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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LIGHTWARE (HIGH BANDWIDTH LONG DISTANCE UNCOMPRESSED AUDIO-VIDEO SIGNALTRANSMISSIONSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT)

Teaser

Summary

Lightwareâ€™s latest engineering concept is the UBEX optical scaling extender. UBEX is a high bandwidth, long distance, uncompressed audio-video signal transmission system, which we still consider as a revolutionary product (and solution) in the professional audio-video segment: there wonâ€™t be any other company on the market that could serve the clients with Ethernet/IP based, uncompressed, 4K 60Hz 4:4:4 AV transmission system with low or even zero latency distribution.

The design features a new, optical configuration, which allows 4K UHD@60Hz 4:4:4 uncompressed signal extension with latency-free multistreaming. If it is necessary the video compression level of the signal can be freely set by the user. Using visually lossless compression, UBEX is able to extend two UHD signals over a single 10 Gbps Ethernet port. This results in a massive cost saving on the required Ethernet switch side, as with UBEX only Â¼ router size is required compared to the needs of other 10 Gbps IP based architectures.

The device is designed to use Video-over-IP transmission with standard 10 Gbps SFP+ optical modules installed, which are easily exchangeable by the user.

One of the prime advantages of this new architecture is scalability. The maximum reachable distance can be adjusted to vary between 400 m and 100 km, depending on the type of optical modules installed in the device and the signal properties. UBEX has a bandwidth of up to 20 Gbps as the userâ€™s application requires, the number of fibers required for the transfer depends on the link speed and the optical modules used: for 10 Gbps one or two fibers, for 20 Gbps two or four fibers are needed. Transceiver operation mode is also available.

UBEX can work both in a complex network with the use of a standard Ethernet switch, and it can also work in a point-to-point setup, as a traditional optical extender pair. The extender also features audio, Gigabit Ethernet connections per link, and optionally full speed USB 2.0, USB HID, RS-232 and IR connectors.

Typical applications for UBEX include large office building environments, yacht and other high-end residential systems, rental and staging environments.

Work performed

The market need was identified and the technology innovation was at TRL6 (Technology demonstrated) when the project started. The first step during the project period was to specify the detailed product requirements. Almost all the later tasks were based on this specification so it was essential to include as many aspects as possible. Therefore we have involved market partners and potential customers among our own sales, marketing, purchasing, manufacturing and engineering teams. It was a great challenge to harmonize the functional requests with the technological opportunities. As a result we have completed the Product design specification document.
The hardware, software development and the user interface development were started based on the product specification. Each of these work packages were in progress parallelly and had their own detailed design specifications while the project team had to keep them synchronized as well.
After the critical elements were finalized (e.g. main chips, electrical components and architecture), the actual implementation was started. The hardware development includes schematics, printed circuit board designs and also the mechanical enclosure of the device. We are very satisfied with the foregoing results of the hardware development.
The FPGA and software development tasks were carried out in iterations. Many times simulations and performance tests were needed to check certain modules as well. To try out and evaluate partial functionalities, we have assembled breadboard systems and scheduling the tasks so the related module could be available for experimental testing. Another outcome was that we could demonstrate some features for customers. We have received very positive feedbacks and some suggestions as well.
The commercialization and dissemination activities performed well during the period. The tradeshows and other partner demonstrations we satisfactory.The AV industry shows a growing demand on high-end Ethernet based multimedia transmission systems.
Based on the foregoing achievements we have decided to release a limited functionality product even sooner as the original project plan. To reach this, we have modified some taks schedules and split some tasks into two parts. The aim of the first part of these tasks is to realize a product with the minimum needed functionality and make it available on the market as soon as possible. The second part of these tasks will complete the original requirements which will make the product unique on the market and also future proof.

Final results

The research and development activities were performed mainly according the original schedule, which means that there is more than good chance that Lightware can show a first technology demonstration version (with a few limitations) latest in 2018 Q1-Q2.
The Pro-AV market is still a growing market, where Lightware has a good chance to increase its market share with UBEX. It seems that AV over IP technology will be widely accepted and future AV trends will be greatly dominated by IP based technologies. On one side this is a great advantage for Lightware and UBEX, as it potentially decreases the difficulties (uncertainties, skepticism, education need) of entering into the market with a product that has a technology that was so far not used in professional AV. On the other side it generates higher competition that we already noticed very clearly on the market. The AV over Ethernet market is getting crowded, but still there is no other solution providing uncompressed 4K 60Hz, 4:4:4 transmission over Ethernet than UBEX. Therefore we plan to start commercialization directly after the project.
Based on the slightly changed market background (better accepted new technology but higher competition) we also changed some priorities and focus in our marketing and dissemination activities. Direct and indirect marketing activities on the key local markets will play a significant role, while it is also clear that Lightware has to focus more on professional trainings. Lightware still should make extra effort to educate its indirect sales channel partners: consultants, system integrators, distributors, and disseminate the product in the largest range as quickly as possible to avoid dynamic catching up from other competitors.