Avid (Nasdaq: AVID) has announced the next generation Maestro™ | Engine real-time graphics and video hardware rendering platform for its Maestro Graphics product line. Maestro | Engine scales from HD and 1080P to UHD supporting both SDI and Video Over IP interfaces. With Maestro | Engine, broadcasters can produce graphics, virtual studios, augmented reality and video wall content in the industry’s highest achievable quality.
As the successor to Avid HDVG, Maestro | Engine enables broadcasters to introduce new production capabilities—including 3G, UHD, HDR, and IP workflows—alongside their current HD/SD SDI workflows, with minimal disruption. Available in two configurations—Maestro | Engine and Maestro | Engine 4K—the platform works with all Maestro graphics suite solutions, providing performance, scalability, and format support to surpass customers’ current and future broadcast requirements.
“As broadcast production evolves, broadcasters increasingly need flexible, future-proof graphics rendering hardware to enable them to tell more compelling stories,” said Ray Thompson, director of Broadcast and Media Solutions Marketing at Avid. “The new Maestro | Engine enables customers to differentiate and elevate their content with compelling data-driven augmented reality graphics and virtual sets delivered in real time. Maestro | Engine hardware supports IP I/O and delivers the performance and reliability required for any news, sports, or other broadcast content engaging audiences in new ways.”
Maestro | Engine enables customers to:
Scale I/O according to their needs
Maestro | Engine is available in two hardware configurations that can be scaled for any production need. The Maestro | Engine base system offers up to eight video insertions and up to four outputs, including fill and key, to handle most standard CG needs and dual channel production. To tackle more demanding UHD, video wall, and virtual studio productions, Maestro | Engine 4K offers up to 16 video insertions and up to eight outputs—or up to four fill and four key outputs for UHD production.
Manage multiple systems to support complex broadcast workflows
With enhanced performance and rendering power, Maestro | Engine works across all Maestro graphics suite authoring and control solutions both new and old, providing backwards compatibility so existing content and production will continue to work without any issues.
Switch from an SDI workflow to IP with ease
Maestro | Engine not only works with any SDI infrastructure, it makes it easy to transition to Video Over IP using a broadcaster’s existing 10Gb fiber network and field-changeable interface boards, so they can make the upgrade gradually at their own pace to experience better cost savings and greater bandwidth for high-resolution media.
Produce SD, HD and UHD content
Maestro | Engine works in concert with Maestro | RenderEngine software, providing advanced graphics rendering in the highest quality possible—whether displayed onscreen or in the studio. It also can drive content to multiple canvases, scale content up or down, and crop it. This makes it easy to preview large-scale video walls with a single HD feed, reducing system complexity and cost.
Achieve realism
To elevate virtual studio productions to cinematic quality, Maestro | Engine 4K works with both Maestro | RenderEngine and Epic’s Unreal Engine. Users get the power and flexibility to present stunning virtual environments full of realism, depth, and detail. Because only Avid engines can run simultaneously on a single Maestro | Engine 4K, users can render all virtual studio elements using Unreal Engine while overlaying data-driven augmented reality graphics with Maestro | RenderEngine.
Get versatile performance
Featuring a proprietary I/O card that delivers ultra-low-latency video transfer, Maestro | Engine maintains a constant two frames of delay from input to output for seamless object mapping and audio handling. The Maestro | Engine is also capable of real-time graphics, video compositing and rendering, with scalable inputs, fill and key outputs. Its open API enables users to create their own control applications.
Have flexibility for the future
To ensure a high return on investment, customers need a system that can grow with them as their workflow and technologies evolve. The Maestro | Engine platform is built for today’s and tomorrow’s broadcast needs, supporting SD, HD, UHD, and (coming soon) HDR workflows. It offers field-changeable interface boards, so users can transition from SDI to IP whenever they’re ready. Support for new technologies and features will be made available through software updates.
Integrate video playback
Maestro | Engine handles live video sources and plays back video stored on its local drive, Avid NEXIS®, or other network storage device. It has two 1GbE connections and a 10GbE option for more demanding video transfers. Users can create compelling visuals using video clips as background elements or as textures mapped onto scene objects. Maestro | Engine supports a wide range of codecs—including Avid DNxHD/DNxHR, XDCAM 50, AVC-I, XAVC-I, and QT RLE.
Manage systems from anywhere
Users don’t need to install additional client software or have a systems administrator tethered to the machine room to manage and configure settings. Maestro | Engine uses a web-based interface for all systems management. Users can set up and make changes to access rights, video formats, genlock sources, input and output mapping, and other settings from any computer or device on their network—from anywhere.
Protect their production
Maestro | Engine is built to withstand the demands of 24/7 operation. It features dual power supplies, dual network interfaces, and software and hardware watchdog preventing production interruptions. And, because all Maestro graphics suite applications can control multiple Maestro | Engines, users can deploy additional engines as live backups to on-air systems.
Availability
Maestro | Engine and Maestro | Engine 4K will ship in the fourth quarter of 2018.
