special report fibre optics
network. Additionally, it gives companies the power to control geographically diverse operations centrally, creating solid economies of scale that can save money in real terms during the life of the equipment. So, given these clear benefits, why
isn’t everyone migrating to fibre? Well, partly, this is the result of the
ports that remain the standard on today’s equipment.
Photo In addition, just
as fibre allows for the retention of legacy equipment, a key advantage it that it also provides almost unlimited flexibility in moving forward with new equipment and technologies because it is relatively simple to interface into new and existing hardware. With fibre, today’s advanced plug-and-play modules, such as media servers and converters, new technologies can be installed, connected and brought online within minutes. The simplicity of TX/RX
components, (many rack mountable) and the way fibre packages information from many sources enables it effectively to communicate by use of Course Wave Division Multiplexing (CWDM).
In most cases
this is down a single fibre, allowing connectivity with virtually any piece of equipment or operating system on the market today. The economic advantages here are
clear: new technologies can be incorporated and used without incurring the enormous costs of changing out functioning and productive equipment. Ongoing productivity is ensured, equipment remains current, low installation costs and rapid repair/replacement of damaged or out dated devices are all possible. In this way, fibre also allows greater flexibility in purchasing new equipment, without the fear of running into compatibility issues. Remote control is a further benefit
of fibre. The introduction of fibre routing solutions like the EOS-4000 using TCP/IP Web X GUI based systems eliminates the need of having control units physically close to all nodes and devices. Through TCP/IP, data and systems can be monitored and controlled through any Internet connection, anywhere in the facility or beyond. This frees up managers and engineers to perform their functions from virtually any location on the
©
iStockphoto.com/ melaniebetts.
age old problem: when discussing new solutions, talk to IT and they might point you in the direction of the facilities manager, and vice versa. Speak to an AV or broadcast technician and they may be still firmly planted in the coaxial copper based solutions with traditional signal types. Some will site the difficulty of fibre
Because fibre optics is extremely adaptable in its applications, and timeless in its usability, it serves as the perfect bridge between legacy hardware, equipment and modules and today’s cutting edge technologies. Even if that technology gap widens in the future, an investment in equipment made 10 years ago or the purchases being made in years to come will not be wasted.
termination and the number of different connection offerings. Fair comment, and in its infancy fibre was plagued by this requirement and specialist splicing units were required, but as with many things a little forward thinking provides the answers. The commonality of copper based connectors, BNC and RJ45, is echoed in fibre with the use of FC/LC/ST/SC connectivity but unlike the copper units, an easy to use system of ‘patch’ leads of various lengths allow changes from one connector type to another without additional hardware to transpose the signal layout.
Working with fibre
Fibre optics transport traditionally takes three primary variations or ways in which it can package information. These three transmission modes are not unlike those of RS data protocols: Multimode: Short runs (sub 1km ),
low bandwidth resources, often duplexed. Singlemode : Long runs (40km), full
bandwidth 4.25 Gb capable. CWDM/DWDM: Course and Dense
wave systems allow multiple signals to be transported down single fibres at differential optical wavelengths. Keeping this in mind, there are a
few technical points to consider when establishing a fibre run or network. Fibre tends to be a master-slave technology. This means that only one device on the network can act as master, while the others act as slaves - TX/RX. In addition, fibre supports single, direct connections, or multi- drop connections, or even network configurations where the router is populated with transceivers. Depending on the volume of data being transmitted and the frequency
82 l ibe l september/october 2011 l
www.ibeweb.com
at which information is needed, this could consume large levels of bandwidth - a consideration when choosing your mode cabling. It is important to remember multimode signals can be transmitted down singlemode fibre, but singlemode signals cannot be transported down multimode fibre. It is important to note that fibre is
unaffected by EM fields, so makes cable runs easier along existing power conduits, thus making installations so much easier. An historic case for this was provision to the oil industry on rigs at sea and another was within the confines of a nuclear power station. Hybrid fibre is also becoming a good solution for the broadcast industry enabling a return to the ‘multicore’ approach without the requirement of 26+ pins to be joined. There are now field deployable units with weather proofed cases and the ability to allow the use of Kevlar as protective shield to the aramide padding of the fibre cores.
Moving forward with fibre
The real power behind fibre is not just in its ability to transmit video/audio/data, but rather in its ability to fill the technology gap. In turn, this translates into a number of solid economical advantages that appear to be timeless. What this means is that, pretty much regardless of where technology goes in the future, fibre will continue to be an economical and advantageous communication tool to incorporate, especially so in the face of ever increasing copper prices and the on going worry of diminishing world resources. Because fibre optics is extremely
adaptable in its applications, and timeless in its usability, it serves as the perfect bridge between legacy hardware, equipment and modules and today’s cutting edge technologies. Even if that technology gap widens in the future, an investment in equipment made 10 years ago or the purchases being made in years to come will not be wasted. This fact should give AV, IT and broadcasters an added layer of confidence in moving forward with fibre. Bright Space Technologies is a trade
distributor to the AV and broadcast industry. We offer complimentary consultation services so if you have a question, simply pick up the phone and contact us or log onto our website.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84