Distributed splicing processor selection tips

The large-screen splicing industry can be described as flourishing. With the 2014 distributed splicing system becoming more and more popular in the industry, various manufacturers have spared no effort to introduce various types of distributed splicing processors. Even some manufacturers that have just come into contact with distributed technologies do not particularly understand or limit the concept of distributed splicing processors. Therefore, distributed splicing processors are divided into pure hardware, embedded systems, and PC architectures. In fact, such classification is purely a way of misleading customers. The so-called distributed technology must be a node-based and independent processing architecture. It has no restrictions on applications and does not depend on the system. In the process of building a system constructed by a distributed splicing processor, a hardware node will be used for codec, and an embedded server may also be used to control the entire system. The embedded server is mainly to ensure the control system. The virus-free, safe and stable. The so-called PC architecture is actually an extension of the traditional centralized, not a distributed mosaic system in the fundamental sense. So it can't be a kind of distributed splicing processor.

Then faced with the continuous emergence of various distributed splicing processor manufacturers, how should users choose to be able to fall into the pitfalls of manufacturers' various rhetoric? Here, Xiaobian lists several principles for users' reference.

First: Product Technology Maturity

Distributed splicing processors have only been available in the market for only a few years. Therefore, only after an early period of long-term R&D and technology accumulation will products mature. Its high-tech barrier lies in its algorithm and coding technology that makes many manufacturers stay away.

For example, a distributed splicing processor undergoes three stages in compressing codec technology over video transmission:

In the first stage, due to the limitations of coding technology, video transmission uses a completely uncompressed method to transmit the original code stream. This method requires a lot of bandwidth. A single 1080P@60 frame video requires up to 3G bandwidth.

In the second stage, with the change of application requirements, the non-compressed stream has been unable to meet a large number of video transmissions. Therefore, a mixed-stream compression method that incorporates its own algorithm on the basis of conventional compression (such as MPEG2, MPEG4, etc.) was born. At this time, a single 1080P@60 frame video is compressed and transmitted with only a few hundred megahertz of bandwidth. Undoubtedly, it has basically solved the need for system expansion in a certain period of time.

The third stage, but with the birth of big data and the demand for social development, the demand for a large amount of signal access to small bandwidth is becoming more and more urgent. The H.264 international standard compression encoding algorithm is the best compression algorithm to solve the small bandwidth. It not only realizes a small bandwidth (as low as several tens of megabytes or even a few megabytes), it can support the expansion of the system's massive signal, and it can also guarantee the high-definition restoration of the original image quality. The advantages of the H.264 algorithm make its decoder chip widely used in satellite high-definition set-top boxes (such as the United States and Europe), and has now become the standard configuration of high-definition set-top box SOC chips.

Second: System Stability

Undoubtedly, the stability of the system is one of the core elements of judging the quality of processor products. The criteria for stability assessment are broader, but usually include three aspects:

First, synchronization, large-screen splicing processor is mainly to deal with access to the signal processing and display on the screen, so for the upper screen signal synchronization requirements are extremely strict, it is mainly reflected in the video can not produce any Caton, otherwise It may cause tearing of the image on the screen, which will seriously affect its use.

Second, real-time, the core application of large-screen splicing system is to require real-time transmission of the video signal processing, and can be displayed on the screen in real time to provide timely and effective command decision basis. This provides extremely important conditions for the recovery of losses in the event of major accidents and timely deployment decisions. As major disasters such as earthquakes and landslides occur, the monitoring party can grasp the disaster and deploy disaster relief on the real-time site at the first instance of a disaster. It can be said that time is life and property safety.

Third, the system will not collapse as a whole. For large-screen systems, if the entire system fails to operate due to the failure of certain modules, this means a catastrophe to the user. A truly distributed system uses a distributed splicing node to handle only its own signal, without any impact on other nodes of the system. When a single node fails, the system has no effect and can maintain normal operation. Instead, only the damaged node needs to be replaced, and the access signal can be immediately scheduled and processed.

Third: System Compatibility

Devices connected to a large-screen splicing system are often required to be diverse. Therefore, a good distributed splicing processor must have an open principle. It should not only support the access of almost all types of signals, but also support the docking of other service platforms. Otherwise, it will easily cause the system to crash due to compatibility problems and it cannot embody the superiority of distributed splicing processors over traditional processors.

For example, in large-screen splicing systems, the largest number of access devices is a camera, even thousands. However, in many current systems, due to the expansion of signal access and equipment updates at different times, the brand of the camera is also ever-changing. The proprietary protocol of the camera of each manufacturer, resulting in incompatibility between each other and affecting the stability of the entire system.

For another example, because the system upgrade requires access to some external platforms, these require large-screen splicing systems to have an excellent compatibility, otherwise it is difficult to maintain the overall stable operation of the system. Therefore, when selecting a distributed splicing processor, customers should first understand whether it has a good openness, whether they can dock different platforms, and be compatible with different devices. These are the standards of measurement.

Fourth: The ease of use of the system

The ease of use of the system usually includes a simple and convenient operation end, and the user needs to worry about it. However, with the advancement of technology and the increase in demand, simple operation is no longer the only standard for ease of use. Visualization, WYSIWYG, has become an important standard for users' good operating experience. In the era of Internet+, the use of Internet technology to implement simultaneous linkage control of operation clients and display terminals and real-time preview echo of access signals should be the standard configuration of advanced distributed splicing processors.

Fifth: Systematic Extensibility

High-platform large-screen splicing systems are very necessary for scalability considerations. Because in practical applications, it is often overlooked that as the business scale increases and various applications need to change, the system needs to continuously expand to meet new requirements. It often happens that due to the poor consideration of the previous project, the existing system cannot meet the new requirements, so that it is necessary to abandon the original system and rebuild it. This waste of human and financial resources is unacceptable to users.

The true distributed splicing processor, in which the system scalability is unlimited, does not have much signal output to allow only how many signals to access. When the scale of the system needs to increase, only a small number of nodes need to be added to complete the expansion. There is no need to scrap the original system equipment and there is no complicated construction process, everything is simple and easy.

Fourth: System Security

In the era of big data, the security of information has become the consensus of the entire society. Especially for large-screen splicing systems that are used by enterprises, governments, and other functional departments. Therefore, when selecting a distributed splicing processor, it is necessary to ensure that its products have independent research and development of core technologies and underlying confidentiality technologies and other qualifications, which fundamentally guarantees the user's core interests.