One of the companies that I used to enjoy meeting at IBC in the past was Munich-based Penta. The company made high quality broadcast monitors that had a good reputation but hit financial problems and went bankrupt. It turns out that the remains of the business were acquired by SonoVTS, a broadcast product and services company, also based in Feldkirchen, near Munich.
As a result, SonoVTS was at the show to promote its HD2line Pro monitor based on designs that originally came from Penta and at this year’s event, the news was about improved processors for the firm’s 24″/32″ and 55″ UltraHD broadcast monitors. The monitors are based on 16 bit signal processing, with 10 bit panels, and meet the highest standards for image quality. They have very flexible SDI input options and there are a wide range of digital and analogue video and sound options. Other features include integrated Quad Split multiplexing.
Features include automatic calibration using a direct backlight system and exploiting a special camera. SonoVTS makes outside broadcast trucks and one of the facilities that it has is the means to replace a single display easily from the front and allow it to be matched to the other displays being used.
The company has an R&D project in process to deal with HDR content and assist the mapping of HDR with up to 14 F stops of dynamic range to current panels, which the company rates as around 8 F stops. The technology for the conversion is based on GPU technology and can be performed in real time. A prototype should be available in Q1 2017.
