Teradek’s new RF-X Auto-Switcher is designed to deliver uncompromised signal integrity for mission-critical broadcasts in live environments and other “chaotic” RF spaces.
According to Teradek, the company's new RF-X Auto-Switcher is engineered to allow Technical Directors, ACs, DITs, and Video Engineers to replace complex, expensive manual failover solutions with a single intelligent device.
RF-X (Radio Frequency Matrix) is an intelligent auto-switching system that continuously monitors up to six redundant Bolt or Ranger receivers (run over hardline SDI connections) and automatically selects the strongest available video signal.
The result is a single, uninterrupted 12G-SDI output that delivers the best possible video quality across complex signal paths, even in the congested RF environments you can find at live events (Teradek specifically references “chaotic RF environments”). And the idea is that it does that with zero effective delay and requiring zero user intervention.
Hit-less Fail-over: The device seamlessly ingests up to six feeds from Teradek Ranger or Bolt receivers. Its built-in intelligence automatically detects and selects the absolute best available signal path.
Guaranteed Quality Output: As a Feature Highlight, RF-X outputs a single, clean 12G-SDI feed, delivered via BNC or SDI fiber SFP, ensuring the highest quality video is delivered directly into the switcher or video village monitor.
Significant Cost Savings: The system enables Ranger and Bolt customers to replace costly manual video switchers and eliminate the associated labor cost, all within a single, low-power device.
Two or more RF-X units can be linked over single-mode fiber using the RF-X’s SFP port. “Because fiber is immune to RF noise, ground loops, and other electrical interference, it provides an additional, highly reliable signal path, further protecting your video feed from signal loss or degradation,” explains the company. “This fiber connection can extend video to off-set DIT carts, Video Village, additional video switchers, or ancillary routing systems, even across long distances.”
Compatibility covers all models within the Teradek Bolt 4K, Bolt 6, and Ranger Series, though RF-X requires homogeneous receiver types and cannot mix Bolt and Ranger receivers in the same system. It is sized for 1/2-width 1U rack shelf, with brackets available for mounting two side-by-side.
The RF-X Auto-Switcher for Bolt 4K/6 and Ranger RXs costs $4490 and ships in between one and two weeks after ordering.