The latest 1.4 software update brings important new features and enhancements to Haivision’s flagship HEVC and H.264 video encoder, the Makito X4 as well as to the Makito X4 Rugged.
The first of these new features, specifically for the Makito X4 Encoder and live broadcast workflows, is support for SMPTE ST 2110 (more commonly known as SMPTE 2110). By installing an MSA compliant 10G ethernet adaptor via the SFP port, the Makito X4 Encoder can now be used within SMPTE 2110 production over IP workflows. Video, audio, and ancillary metadata streams can be ingested by the Makito X4 to be encoded in H.264 or HEVC and streamed over SRT.
Removing the need for SDI video infrastructure, SMPTE 2110 is a multicast IP streaming technology for transporting uncompressed video over a local area network for live broadcast production. However, due to bandwidth requirements, SMPTE 2110 is not suitable for streaming to the cloud or to the internet.
The Makito X4 Encoder is the ideal solution when sending multi-camera video streams from a SMPTE 2110 production environment, such as an OB truck, to a central production facility or cloud-based live production platform over the internet with the SRT protocol for low latency and high-quality video at low bitrates.
New features and enhancements in this latest release include:
- SMPTE ST 2110: The Makito X4 Encoder with a 10Gbps Ethernet NIC installed in the SFP+ port can ingest SMPTE 2110 compliant video, audio, and ancillary metadata streams which can then be encoded using H.264/AVC or H.265/HEVC codecs for video with encapsulated metadata and AAC-LC audio. Supported output streams formats include TS over UDP, TS over RTP, TS over SRT, and RTSP.
- Analog Audio: The Makito X4 Rugged can now encode analog audio, mono, or stereo, along with video. Ideal for encoding cockpit audio from airborne ISR platforms.
- Path Redundancy: Active/backup mode is now fully supported from the web user interface along with active/active mode. This allows a Makito X4 to stream live content with hitless failover over two active network links or automatically switch to a second IP network as a backup.
- Autosave Presets: Instantly recover presets and configurations in case of a power outage or system failure. Users no longer need to manually hit save.
- Expanded Audio Bitrates: Each audio encoded stream can now be set to as low as 14Kps for extremely constrained datalinks, especially for ISR applications, and as high as 576Kps for premium broadcast content.
