Bluebell Introduces Silhouette Combine Converters to Further Reduce Camera Cabling in Live Productions

Bluebell Opticom Ltd., provider of innovative fibre optic solutions for fixed and remote applications, today announced the launch of Silhouette Combine4 and Combine8 converters, two new additions to the Silhouette power-insertion family for robotic-camera productions in sports, theatre, and music venues. When used with the Silhouette power-insertion system, the converters let users combine signals from four or eight cameras onto one SMPTE hybrid cable.

Until we introduced Silhouette last year, crews had to rig one cable per camera location at an event. Silhouette changed all that, and now Combine4 and Combine8 converters are changing the game again. Using a Combine unit in conjunction with our already popular ShaxX system, crews can connect up to eight camera positions to their related CCUs using only one SMPTE cable, with Combine doing the multiplexing, said Paul Felix McCann, managing director, Bluebell Opticom. Thanks to those capabilities, together with a very small footprint, the benefits are obvious: Crews save cable, time, and fuel.

Silhouette is a line of rugged, deployable, high-density mixed-technology media converters. The heart of the Silhouette power-insertion product family for robotic cameras in remote-production scenarios, the Silhouette is a fully integrated 4K UHD robotic head system that works with SD-SDI, HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, and 4K UHD cameras to provide power and control to the camera head and fibre optic connectivity for the remote-control panel. As a result, operators no longer need to rely on stadium power. Instead, they can remotely power, control, and receive 4K UHD pictures from a robotic camera head over a single hybrid fibre cable at distances up to 20 kilometres.

Combine4 and Combine8 reduce cabling even further, this time for manually operated cameras. In multicamera productions with manually operated cameras, the units fit between the camera and the CCU on up to eight camera channels to eliminate rigging time, transport weight, and fault-finding. Designed to work with the Bluebell ShaxX, Combine4 and Combine8 can be configured for two identical hybrid I/Os. The Diverse Option helps eliminate the worry of losing all cameras on a shoot if someone cuts the hybrid cable. In that case, two identical connections carrying identical payload can be diversely routed between camera and CCU. The systems deploy a self-healing ring topology, so users won't notice a glitch.

The form factor of the Combine4 and Combine8 is unique in the market. A very small footprint allows for discreet routing and reduces the rigging from eight chunky cables to one cable and two small boxes.

Further information about Bluebell and the company's products is available at www.bluebell.tv.

Visit Bluebell Opticom at the 2018 NAB Show, Booth C6948 (Exhibiting With Joseph Electronics)

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