a rack mount version of the breakout input cable is also available. the 1 unit high rack mount input panel has the same inputs as the cable but includes two sets of inputs. however, the composite video connection on the rack mount panel is a bnc style connector. thus a single rack mount input unit provides for two osprey-540 cards. the rack mount unit is pictured above.

    the rack-mount breakout box is viewcast part number 95-00151-02.

    exact connector layouts are subject to change.

    connecting a composite source

    if your video source provides only composite video, connect the source’s output cable to the composite video in connector. this is a bnc connector.

    a bnc to rca adapter is provided if you don’t have a bnc composite cable.

    connecting an s-video source

    if your video source supports s-video, connect the source’s output cable to the svideo in connector on the breakout cable. compared to composite signals, s-video provides a sharper image with better color separation. s-video uses a four-pin mini- din connector that provides separate y (luminance) and c (chrominance) signals. refer to chapter 6 - osprey-540 video control dialog for instructions on configuring the driver for s-video.

    connecting an sdi source for the osprey-540

    the osprey-540 has a bnc connector for sdi (smpte-259m) video. a high quality sdi-qualified cable should be used when utilizing this connection, especially when the cable length is long. sdi carries both digital video and embedded digital audio, and the osprey-540 can capture both.

    connecting an ieee-1394 source for the osprey-540

    the osprey-540 has a dv input. dv carries digital audio and video and both can be independently used by the osprey-540. the dv input is a 4 pin ieee-1394 connection.

    connecting audio with the osprey-540

    the osprey-540 has a variety of audio inputs, both analog and digital. the typical consumer will probably find the unbalanced analog rca audio inputs to be the most useful. balanced audio inputs (via xlr connectors) provide cleaner audio especially if the cable length is very long. the prosumer may have a dv camera source and may choose to use the audio embedded in the ieee-1394 dv stream. the professional or broadcast user may choose to use the digital audio embedded in the sdi (smpte- 295m) signal. the breakout cable contains a single professional aes/ebu stereo digital audio input. this input is shared with the right balanced analog input to prevent having both balanced audio and professional digital audio connected at the same time.

    the selection of audio input to capture is independent of the video input selection. for example, even if you choose to use dv video as a source, you can still opt to use the analog balanced inputs instead of audio embedded in the dv stream.