ST Engineering iDirect’s MCX8000 Multi-Carrier Satellite Gateway has been honored as Hardware Infrastructure winner in the 2023 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. This official awards program recognizes some of the most significant and promising new products and technologies showcased by exhibitors at NAB Show.
Broadcasters today are looking to lower CAPEX and OPEX and to be more cost-effective in a competitive landscape. The MCX8000 was designed with the idea of bringing together the best of both worlds – high density and high reliability – through robust design and industry-leading redundancy solutions. The result is a future proof system that combines video and IP multiservice capabilities to support the transport of today´s and tomorrow´s services.
Singled out by the judging panel of experts, the MCX8000 enables broadcasters to cater for every type of broadcast scenario, including high IP encapsulation rates for Over the Top (OTT) applications. Its high density, high availability and fully redundant modular system is suitable for a variety of broadcast use cases. These include direct-to-home broadcasting, where bringing quality content to the largest possible subscriber base with high reliability is key. The MCX8000 is highly bandwidth efficient, thus maximizing the throughput. It utilizes the DVB-S, DVB-S2, or DVB-S2X standard, assuring highly reliable transport stream delivery.
The MCX8000 key features include:
Hot swappable design reduces OPEX
With its modular design and functionality, users can easily swap out modem boards and power supply units (PSUs) without interrupting the system setup and with no requirement for tools, thus avoiding downtime for repairs and reducing operating expenses (OPEX). In the unlikely event of a failure in one PSU, the other can still power both modem boards and the redundancy switch. The MCX8000 also features ST Engineering iDirect’s Clean Channel Technology which ensures the highest bandwidth efficiency, also resulting in lower OPEX. The MCX8000’s energy efficient design means that this is also a more environmentally friendly option.
High availability, full redundancy
The MCX8000 offers higher availability to broadcasters and by combining two modem boards and a 1+1 redundancy switch in one unit, it becomes a three-in-one solution. This results in lower TCO due to reduced downtime for repairs and low power consumption.
Easy configuration
Simple configuration and ease of use is critical, and the MCX8000 features a brand new, intuitive interface designed to streamline the entire process, reducing the requirement for specialist knowledge. This focuses on the logical flow of configuration, from general system settings to configuring inputs/outputs and defining monitoring requirements. The system also benefits from over-the-air updates rather than suspending services to carry them out manually.
“During our centennial year, NAB continues to recognize the products that are transforming how content is being created, connected and capitalized throughout the broadcast, media and entertainment industry,” said NAB SVP and Chief Customer Success Officer Eric Trabb. “Congratulations to ST Engineering iDirect for winning the 2023 NAB Show Product of the Year Award in recognition of MCX8000, a product that has demonstrated its ability to help storytellers face the challenges of the present and future by revolutionizing a critical stage of the content lifecycle.”
Hungry for information? Check out our product page and watch the video to discover more about the MCX8000’s award-winning technology!