Analog Way recently featured one of its new products, the Ascender 48, at LDI this past November. The Ascender 48 is a multi-screen seamless switcher based on the existing LiveCore™ platform, which is already home to the NeXtage 16, SmartMatriX Ultra, and the Ascender 32. The Ascender 48 boasts a lot of processing punch and an extensive feature set.
First things first: inputs, 12 of them. The unit offers 12 seamless inputs over 42 input plugs. So, no matter what sources you’re bringing to the table, there’s probably a hole for it. On the back, you’ll find several HDMI, DVI-I, DisplayPort, 3G/HD/SD-SDI, and Universal Analog (over an HD-15 connector). This means you can happily merge the worlds of analog and HD (a problem I was having just last week). Looking at the other end of signal flow, the device has four outputs that can handle many formats. You can also output 4K resolution if you combine the four outputs over 3G-SDI or DVI-D. There is a fifth output that can display a 12-channel mosaic image of all of your inputs.
The Ascender 48 also can handle multi-screen outputs. It will handle soft-edge blending on board, reducing the need for any media server or additional piece of hardware in the system to blend outputs together if you have multiple projectors covering one seamless screen. Depending on the scale of your show, two Ascender 48s can be linked together, creating a 24x8 system with all of the same features. The machines can then share inputs with each other seamlessly. Each output can display six layers of content, and the inputs can be switched seamlessly. The system will also hold up to 50 frames and 50 logos internally that can be applied to layers.
The whole system can be managed through a web interface with Analog Way’s Web RCS. The program works in most internet browsers. I was able to get a hands-on demo at LDI. The control interface is fairly intuitive; it gives you very fine control over the system. I was able to make several layouts very quickly. In addition to Web RCS, the system can also be controlled via a touch screen on the front of the unit or with the Vertige console, expected to be available early 2014.