Description
- HD/SD-SDI and HDMI inputs, low latency ASI output
- Proven Magnum encoding technology
- Up to 8 audio stereo channels: AAC, MPEG-1 Layer II
- Up to 2×5.1 Dolby Digital audio channels
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All other orders will be shipped from Canada.
ORDERING INFO
DTA-2180 – H.264 / MPEG-2 HD/SD video encoder, without audio encoding
DTA-2180-MPA2 – H.264 / MPEG-2 HD/SD video encoder, with one stereo pair (MPEG-1 Layer II) audio encoding
DTA-2180-AAC2 – H.264 / MPEG-2 HD/SD video encoder, with one stereo pair (AAC) audio encoding
DTA-2180-AG – H.264 / MPEG-2 HD/SD video encoder, with ac3, AAC and/or MPEG-1 Layer II audio encoding for any number of channels
DTA-2180-DD2 – H.264 / MPEG-2 HD/SD video encoder, with one stereo Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio encoding
DTA-2180 is a low-latency audio/video encoder taking zero CPU cycles. Ideal for compressing an HD-SDI signal, or for converting the PC’s desktop to H.264 or MPEG-2 Video. The hardware is based on field-proven Magnum encoding technology.
Features
- Real-time H.264 or MPEG-2 video encoder for HD and SD formats, and with multi-channel AAC, AC-3 and MP1LII audio encoder.
- Audio/video input taken from HD-SDI, or from HDMI for encoding the output of a graphics card.
- Includes a transport-stream multiplexer with low-latency ASI output. The TS is also available on PCIe for reading by a PC application.
Applications
- General-purpose H.264 program encoder for real-time encoding of an HD-SDI or HDMI signal.
- H.264 encoding of the contents of a PC desktop, running e.g. a slide show.
- High-quality encoding of the graphics output of a PC application.
Block Diagram
The encoder input is taken either from the HD-SDI port, or from the HDMI port. The A/V signal is split into a video part and maximally 8 audio pairs. An audio crosspoint switch connects these audio pairs to any of the 8 audio encoders. The DTA-2180 can also extract Dolby metadata in RDD6 format from the SDI input signal.
The audio, video and closed captions (only for SDI input) are encoded and multiplexed using a Magnum encoder. The resulting transport stream is connected in hardware to an ASI output port, providing low latency. The transport stream is also routed to the PCIe bus, so that applications can read and process or forward the encoded transport stream.
Creating an Application for the DTA-2180
The DTA-2180 can be used out of the box with DtEnc, see below (Windows only). Creating a custom application for the DTA-2180, either on Windows or on Linux, is easy with the DekTec SDK (DTAPI). A dedicated DTAPI Reference document is available, containing a description of the Audio-Video Encoding Classes and a tutorial with examples on how to use them.
DtEnc – Controlling the Encoder
DtEnc is a free Windows application for controlling the encoding parameters of the DTA-2180, and for monitoring the input- and encoder status. The main parameters that can be set are the audio- and video-encoding parameters. The screenshots below will give you an impression of the parameters that can be set and monitored with DtEnc.
Key Characteristics
| Video encoding | H.264/AVC MPEG-2 Video |
| Video bitrate | 256kbps to 80Mbps |
| Sample format | 8-bit 4:2:0 |
| Latency | 150 to 650ms |
| Audio encoding | Dolby Digital (AC-3) AAC-LC, HE-AAC MPEG-1 Layer II Pass-through |
| Audio channels | Up to 8x stereo or 2x 5.1 |
| Ancillary data | Closed captions, AFD, VITC |
Inputs and Outputs
| A/V input | HD-SDI – 75-Ω BNC HDMI 1.4a One input port active at a time |
| TS output | DVB-ASI – 75-Ω BNC |
| PCI Express | PCIe x1 +EXT25W
Requires power supply connection through 6-pin PCIe power connector |
Profiles and Levels
| H.264/AVC | High, Main, Constrained Level: 3, 3.1, 3.2, 4, 4.1 |
| MPEG-2 Video | High, Main, Simple Level: High, High 1440, Main |
PC Support
| OS |
Linux ≥2.6.18, 3.x, 4.x |
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| Processor | Core i5 minimum
Or equivalent AMD CPU |
Software
| DtEnc | Windows application to set encoding parameters and check input & encoder status |
| SDK | Create your own Windows or Linux application with audio/video encoding via the DTA-2180 |
