Ekinops, a leading provider of optical transport and WDM solutions, is delivering a major breakthrough in video transport with the announcement of its new PM1004V module, the first Ekinops product to take full advantage of the Ekinops T-Chip (Transport on a Chip) technology.

The PM1004V module is fully integrated into Ekinops’ flagship Ekinops 360 optical transport platform. It enables, for the first time, aggregation and transport of multiple, non-compressed video signals over one wavelength, supporting all the newest video protocols (HD-SDI – PAL and NTSC – and SD-SDI) over long distances. With this module, transport of up to 270 kilometers (170 miles) without in-line amplification is possible, and up to 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) with amplification.

With the video transport market growing rapidly globally, new requirements have emerged, such as the need to address both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint video transport, handle new video formats supporting HDTV, and respond to the expanding usage of digital video. These new applications and formats require transport systems that can provide higher bandwidth solutions and can carry video over longer distances.

To meet the needs of this growing market, Ekinops’ new module brings powerful video capability to its dynamic multi-protocol, multi-reach Ekinops 360 platform. The video-capable, highly compact, and affordable Ekinops 360 platform can be used for broadcasting live sports events and by companies in the media and entertainment industry.

“The PM1004V video module brings an entirely new perspective to video signal transport, thanks to its innovative T-Chip technology,” explained Jean-Luc Pamart, Vice President of Engineering and co-founder of Ekinops. “With its unique capabilities, Ekinops allows point-to-point and ring configurations and enables video transport over long distances without compression.”

Powered by the T-Chip, which encompasses all transport functionality in a single device and shatters the concept of transport as a commodity, the video module is the first Ekinops solution to fully leverage T-Chip capabilities. Those capabilities include programmability for virtually any type of functionality and the ability to handle all existing protocols. The T-Chip enables Ekinops to bring products to market more quickly, and the video module is an example of that, taking only four months from product inception to availability.

”Customers are looking for cost-effective solutions for delivering digital video live and for both pre- and post-production purposes without compression, which degrades its quality.” said Rob Adams, Vice President Global Marketing and Product Line Management. “The Ekinops 360 platform, with this robust new video support, will allow them to do this for local, metro, and long-haul applications.”

The PM1004V module supports industry standard video formats. It aggregates HD-SDI and/or SD-SDI signals with Gigabit Ethernet and Fast Ethernet over a single wavelength. Multiple wavelengths can be multiplexed together with WDM (Wave Division Multiplexing) and transported over fiber. Each video port auto-senses between SD-SDI, HD-SDI-PAL, or HD-SDI-NTSC signals and is individually configurable.

The new module eliminates the need for network edge elements such as SDI encoders and ATM switches that are traditionally required for native video transport. Furthermore, it simplifies the carrier’s network and reduces the operational cost of managing new and complex network elements.