Lately I have heard more and more about churches moving away from IMAG, but just because you might not be using cameras in your venue doesn't lead the abandonment of video as a whole. In fact we are already seeing more and more environmental projection, large-format projection and shaped projection. These results are often achieved outside the house of worship using a very different set of tools then your standard IMAG rig. Typically this is where you would utilize a presentation-style switcher, which tends to be expensive and difficult to use. Analog Way is looking to change that with their recent release of the NeXtage 16.
In the past several years Analog Way has pushed to make their products more and more user friendly by utilizing solutions like; easy menu layout, large displays, easy navigation and intuitive controls. While the new NeXtage 16 is built on the company's entirely new Live Core platform, I am expecting them to continue the trend of focusing on ease of use. In fact they may have taken it to the next level with the implementation of their new remote control software Web RCS, which can allow multiple users (up to five) on multiple platforms --- including tablets --- to control different tasks simultaneously. All of this is made possible by a dedicated industrial PC card, meaning that LAN/WAN support services are never involved with the image processing. It also allows Analog Way technical support to login to the product to check counters, internal logs, errors, and provide assistance. I also assume they can offer some type of training where you are on the phone with a trainer who is controlling your system remotely.
One of the other large differences between a presentation-style switcher and a production-style switcher is how they handle inputs. Most production switchers are based on a limited type of input such as just SDI, while the presentation-style switchers typically have a wide variety of input types and are capable of scaling each one as needed. The NeXtage 16 is no exception in this case, its eight inputs are spread across 28 potential connectors including HDMI, 3G/HD/SD-SDI, Display port as well as HD15 universal analog inputs. It can also store 50 frames and 50 logos utilizing the USB plug, these frames and logos will function with all the same properties as the other layers. This switcher is capable of taking almost anything you can give it. It's able to process all those signals to its two outputs which include DVI, 3G/HD/SD-SDI, Universal analog, and Video Optical SFP. All of this leads to an “almost anything in” to “almost anything out” video processing solution.
The NeXtage 16 is capable of performing in a variety of applications from single mixer, dual mixer, hard edge blending, soft edge blending or program/confidence monitor applications. It can present four true seamless layers plus one native background on each output, making it possible to do really dynamic effects. The 16 available scalers allow it to display program, preview, and monitoring outputs simultaneously. Each layer is also uniform and independent so that each of them can have a different effect on it such as; size, type of transition, and time of transition. The effect system itself is built with multiple user interfaces for setup, editing and live production. The intuitive dashboard controls allow the operator to fully prepare their show and run it live during the event.
The NeXtage 16 is not a product that is going to be right for every church in America, but the churches that utilize a multi-layer presentation switcher will appreciate a new option in this arena. With a price tag of $38,000 it is by no means a cheap product, however compared to the price of other solutions, it's really reasonable. Based on the specs sheet alone I think it's a really impressive product and it will be interesting to see what other products Analog Way releases on the Live Core platform.
