Vela announces versatile multiscreen HD and SD MPEG2, MPEG4 H.264 encoder

CLEARWATER, USA: Vela Research formally announced the first entrant in its ArgoNavis Universal family of multi-format, multiscreen video encoders, decoders and professional video equipment.

The ArgoNavis Universal Encoder is a powerful new entrant into the field of video encoders, designed to meet and exceed the expectations of broadcasters, cable operators, and other demanding users in the content distribution, ad insertion, local origination, healthcare and education markets worldwide.

The ArgoNavis Universal Encoder is an advanced professional encoder with the ability to encode in SD and HD, in MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 H.264 formats. The system comes in a 1.5 RU form, and encodes with a wide range of parameters designed to enable operators to encode content from a single source, and intended to effectively satisfy a wide range of eventual uses.

Kevin McDowell, Vela's director of Sales, said: "The ArgoNavis Universal Encoder is highly cost-effective, at under $6,000 per system. The ability for customers to easily, intuitively and rapidly integrate it into their existing work processes and start generating the highest quality encoded files across a wide range of resolutions, bitrates, formats and ancillary data specifications makes it a compelling solution for many of our valued customers."

Commenting on the specifications of the ArgoNavis Universal Encoder, Kevin Grubbs, Vela's director of Engineering, said: "This system supports HD MPEG-4 H.264 and MPEG-2 encoding in real-time at 1920x1080i and 1280x720p resolutions at both NTSC and PAL frame rates, and 1920x1080p encoding at the Cinema/BluRay frame rate. This solution addresses the needs of users across the NTSC and PAL domains, and offers a full range of input/output options including Analog (Composite, Component, Audio) and HDMI only, or HS/SD SDI only, or fully configured Analog, HD/SD SDI and HDMI options. It supports 608/708 CC capture from VANC or Line 21 CC from analog VBI. The ArgoNavis Universal Encoder also comes with an optional SDI & VANC Monitoring module and Closed Captioning Verification functionality."

He added: "We have built in a great deal of flexibility into the ArgoNavis Universal Encoder system's software and user interfaces, allowing our users to control their applications through VTR/device control for frame accurate encoding, as well as the ability to use touchscreens, foot switches – or traditional controls such as mouse and keyboard.

Mike Reddy, Vela's president, said: "The Vela team is thrilled to start our formal roll-out of the ArgoNavis Universal series. It has been quietly in use by several of our broadcast and cable customers in the US, with outstanding results to-date. Historically, For 18 years, Vela has been known for high-performance solutions that met the most demanding requirements of customers in broadcast, cable and professional video worldwide. It is neat for us to now bring out this series of products that will offer significant flexibility and versatility, while focusing on meeting the most stringent of our customers' requirements."