Description
MediaCento™ RF 720p
Quick Facts
Encodes and modulates video input, creating an HDTV channel for low-cost coax distribution.
Makes it simple and affordable to send 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 (720p maximum).
Employs the same HDTV broadcasting technology widely used by television and cable companies.
Supports VGA resolutions up to 1680 x 1050 (60 Hz) and Component resolutions up to 720p.
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.
Assignable coax and optical digital audio ports. Video inputs can assigned to either video input.
Select video source input with a press of a front-panel button.
Or use a serial USB console for control from a workstation.
Built-in IR repeater. System repeats IR remote control signal back for controlling a video source remotely.
VGA input is buffered and looped through so you can view video 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.
Why install new cabling for digital signage or AV signal distribution when you can use existing coax runs instead?
The MediaCento™ RF 720p 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 720p 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 720p captures both digital and analog video. It supports 480 and 720 resolutions on the Component input and 1680 x 1050 (60 Hz) 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 RF 720p encodes 720p 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 (it also supports QAM 64 systems).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 720p 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 720p 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 720p is set to broadcast a Component video source with 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 source and the Y-Pb-Pr jacks on the back of the unit, connect an audio cable between the source and the MediaCento RF’s SPDIF digital audio input (coax or optical) or USB audio device port, and then plug the coax into its RF connector.
For local viewing of video, the box has a looped and buffered VGA video port (for looped output of 1080i Component video, see our MediaCento RF 1080i [AVX-VGA-RF]). In addition, the MediaCento RF 720p has a USB port that supports USB audio device input or can be used for system control.
To add closed captioning in your broadcast, simply add the optional Closed Caption Device (AVX-RFCC) for the MediaCento RF 720p.
Very useful for digital signage.
The MediaCento RF 720p 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 720p, 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. The MediaCento RF 720p essentially enables you to distribute 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 the MediaCento RF 720p, 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 720p 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 720p 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 the MediaCento RF 720p. 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.
1080i version with local looped input also available.
For higher resolution video, see our MediaCento RF 1080i (AVX-VGA-RF). In addition to higher resolutions, the AVX-VGA-RF features looped local inputs for both Component and VGA video monitors as well as digital and analog video speakers at the source, plus a DB9 port for system control from an RS-232 console.
The MediaCento RF 1080i also enables you to broadcast two HD channels in different languages and supports analog audio input (in addition to S/PDIF digital TOSLINK or coax input and USB audio device inputs).BR>
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)
Questions? Contact our FREE Tech Support.