| Arcatron Delivers with Rabbit-Powered Control Panel |
When leading-edge control technology firm Arcatron was asked last year
to come up with a product that would help propel Sierra Video Systems
to the next level of video router control, Arcatron looked to Rabbit Semiconductor
for a cost-effective processor that would support multiple functions and
facilitate rapid development.
"Sierra Video is expanding their presence in the broadcast market,
and they needed a control panel that was on par with or better than what
some of the more well-known companies are producing," says Bob Ginger,
president of Phoenix-based Arcatron.
Since 1988, Arcatron has been developing integrated audio, video, and
control system solutions. Last spring, Sierra Video—specialists
in video routers and digital terminal gear—enlisted Arcatron to
develop a router control panel that would be both powerful and easy to
use.
Development would have to be fast to meet client needs. When Ginger
and his team started to research microprocessor options, up popped Rabbit.
"The RabbitCore RCM2020 core module looked very intriguing as a way
to get to market quickly," he says. "There were several things
that intrigued us about it: One was the everything-on-one-board kind of
idea, and the other was the built-in operating system that offered many
task-scheduling possibilities."
The bulk of development occurred over four months last summer. With
the RabbitCore 2000 Series just then hitting the market, Ginger was eager
to get his hands on the powerful new modules. "We were anxiously
awaiting the core modules when they were first being introduced,"
says Ginger. "We developed a prototype using the Rabbit development
kit, and then we designed our own controller card. That way, the core
module simply plugged into the card, and we just developed on our hardware."
Using Dynamic C® during initial development was a positive experience
for Arcatron. "For a very inexpensive development system, [Dynamic
C] did quite a bit," says Ginger. "We also wrote in a lot of
in-line assembly routines."
Aside from the prospects of compact functionality and smooth development,
Ginger says the RabbitCore’s plentiful I/O and four RS-232 serial
ports were key selling points. "We needed a lot of I/O because we’re
using lots of knobs and switches and displays—I/O-intensive kinds
of applications," he says. "We’re also using three of
the serial ports on this product, including one we use internally for
some serial communications on the controller card itself." The remaining
serial port serves as an auxiliary for the user.
The Rabbit’s upgradability was the icing on the cake: "We
had to do some upgrades on the firmware, and we’ve implemented circuitry
on the board that emulates what the programming cable has—[in the
form of] a dip switch so it can remotely load programs," says Ginger.
Released in March, the Arcatron-designed SCP200 Control Panel is now
helping Sierra Video capitalize on some promising market trends. While
routers lie at the heart of every television studio and movie production
house, they also are being used across a growing number of industries.
Burgeoning demand is putting more and more video applications in places
like boardrooms, classrooms, churches, and even flight simulators and
submarines.
"So far, everything we’ve heard about the SCP200 is positive,"
says Ginger. "People really like the product because it’s flexible
and very user-friendly. I designed it as the router panel I always wished
existed."
Fully adaptable, the state-of-the-art router interface features programmable
control buttons (Picture Button keycaps provide programmable text and
graphics for each button), virtual mapping, single-button takes and presets,
level breakaway, salvos, and macros, in addition to standard crosspoint
selection.
The panel can be fully customized to fit any facility’s specific
needs via an easy-to-use Windows program. "There’s a lot of
user programmability with the panel," says Ginger. "At a broadcast
plant, for example, they can create a lot of things that make their job
easier when they’re switching video around."
And to make his job easier, Ginger says he plans to implement the Rabbit
as Arcatron’s common processor platform. "We’re planning
on converting our existing media control panel products over to the Rabbit
very shortly, and we’ve got several products under development that
we intend to put the Rabbit into."
For more information: 602.843.2589 www.arcatron.com
www.sierravideo.com
Submit your design application
success story to press@rabbitsemiconductor.com
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