Silverdraft Selects Utah Scientific Routing for Mobileviz VFX Studio-on-Wheels

Silverdraft has installed Utah Scientific routing systems in its Mobileviz mobile production trailer. A super-computer-powered digital and visual effects (VFX) studio-on-wheels, Mobileviz is designed to sit alongside a production set or a post facility and provide all of the real-time processing power for the demands of today’s film and high-definition television productions, including compositing, color correcting, 3D processing, and other visual effects.

With signal distribution provided by Utah Scientific routers within, as well as to and from Mobileviz, everyone involved in a production — directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, and VFX supervisors, through to make-up and wardrobe — can review material immediately and make on-the-spot adjustments as necessary.

Silverdraft has installed three Utah Scientific routing switchers to route the control and video signals throughout the high-performance mobile studio as it is being manipulated, and out to whomever needs to see the newly rendered video stream on the outside.

“The demands we face are about delivery in real time, pristine video quality, and the massive amounts of data we need to process; but it’s also about the fact that we have to change the setup of the trailer for every job to meet the specific requirements of each client,” said Amy Gile, Silverdraft founder and managing partner. “We chose Utah Scientific equipment because it is robust, reliable, flexible, and very easy to reconfigure from client to client. Also, Utah Scientific has a reputation for supporting its equipment far beyond what its competitors do. The company’s 10-year warranty is unheard of and really shows its commitment to the product.”

“What Silverdraft is doing with real-time video rendering in a mobile unit is nothing short of phenomenal, truly unique in the world of digital film production and postproduction,” said Tom Harmon, president and CEO of Utah Scientific. “To be involved with organizations that push the limits like this is truly exciting for us.”

Housed in a 4-RU frame that includes dual power supplies, dual controller cards, and optional redundant crosspoints, the UTAH-400/64 offers matrix sizes from 8×8 to 64×64. It features signal presence detection, low power consumption, redundant power supplies, redundant control cards, and an internal monitor matrix.

The UTAH-400 digital video switcher is accompanied by a UTAH-200 analog switcher, a powerful, compact routing switcher that provides flexible control, multiple formats, and scalability in a 2-RU box. It houses 16 input by 16 output video, stereo audio, control, and a power supply. It can operate on its own or be configured to operate as an independent level of an existing Utah Scientific control system. UTAH-200 routers can be controlled by the SC-4 system controller, or an internal SC-400 controller can be added.

Also included in the installation is the UTAH-400/DATA router, a 64-port RS-422 router that switches machine control data in conjunction with the audio/video signal routing of a UTAH-400 digital routing switcher system. A high-speed data bus arrangement connects up to four frames to form larger routers with up to 256 ports.