Model 5600MSC Master Clock/SPG Manual
OVERVIEW
Revision 1.6
Page
1-1
1. OVERVIEW
The 5600MSC Master Sync and Clock Generator, is both a broadcast quality Master SPG and a Master
Clock. It provides all of the synchronizing signals needed in a 21st century TV station at the same time
as solving the problem of locking the in-house master clock system to the master video sync pulse
generator.
A high stability, temperature controlled oscillator, provides the 5600MSC with better than 0.5 x 10
-8
(or
0.005ppm) frequency reference. The free running drift of this 10MHz reference will be less then 0.1Hz
(which amounts to less then 1 millisecond time drift per day). This guarantees that any frequency drift,
with time and temperature, will be within the tolerances expected from the best SPGs or master clocks
available in the industry. The 5600MSC may also be referenced to an external 5 MHz or 10 MHz
master oscillator if higher stability is required. Both the SPG and the Master Clock sections may be
referenced to high stability time and frequency standards present in the Global Position system (GPS)
by adding the GPS option. The 5600MSC provides a high stability 10MHz output reference for use by
other devices.
The internal Sync pulse Generator provides two banks of three timeable outputs. These six BNC
outputs may be configured to provide 6 independently timed colour black (black burst) outputs or 6
independently timed HDTV tri-level sync outputs, or 3 of each signal type. Each colour black output
can optionally carry vertical interval time code (VITC) on a user specified set of lines.
When referenced to the optional GPS receiver, the start of the NTSC four field sequence, or the PAL
eight field sequence, will coincide with a specific point in the GPS code. In this way, by referencing all
5600MSCs in a system to GPS, they will all be automatically locked to each other. This is ideal for
applications requiring remote facility frequency, phase and time lock!
The unit also has absolute time reference support (ATR). ATR is a set of data currently being proposed
by SMPTE and will be inserted onto the SMPTE 318M universal reference signal. This information
gives the absolute time of the signal in seconds, and fractions of a second since the SMPTE Epoch
(midnight, January 1, 1958 UTC). ATR tells when the signal was created, regardless of current time
when the signal is received and provides an additional means of locking two 5600MSCs together. (This
feature will be implemented when the signal is standardized by SMPTE.)
The master clock section provides a primary linear time code (LTC) output on an XLR connector and a
9 pin D connector, as well as a secondary LTC output available only on the 9 pin D connector. The
time code may be set from the front panel or referenced to a number of different sources. Having two
LTC outputs provides the ability to drive 24 and 30 Fps, or drop-frame and non-drop frame timecode
simultaneously. Time may be externally referenced to GPS, or via modem to a high-level time source.
Time derived from such sources can be offset from UTC to a specific time zone as required. When
referenced to GPS or by modem, the 5600MSC can provide RFC-1305 compliant NTP via Ethernet,
and operates in broadcast and server mode. GPS, NTP and Modem access are all options for the
5600MSC. The 5600MSC includes a battery backed-up real time clock to maintain its time while power
is not applied to the unit.
There are two test signal generator options available. The STG option provides a composite analog
video test signal output, AES and balanced analog audio tone generators and a digital audio reference
output (DARS). The STG option also provides two standard definition SDI test signal outputs and two
SDI black outputs. The HTG option provides two high definition SDI test signal outputs and two HD
SDI black outputs.
USO
RESTRITO
