Xilinx Korea (General Manager Ahn Heung-sik) April 20, 2012 – Xilinx and BBC R&D demonstrated a prototype camera-back device (hereinafter Stagebox) capable of delivering professional-quality video over VoIP (Video over Internet protocol)-based networks at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). BBC R&D’s Stagebox can be mounted on the back of a broadcast camera. The integration of increased system functions from Xilinx FPGAs allows expensive and cumbersome SDI/DHELDH/talkback and auxiliary cabling to be replaced by a single network cable (fiber optic or Cat6). This small form factor device effectively extends the reach of video networks to remote production sites and studios using IP networks.

Ben Runyan, Marketing Director for Broadcast and Consumer at Xilinx, stated, “Through CoreEL’s H.264/AVC-I codec IP cores combined with Xilinx’s flexible FPGAs, BBC R&D engineers were able to rapidly and cost-effectively build and adopt remarkably innovative solutions to address long-standing problems.” He added, “The massive volume of video being produced across all sectors of society is driving broadcasters and equipment manufacturers to constantly develop new solutions for the ACDC (acquisition, contribution, distribution, consumption) challenges across broadcast networks that will be consumed by an information-hungry public.”

In sports and extremely sensitive news gathering environments, BBC R&D’s StageBox technology enables real-time video streaming to remote production personnel and equipment. While HD-SDI cables are only 100 to 200 meters long, IP networks operate all over the world. Because a single network cable is used for all camera signals, the mobility and simplicity of camera personnel are enhanced, and operating costs are reduced due to fewer cable issues.

Brandon Butterworth, Chief Scientist at BBC R&D, stated, “BBC R&D’s StageBox is designed to run on a massive volume of programs, ranging from live sports production to breaking news from other parts of the world,” adding, “By combining Core-L’s H.264/AVC-I codec with our own intellectual property to meet the diverse requirements of camera operators, we were able to develop a very useful set of technologies running on Xilinx’s Virtex®-6 FPGA.”

CoreEL Technologies, a Premier Xilinx Alliance program member and provider of system-level products and solutions, plans to market this solution globally together with its partner, L2tek (Leading Light Technologies).

Guruprasad M. Parthasarathy, Marketing Director at Core-L, stated, “Designing Stagebox technology requires a high level of system integration. “By combining the Vertex-6 FPGA, Cor-L’s codecs, and BBC’s IP, we were able to develop a seamlessly integrated solution, which will now pave the way for faster adoption of the AVC-I codec for video distribution applications,” he said. “In addition to providing a single-chip AVC-I codec critical to StageBox technology, Cor-L is further expanding its product range for the manufacturing market by manufacturing modules and supplying them to the industry.”

Mark Scott-South, Sales Director at L2tek, said, “By using Xilinx FPGAs and Core-L’s H.264/AVC-I codec IP cores in BBC R&D’s StageBox technology, we can combine new technologies that reduce time-to-market, enabling the rapid and cost-effective launch of world-leading products while maintaining the ultra-high performance and high quality required for this application.”

About BBC R&D
Further information can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/about/index.shtml .

About CoreEL Technologies
Core-L Technologies is a product engineering company that provides intellectual property cores, system-level products, and customized hardware solutions to customers worldwide in market sectors such as digital video, defense, and aerospace. Coreel's solutions have been proven and deployed in the field, enabling customers to meet cost and time-to-market requirements. (For more information on Coreel, please visit www.coreel.com)

About L2tek (Leading Light Technologies)
Founded in 2008, L2tek is a manufacturer's agent and technology distributor specializing in high-speed interfaces, signal processing, and compression products. L2tek represents numerous leading semiconductor manufacturers in the professional broadcasting industry and supports customer designs with an experienced team across Europe and Scandinavia. (For more information, please visit http://www.l2tek.co.uk )