GatesAir Optimizes Next-Generation Transmitter Portfolio for Spectrum Repack at 07 NAB Show

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GatesAir is strengthening its leadership and innovation in wireless, over-the-air content delivery with a new high-efficiency UHF transmitter range to help broadcasters leverage the new business opportunities promised through the Spectrum Repack and the ATSC 3.0 DTV standard. The new Maxiva ULXTE liquid transmitter joins the recently-announced UAXTE air-cooled transmitter to give broadcasters two design options with market-leading RF performance and the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. GatesAir will show both transmitters at the 2017 NAB Show (April 24-27, Las Vegas Convention Center), where the company will exhibit at Booth N2613.

The ULXTE and UAXTE are optimized for channel changes driven by the Spectrum Repack, thanks to next-generation power amplifiers that increase peak power capacity for all ATSC and OFDM waveforms. This design strategy, based on GatesAir's PowerSmart Plus architecture with broadband amplification, accelerates manufacturing and delivery by simplifying channel tuning; and increases power density for all modulations. Its high-efficiency power amplifiers and market-leading power density also provides equal power levels for ATSC 1.0 and 3.0, and reduces costs, energy consumption and internal parts to streamline maintenance. In fact, the slimmed-down architecture, reducing footprint and weight, makes single-engineer maintenance a reality-and an ongoing OPEX benefit-for networks and broadcasters with limited RF engineering resources.

Both transmitters integrate GatesAir's state-of-the-art XTE exciter to ensure a clear path to ATSC 3.0. Featuring a software-defined modulator, the XTE includes native IP inputs and eliminates the need to retrofit transmitters with additional gear to enable network connectivity, giving broadcasters an out-of-the-box solution to simplify the input and output of multimedia services via a local- or wide-area IP network. The design provides a direct gateway to the enhanced multichannel DTV, mobile broadcast and streaming opportunities of ATSC 3.0, and centralizes advanced IP-based monitoring and control to a single user interface. Both transmitters are also easily adaptable to single-frequency network (SFN) architectures that are expected to become common in ATSC 3.0 deployments.

Beyond ATSC 3.0, the ULXTE and UAXTE instantly adapt to global DTV standards, with seamless migration to DVB-T, DVB-T2 and ISDB-T thanks to the software-defined modulation of the XTE. The XTE-driven modulation further reduces costs and power consumption by lowering wattage requirements at the amplification stage, without affecting the same signal strength. Its inherent GatesAir RTAC (real-time adaptive correction) software also strengthens signal correction at the amplification stage to optimize performance and regulatory compliance.

The ULXTE brings the same flexibility and operational efficiencies of its air-cooled sibling to higher power broadcasters who want the additional cost-savings that liquid-cooling offers inside the RF plant, said Rich Redmond, chief product officer, GatesAir. This means that broadcasters are not only reaping the benefits of a futureproof transmitter optimized for repack and ATSC 3.0, including equal power levels; they are also getting a solid-state system that will significantly reduce the heavy air conditioning needs and electrical loads of high-power UHF through a highly efficient liquid-cooled approach. And like the UAXTE, our latest liquid-cooling innovation delivers next-gen signal correction and new control and monitoring efficiencies that further enhance reliability and performance for DTV broadcasters worldwide.

The ULXTE is available in power levels from 1.2kW to 150kW on all modulations, while the UAXTE is available in power levels from 20W to 20kW on all modulations. Both models offer industry-leading system efficiency levels up to 45 percent. Both transmitters and the XTE are made in the USA at GatesAir's Quincy, Illinois manufacturing center.

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About GatesAir

GatesAir, Inc. provides complete solutions for over-the-air radio and television broadcasting, leveraging wireless spectrum to maximize performance for multichannel, mission-critical services. Powering over-the-air networks worldwide with unparalleled reliability for nearly 100 years, GatesAir's turnkey solutions enable broadcasters to create, transport and transmit radio and TV content. With customers in more than 185 countries, the company leads the industry in innovation and design breakthroughs, improving efficiency and reducing total cost of ownership. Visit www.gatesair.com for more information, like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gatesair, and follow us on Twitter at @GatesAir.

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