Boxx TV Cerulean wireless links

Boxx TV's Cerulean is a new high speed, zero-delay, licence-exempt wireless link, that is at least as fast as fibre.

The portable (5kg), point-to-point 3Gbps microwave link carries two video streams or one 3D feed, with no errors and no latency, making it an alternative to fibre on productions where cables would get in the way. It works with multiple camera feeds, and can also be a redundant hot standby for critical real time acquisition.

It uses the undeveloped, extremely high frequency band, 60GHz, which has a transport latency below 2ns, similar to (or slightly better than) the performance of fibre optic networks. At 60GHz, the beam width is small (5º), so several devices can operate in the same area without interference, and no spectrum licences apply.

Signals are uncompressed, so there is no encoding delay, and one version of the product supports all High Definition formats. Field tests and live shows so far have shown that it operates over distances of up to about 500 metres.

“We designed Cerulean for critical acquisition applications, primarily OB and sports. It can be set up in under five minutes. All you have to do is plug the boxes in, tilt the transmitter and receiver to line them up, and it will work anywhere in the world," said Boxx TV CTO, Scott Walker (pictured).

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By David Fox