Description
MediaCento RF 1080i
Quick Facts
Encodes and modulates video input, creating an HDTV channel for low-cost coax distribution.
Makes it simple and affordable to send high-quality video to every on-premise HDTV screen.
Works with any VGA or Component video source (computers, set-top boxes, digital signage players, etc.).
Further Details
Easy to integrate into new or existing coax RF distribution systems.
Uses HD MPEG2 encoding technology, modulates signals for QAM 256 channel distribution of video (1080i maximum).
Employs the same HDTV broadcasting technology widely used by television and cable companies.
Supports VGA resolutions up to 1920 x 1080 and Component resolutions up to 1080i.
To view video remotely, just tune your HDTV to Channel 2.1 and enjoy high-quality video.
No set-top boxes required. Simply use the QAM tuner of your HDTV to receive the channel.
No limit to the number of HDTVs that can receive broadcasts from a single unit.
The new channel(s) can be combined with off-site digital TV feeds, too.
Ideal for hotels, hospitals, and schools who want to add their own channel to an in-house cable system.
Built-in spectrum analyzer shows you exactly what channels are available on your system.
Boasts sustained data encoding rates of up to 30 Mbps with extremely low latency—great for interactive applications.
Also encodes audio, with audio inputs assigned to either video input. Supports both digital and analog audio.
Select video source input with a press of a front-panel button.
Or use a serial RS-232 or USB console interface for control.
Built-in IR repeater. System repeats IR remote control signal back for controlling a video source remotely.
All inputs are buffered and looped through, so you can view video and hear audio locally, too.
To protect against theft of images, can be configured for digital and visual watermarking of content.
Rugged metal enclosure with a 1U-high rackmountable chassis.
Closed captioning available as an option.
Also available: a light-commercial version for 720p video distribution (AVX-VGA-RF44).
Why install new cabling for digital signage or AV signal distribution when you can use existing coax runs instead?
The MediaCento™ RF 1080i from Black Box gives you a simple, affordable way to do just that.
With it, you can convert HD video from a Component or VGA video source into an HDTV cable channel, extending that channel over standard coax RF wiring already in your building. Use it, for instance, to set up an information channel as part of an in-house TV distribution system.
The MediaCento RF 1080i is particularly ideal for businesses, institutions, or public venues that currently have some local HD content that they’d like to distribute to on-premises HDTVs. It’s especially ideal for hotels, restaurants, stadiums, and mass-transit facilities.
It keeps your AV distribution separate from your network infrastructure, economically repurposing wiring already installed for communications. No pulling new fiber optic cable or converting signals for extension over twisted-pair wiring.
With two separate Component and VGA video input paths, the MediaCento RF 1080i captures both digital and analog video. It supports 480, 720, and 1080 resolutions on the Component input and 1920 x 1080 resolutions on the VGA input.
Advanced encoding and modulation capabilities.
This unique digital signage/AV conversion and distribution platform functions as a combination MPEG 2 encoder and frequency-agile QAM modulator. The MediaCento IP 1080i encodes 720p/1080i video and audio then modulates signals for single-channel RF coax transmission.
As part of its RF modulation and channel upcoversion actions, it creates a well-formed 6-MHz QAM 256 channel for insertion onto the 50–900-MHz modulation frequency range (Channels 2–135) of a digital cable system. You use the QAM tuner in your display to decode the signals.
You can even combine this channel with 133 other HDTV channels for broadcast to rooms throughout a building. It’s great for distributing public information along with entertainment and news content over a large area—to a corporate lobby or cafeteria, to a university quad or rec center, as well as in government buildings or transportation hubs where people are forced to wait. Switch video simply by tuning to another HDTV channel.
The MediaCento RF 1080i supports STD, HRC, and IRC CATV systems, and features a built-in spectrum analyzer that automatically scans the entire cable spectrum to determine what other channels exist on the cable system. To clear a channel on your system, order the optional Channel 125 Filter (AVX-RFNF125) or Channel 135 Filter (AVX-RFNF135).
Even better, no set-top or decoder boxes are required. Any off-the-shelf HDTV has the QAM tuner that you'll need to tune to your MediaCento RF channel.
And if you’re distributing more than one channel through multiple MediaCento RF 1080i boxes, you won’t need any matrix switchers or complex proprietary wiring. To switch between the different channels, simply tune to the new HDTV channel.
Easy to cable for AV channel distribution.
By default, the MediaCento RF 1080i is set to broadcast a Component HD video source with analog audio over RF coax to a remote HDTV. Setting up the system is straightforward. No complicated panels or wiring adapters are required.
To cable the system, simply plug in a Component cable between your HD source and the Y-Pb-Pr jacks on the back of the unit, connect a left/right RCA audio cable between the source and the MediaCento RF 1080i, and then plug the coax into its RF connector.
For monitoring video at the source, the MediaCento RF 1080i features looped inputs for plugging in Component and VGA video monitors, as well as digital and analog video speakers. A USB port also supports USB audio device input or can be used for system control. Or control it using an RS-232 console plugged into its DB9 port.
Very useful for digital signage.
The MediaCento RF 1080i is a natural fit for digital signage deployments. It’s a particularly cost-effective alternative to installing a player at each and every display when the messaging is the same on every display—which can be overkill, both in terms of equipment costs and equipment maintenance.
With MediaCento RF 1080i, you can use a single digital signage player to feed video and audio content over existing RF coax to an unlimited number of displays. To view the channel’s content at the signs themselves, you simply tune it in with the displays’ QAM tuner. There are no set-top boxes to install, maintain, and secure.
Just calculate how much you can save. MediaCento RF 1080i essentially enables you to distribute HD digital signage content for $0 per display. And that’s not counting the money and labor saved by not having to install new copper wiring, jacks, and wallplates, as well as home-running Ethernet cabling to every display. With MediaCento RF 1080i, you can use existing coax or pull a single new length and split as necessary to feed content to remote signage.
To broadcast separate channels in your digital signage application, simply add a second MediaCento RF 1080i unit. One channel can be used, for instance, to broadcast messaging internally to your employees, and the second channel can be used for external messaging to promote services, products, and your brand, and to welcome visitors.
Other applications:
Houses of worship — You can distribute camera feeds of a sermon to remotely located HDTV screens in areas outside the immediate area of the pulpit or altar using easy-to-deploy coax. One cable feeds all displays whether it’s to cry rooms, vestibules, side chapels, or classrooms in a separate building on a church’s campus. Want to expand the system further—to reach a remote annex, for instance? Simply add a few simple RF splitters and additional lengths of coax.
Restaurants, casinos, and bars — Restaurants, nightclubs, sports bars, and similar establishments are often already wired with coax and multiple wallmounted HDTV screens. Without any specialized gear, the MediaCento RF 1080i makes it easy to set up your own channel to promote menu offerings and drink specials, combining the new channel with existing HD cable channels.
Private cable operation — Combine your own HD channel with existing channels and become a private in-house cable operator. Hospitals, schools, universities, hotels, and multitenant apartment buildings can all benefit from MediaCento RF 1080i. Use it to create HD head ends without any rewiring or adding set-top boxes in each room. It costs a fraction of other HD video distribution systems.
NOTE: A cable-ready display with a QAM TV tuner is required at the remote end.
This product works with:
Channel 125 Filter (AVX-RFNF125)
Channel 135 Filter (AVX-RFNF135)
Closed Caption Device (AVX-RFCC)
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