Cobalt’s 2022 (so far) in a nutshell

We’re more than halfway through the year and marching towards IBC 2022, where we’ll be exhibiting on stand 10.B44 (more info coming soon). 2022 marks our 25th anniversary, we’ve seen record-breaking sales and have been presented with four more awards, bringing the total to 40 awards earned since 1997.

Our innovative solutions offer a broad cross-section of products developed to meet the everyday challenges faced by media companies and content owners in today’s rapidly changing technological landscape. The following includes descriptions of a fraction of our platform. If you’re heading to Amsterdam in September, come and see us in person and find out more.


9992–ENC/DEC Software Defined Broadcast Encoder/Decoder Family
Our Compression Line (9992-ENC and 9992-DEC products) was recognized with multiple awards at NAB 2022. The robust encoding and decoding platform’s designed to meet the most demanding requirements of today's broadcasters but allows for future growth with an upgradeable firmware-based licensing structure. The 9992-ENC/9992-DEC family supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC and HEVC as well as a long list of protocols including UDP, RTP, HTTP, RTMP, RIST, SRT and soon Zixi.  On the audio side this platform can accommodate up to 16-pairs of audio as PCM and Dolby with support for decoding Dolby AC-4 and Dolby E.

9904-UDX family of openGear® advanced scaler/frame synchronizers
Our 9904-UDX series of Up/Down/Cross Converter/Frame Sync/Embed/De-Embed Audio Processors, was also an award-winner at NAB 2022 for its +HDR-TCHCLR-4K option that is powered by ‘Advanced by Technicolor’ and offers real-time intelligent HDR conversion.

Unique in its openGear form-factor, this card is referred to as the Company’s Swiss Army Knife because it’s packed with features and capabilities that place it in a class of its own. The 9904-UDX problem solver is offered at a budget-pleasing price point and is found in organizations all around the world ranging from post-production and production facilities to sports broadcasters, houses of worship, educational institutions, and corporate entities.

Always listening to customers’ needs, we have increased functionality of the 9904-UDX by incorporating Dante’s IP-based audio networking solution into the card on a license-basis. The +UDX-Dante-16x16 option, which is field upgradable, supports embedding and de-embedding all the way to 12G with full audio routing capabilities between SDI, MADI, and Dante, both input and output, adding up to 32 channels to existing 9904 cards for a high-density solution without the need for any new hardware.

We also recently added best-of-class native SMPTE ST-2110 audio / video processing support to both the 9904-UDX-4K and its 9905-MPx audio/video processor cards as a highly integrated ST 2110 factory option named Indigo 2110-DC-01. The enhancement brings a cost-effective, easy to manage and fully integrated way to avoid the need for multiple and expensive devices in the data path. Indigo 2110-DC-01 includes multiple 25G Ethernet interfaces to support uncompressed 4K.

Now, with the Indigo 2110-DC-01 option, these cards are available with IP inputs and outputs, eliminating the need for any external gateways. When the two cards are combined into a single package, a powerful and dense solution is created that’s capable of natively processing HD, 3G and 4K IP streams without compromising quality.

9905-MPx family of openGear® next-generation advanced scaler/frame synchronizers
Our 9905-MPx 3G/HD/SD Quad-Path Up/Down/Cross Converter/Frame Sync is a next-generation advanced scaler/frame synchronizer developed in direct response to customer requests for one module that supports four independent signal paths of 3D-LUT, ANC bridge (insert/extract Timecode Proc, CC Proc) UDX Up/Down/Cross Conversion, Frame Sync, Trouble Slate/Logo import/insert as standard / audio embedding and de-embedding on a single openGear card.

Based on the architecture of the 9904-UDX, the 9905-MPx incorporates many of the award-winning card’s capabilities but features functionality that sets it apart from any other Up/Down/Cross Converter/Frame Sync/Embed/De-Embed Audio Processor on the market. The unit is specifically designed for broadcast video formats, with full ARC control suitable for conversions to or from 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. The multi-path design offers discrete AES and MADI audio embedding/routing/mixing/de-embedding to any of the four processing paths.

9926 HDMI-to-SDI / 9927 SDI-to-HDMI Conversion Cards
Our HDMI-to-SDI and SDI-to-HDMI dual and quad-channel converter cards come complete with built-in per-channel frame synchronizers and loads of features that maximize space and ensure greater installation integrity than throwdown devices can offer. The 9926 series target any application requiring signal conversion from HDMI compliant devices such as computer monitors or video projectors, to broadcast quality SDI formats, while the 9927 conversely converts SDI signals to HDMI formats. We developed the cards to ensure that our customers not only remain relevant but excel in this era of OTT mixed with traditional broadcast and driven by a new set of requirements.

The 9926-2HtoS 3G/HD/SD Dual-Channel openGear® HDMI-To-SDI Converter provides two independent paths of true 3G and HD conversions from HDMI to SMPTE 424M, 292M, or 259M, while the 9926-4HtoS 3G/HD/SD version provides four independent paths.

In addition to the 9926 series, We offer the complimentary 9927-2StoH 3G/HD/SD Dual-Channel openGear® SDI-To-HDMI converter card that incorporates all the same features as the 9926 modules, including full independent frame syncs and proc amps. Both the 9926 series and the 9927 can be controlled across a standard Ethernet network by openGear DashBoard™ or using our Remote Control Panel.

Users can also transform any of our products into a portable solution by inserting any card into our BBG-1300 compact frame, converting it to a standalone chassis.

To take a deep technical dive, click the product links.