLE (non-linear editing) or VTR-like storage and playback. The driver does not monopolize the NIC. Regular LAN functions, such as email and web browsing, proceed as usual.
Pleora's third EtherCast IP Studio element is an advanced C++ SDK (software development kit) for capturing real-time video streams, storing them to disk, accessing them from higher-level applications such as NLE packages, and streaming them back over the network.
The fourth element, the EtherCast Configuration Utility, is a PC-based Windows application for detecting PL1453A engines on a network, checking their status, assigning them names and IP addresses, setting packet timeouts, and other functions.
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