Pixi Revolution combines the existing Pixi card for PCs with external hardware housed in a 1U enclosure. The PCI card has been adapted to the new PCI Express standard and can now process and transfer substantially larger quantities of data. The key component is the external Revolution hardware, which connects to Pixi via Fibre Channel. Each Revolution can house up to four modules, each providing the following functions:
– Primary colour correction with gamma, gain and offset
– Bezier spline gamma function
– Twelve-channel secondary colour correction with full control over hue, saturation, luminance, lift, gamma and gain
– Three window masks with variable softness and shape
All processing operates in a 16-bit RGB colour space at 2048 x 1526 pixels and 24 fps.
Each module contains an FPGA and can therefore be programmed with future functions. Connecting multiple Revolution units makes the system’s performance scalable and almost unlimited. One function for the Revolution modules is the Resizer introduced at IBC. It allows even 4K or 8K footage to be viewed on an HD monitor with real-time zooming and panning.
Pixi Revolution is due to become available by Christmas 2005 for less than £100,000. The Resizer module will cost approximately £35,000.
