Zaxel Systems Ships First Video Server With Lossless Compression

Zaxel Systems, a leading developer of digital video compression systems and products, today announced at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention that it is shipping the industry’s first video server with lossless compression. Using the company’s patented Zaxel Lossless Compression (ZLC™), the Zaxel Video Server enables customers in professional video production, digital cinema, and image-intensive applications ‘ including healthcare, government, and computer-aided design (CAD) ‘ to capture, edit, and playback the highest resolution images, including 2k (2048×1080 and 2048X1556) and 4k (4096×2160 and 4096X3112), using up to one-third the storage.

The Zaxel Video Server will be demonstrated at Zaxel’s Booth# SL637, in the lower level of the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, during NAB, from April 24-27. Zaxel will use a quad display, with four monitors, demonstrating the Zaxel Video Server’s 4k image output.

“After several years of development, and tremendous early customer feedback, we are now shipping the first transparent, lossless real-time compression server, which is compatible with any professional video production house’s workflow,” said Dr. Norihisa Suzuki, President & CEO of Zaxel Systems Inc. “The Zaxel Video Server is, literally, compression without compromise. Our customers are transferring ever-larger and more complex video and image files around their networks, and we’ve created a system that delivers the highest quality image while saving server and network assets.”

Video is stored by the Zaxel Video Server in a mathematically lossless format, to reduce disk cost. RGB videos can be streamed through Dual Link HDSDI interface, and videos can be presented as a part of PowerPoint presentations with clipped windows.

“The Zaxel Video Server offers a practical, cost-effective way to store and retrieve 4k images, without using a bank of computers, and the quality satisfies our digital distribution applications,” said Bill Feightner, executive vice president, chief technology officer of EFILM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deluxe Laboratories.

The Zaxel Video Server enables video to be streamed, through standard PCs, at speeds up to 500 megabytes per second (MB/s), or 4 gigabits per second (Gb/s). Using four HDSDI cards, which can capture a 4k camera output, the Zaxel Video Server offers bit-for-bit compression. The Zaxel Video Server’s compression mechanism enables storage area networks (SANs) to be built and operated more easily, and at less cost, than other solutions.

A real-time record and play system with guaranteed bit-for-bit restoration through multiple codec cycles, the Zaxel Video Server runs on standard Windows platforms, including a single CPU for serial SD video; dual Xeon CPU for HD, 2K, and 4K video. Users do not need to invest in new hardware for Zaxel Video Server upgrades; they simply install the new software on their existing Zaxel Windows platforms.

“The compression provided by the Zaxel Video Server can be done with hardware, on an FPGA, or in a software version. The significant factor with lossless compression is that there are no component failures,” said Charlie Taylor, vice president of sales for Zaxel. “We reduce one-third of the mechanical moving devices and thereby reduce the cost of overall mechanical failure points. For our production customers, that is a critical factor in their purchase decisions.”