At the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas this week, Riedel Communications is introducing the new Artist-1024 node, an expansion to the Artist intercom ecosystem that offers higher port densities and full SMPTE 2110-30/31 (AES67) compliance.
The Artist-1024 node is outfitted with 1024 non-blocking ports in a 2 RU package and introduces a range of technical innovations centered on software-definable Universal Interface Cards (UIC). This new type of interface card combines networking, mixing, and management, and can be configured to act as an AES67 or MADI subscriber card, or as an Artist fiber/router/processor card. Changing the connectivity type is done by reconfiguring the UIC with the click of a button in the Director configuration software.
The frame provides 10 bays for UICs, with two being reserved solely for routing and networking UICs. The remaining eight bays can be equipped with UICs of various configurations to provide subscriber connectivity. The integral mixer on each subscriber card can be scaled from eith to 128 ports per card and can access all 1,024 ports of the Artist backbone. In addition, four expansion slots are available for various GPIO or synchronization applications.
Artist-1024 also introduces a new licensing scheme with frame-level licensing instead of connectivity-type licensing. Each node starts with a Virtual Artist Matrix (VAM) license, which includes a defined number of ports (16 to 1,024) that can be freely distributed across the node’s subscriber cards. Besides these node-locked licenses, there are also flexible licenses that allow for a fast reconfiguration of the system by moving capacities between nodes.
It also supports multiple redundancy schemes, including N+1, NIC, and SMPTE 2022-7. All control logic and data links within the frame are redundant, and additional security is provided by two load-sharing PSUs and a fan module with redundant fan units.
“System compatibility and the sustainability of client investments are of the utmost importance to us,” says Thomas Riedel, president and CEO of Riedel Communications. “The Artist-1024 node will suit new clients looking to have a comprehensive and future-ready system today as well as those clients who have supported us for years and are now ready to take the step to IP infrastructures.”
