The new software feature releases enhance customers’ existing investments, driving further efficiencies in production, playout and distribution architectures. The SNP update also activates the feature licensing system, allowing users to pay for only the functionality required for their specific workflows.

Imagine’s SNP has gained rapid marketplace acceptance across both IP-based and SDI-based systems, with an estimated 32,000 video channels and 500,000 audio channels of SNP currently operational around the world. Many of these deployments include the Magellan SDNO control system, integrating SDI and IP systems within a common management environment ― instrumental to global media companies’ ability to protect legacy investments and make a managed transition to IP.

The SNP is a 1RU, network-attached device containing four independent processors, each of which can adopt personalities defined by software. While many media processes are moving to full-software implementations, SNP offers a space- and power-efficient proposition for common signal processing functions ― cutting power consumption for these applications by more than 50%.

John Mailhot, CTO Networking and Infrastructure at Imagine Communications, commented: “The success of SNP is because we listened carefully to what broadcasters were telling us they need in their production setups. We worked hard to have the right product at the right time with SNP. It builds on the traditional modular processing idea, but without the screwdriver. The SNP base hardware is dynamically reconfigurable, so we can add new functionality by developing the software plug-in and roll it out very quickly worldwide ― especially to existing customers.

“The unique form factor of SNP means we can offer all this functionality and practicality at a remarkable price point. Our feature-key licensing system allows customers to install hardware once, buy only the features they need to do the job at hand, and add functionality later as needs evolve.”

On the control front, the latest Magellan SDNO release builds on the AMWA NMOS protocols introduced on SDNO last year. Imagine is now using NMOS in nearly every project deployment to integrate ST 2110 endpoints from other leading vendors, enabling customers to build best-of-breed solutions leveraging the cameras, switchers, audio, and replay technologies that their creative teams prefer.

The new SDNO release extends the Live Manager applications ― PathView and AlarmView ― providing dynamic insight and interaction with the networked media ecosystem. LM-PathView provides a dynamic signal path display for both SDI and IP routing environments, allowing users to simply drag and drop sources and destinations onto the visualization canvas, with Magellan graphically completing the entire signal path including logical and virtual waypoints and optionally displaying multi-level signals with ease.