Blackmagic Ethernet Switch 820

Blackmagic Ethernet Switch models have been designed specifically for television. All network connections are on the rear, the same side as ports on their broadcast equipment, allowing customers to loom cables neatly and eliminate cabling mess. The Blackmagic Ethernet Switch 820 is a higher performance design with professional front-to-back cooling, 6 fans for redundancy, dual redundant power supplies and simple router control. This quiet design is very important when users are working near equipment such as in broadcast trucks and mini racks.

The more powerful model includes 8 separate 100G Ethernet connections using QSFP sockets. The 100G ports connect data ports on HyperDeck ISO Recorder 100G and Blackmagic Cloud Store Ultra. Or use it for SMPTE-2110 networks with ATEM Constellation IP switchers, HyperDeck ISO Recorder 100G and more.

The Blackmagic Ethernet Switch 820 also has a dedicated NMOS control Ethernet connection. This dedicated control port ensures NMOS management traffic is separate from their video and audio data, so control never competes for bandwidth, ensuring low-latency switching over their SMPTE-2110 IP video network. NMOS control is important in SMPTE-2110 systems because it provides a standardized way to discover, register, and manage all IP video devices on their network. When new SMPTE-2110 equipment is connected, NMOS allows the switch to identify it and make it available for routing, eliminating the need for manual settings. It means setup is simple and customers don’t need any special IT knowledge.

The Blackmagic Ethernet Switch 820 model includes 2 redundant PTP clock inputs. Redundant PTP ports let customers maintain precise timing across all gear connected to the switch. PTP ensures all SMPTE-2110 equipment share an accurate time reference, which is critical for syncing video, audio and data streams. If the PTP clock fails, the second port will seamlessly maintain the timing signal. That’s important in live production where even a momentary loss of sync can cause glitches on air. Redundant PTP ports also let customers connect two separate grandmaster clocks, so their SMPTE-2110 network remains perfectly synchronized during equipment failures, cable faults, or when customers need to do maintenance.

“We already have an Ethernet switch which is great for 10G, but we needed a new model for 100G Ethernet workflows,” said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. “This new model has the front-to-back cooling, but most importantly it has 2 x redundant PTP clock ports so all your video, audio and data streams stay in sync. That’s really important in live production as it ensures there are no glitches when you are on air.”

Blackmagic Ethernet Switch 820 Features

Specifically designed for SMPTE-2110 IP video.

Extremely high speed Ethernet switch for television use.

8 x 100G Ethernet ports and 2 x 10G Ethernet ports.

PTP clock support with 2 redundant PTP Ethernet ports.

Dedicated NMOS control Ethernet port.

No complex multi-cast settings required.

LCD allows for simple TV style routing of IP video.

Status video output shows real time port speed graphs.