MCS-1015
1CH SDI 4K/HD up/down scaler board for openGear.
An openGear modular SDI signal processing card integrating 4-input signal selection, 4K/HD up/down scaling, HDR color conversion, and multi-channel AES audio embedding for OB vans, studios, and master control broadcast systems.
Overview
MCS-1015 combines up/down conversion, 4-in-1 selection, and audio embedding, for processing external signals in OB vans, studios, master control rooms, and broadcast systems. It selects one of four inputs and scales it in the same pass, converts on dynamic metadata, static metadata, parameters, or LUT tables — dynamic metadata including HDR Vivid — and reproduces the conversion behaviour of other converters. Each 2RU chassis holds up to 5 processing units.
Challenge
External sources are the messiest part of a live plant: four feeds arriving in the wrong format, unsynchronised, with audio that has to be embedded before the switcher will take them — and only one of them needed at a time.
Four in, one needed
External sources arrive in groups but only one goes through at a time; a separate router plus a separate converter is two boxes for one job.
Format mismatch
Incoming feeds are 4K or HD, HDR or SDR, and have to be normalised before they reach the switcher.
Unsynchronised inputs
External signals carry their own timing and need frame synchronization on the way in.
Audio to embed
Discrete AES audio has to be embedded against the picture before the source is usable downstream.
Solution
One unit selects, scales, and embeds in a single pass.
Key Features
- Selection and scaling — Four inputs down to one, with 4K/HD SDI up/down conversion applied simultaneously, and frame synchronization on every external signal.
- Conversion methods — Dynamic metadata (including HDR Vivid), static metadata, parameter settings, or LUT tables, covering HDR/SDR and HDR/HDR adaptation, with BT.709 and BT.2020 recognition and conversion.
- Colour restoration — From the on-site CCU output, a proprietary algorithm recovers the 4K HDR to HD SDR conversion and generates a LUT for DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, or Sobey non-linear editing — or exports it back to the cross converter for switcher post-processing.
- Restored HD output — Down-conversion outputs a restored HD signal regardless of which equipment did the up-conversion, and supports down-conversion on post-production dynamic metadata so the HD result matches the approved content.
- Audio — 8-channel AES (16-channel) embedding over eight BNC inputs.
- I/O and density — 12 × 12G-SDI per unit (4 in, 8 out) with simultaneous 4K and HD output, LTC in, RS422 control, and 8 GPIO — up to 5 units per 2RU chassis with redundant power.
Scenarios
- OB van and field production — External-signal processing on the truck, scaled and synced before the switcher.
- Master control and studios — TV station master control rooms and multi-functional studio signal processing.
- 4K/HDR live events — Sports, variety shows, and large event broadcast workflows.
- Mixed multi-source routing — SDI plants needing source selection, real-time scaling, and unified colour calibration in one pass.
- Multi-brand converter plants — Production environments that need consistent colour effect reproduction across converters from different vendors.
Result
The messiest inputs in the plant arrive switcher-ready — one of four selected, scaled, frame-synced, colour-matched, and with audio already embedded, from a single card slot.
Inputs selected down to one, scaled in the same pass.
AES audio channels embedded over eight BNC inputs.
12G-SDI ports per unit — 4 in, 8 out — with simultaneous 4K and HD.
Cross-conversion channels per 2RU chassis.
Explore the full product line.
From ingest and signal processing to switching, playout, and AI — every Sobey product is engineered to work as one system.