Teradek Bolt: The Good, the Background, and The Ugly Choices Out There

http://www.teradek.com/blogs/news/6940350-teradek-bolt-the-good-the-background-and-the-ugly-choices-out-there-draft

As a global innovator in wireless video systems, we've been closely following the new generation of zero delay wireless video solutions since it's introduction. They come in several shapes and sizes, each with their own pros and cons. One technology player in particular showed an early technical lead: Amimon. We came very close to building a product based on their WHDI technology in late 2010 when a Chinese OEM offered a design to us. However, despite its excellent latency, its range, resilience, and video quality was unacceptable for the professional market. Having shipped more than 10,000 Cubes into all kinds of challenging environments, we know how tough it can be to do wireless video and how important it is to do it right. Two years later, after working very closely with Amimon, the Teradek Bolt was born; a new device based on the Amimon Pro chipset, which is a spin-off from their WHDI technology.
Amimon Pro differs in some key ways from it's WHDI predecessor: It has more antennas (which provide better multi-path rejection), it is capable of using more frequency bands (making it less susceptible to interference), it uses an updated MIMO / OFDM modulation (providing longer range and better video quality), and it supports far more video standards and multicast capabilities. We also worked with Amimon to create custom firmware to improve the product further.
We felt our job was more than just finding, rebranding, and raising the price on what was meant to be an OEM reference design for consumer applications. If you didn't know, many of these units and their lookalikes are based on modules designed and manufactured by an OEM in China.
But a product is not defined just by the modules it uses, but also how they are used. For example, Nokia, Samsung and Apple smartphones use Broadcom radios, but they are very different devices. PCs and Macs use Intel CPUs and SSDs, but they are also quite different from each other.
We wanted to add value to what is clearly great technology by properly adapting it to professionals’ needs and by making it compatible with our existing products. First, we used the 3G-SDI drivers from our award winning Cube, allowing hassle free integration with professional cameras and video switchers. We added a 3G-SDI loop on both RX and TX to allow Bolts, Cubes and monitors to all be used together, giving you zero delay to monitors and streaming to iPads with minimum gear required.