Next month will mark one year since Analog Way, a Paris-based supplier of pro AV solutions, announced its acquisition of Picturall, a manufacturer of high performance media servers based in Finland. Analog Way’s Picturall media server offerings are engineered to drive corporate events, live shows, high-end theater productions or large-scale digital signage projects from a single server unit. Here’s a look at this range of modular, heavy-duty media servers, all of which promise high levels of performance and reliability for the largest and most demanding of projects.
The Picturall range includes four servers: Picturall Uncompressed, Picturall Pro, Picturall Twin and Picturall Quad. All feature a stable and high-performance Linux engine, support for resolutions beyond 8K, flexible integration with third-party control systems and a modular design with extensive I/O capability including 4K60 inputs.
A Closer Look
Here’s a closer look at what each of these four models offer:
- Picturall Uncompressed: With an impressive 8K@30 10-bit uncompressed playback performance, the Uncompressed is designed to deliver extreme performance and unrivaled video quality for stunning visual shows. It has up to 12x 4K@60 10-bit pixel accurate outputs.
- Picturall Pro: The Picturall Pro features up to 16 4K@60 10-bit pixel accurate outputs and is built for support of massive events and installations from a single server unit.
- Picturall Quad: The Picturall Quad is positioned as the heavy-duty design Quad 4K@60 10-bit outputs and is designed for larger scale events and installations.
- Picturall Twin: The Picturall Twin is positioned as a cost-effective model. With dual 4K@60 10-bit outputs, it is designed for medium-sized events and installations.
Common Features
Here’s a closer look at the features shared by all media servers in the Picturall range.
- Customized and optimized Linux operating system
- Unlimited media width and height (using the PKRL codec and limited only by hardware performance)
- Programmable outputs and layers positioning, rotation, color correction, warping, blending, and more
- 36 real-time effects including comprehensive keying options
- Pixel accurate synchronization between all outputs
- Soft-edge blending of multiple projectors
- Support for custom output resolutions for LED walls
- Flexible cue-based show programming
- Apple Pro Res authorized product
- HTML browser input for layers
- Support for H.264 and H.265 network streams
- Support for direct Art-Net or TCP/IP control or use the included Picturall Commander software for complete control
- Compatibility with DMX/ArtNet lighting consoles such as MA2
- Optional control interface options via RS232 or AMX/Crestron drivers
- Multi-user control
- Automatic show start on boot
- Three-year standard warranty, expandable to five years
- Optional two-channel audio interface with balanced XLR outputs
- Support for optional multichannel audio interfaces via USB
- Audio formats WAV, MP2, and AAC
- Ruggedized, rack mountable chassis
- 100-240 VAC 50/60Hz standard
- Optional redundant, hot swappable power supplies
Along with the features above, all servers offer support for media formats including:
- PRKL (Picturall’s proprietary codec for very high resolutions)
- PRKL Alpha
- Apple ProRes (any version including ProRes 4444)
- MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, MJPEG
- H.264, H.265
- JPG, TGA, TIFF, BMP, GIF, PNG with alpha channel
- Uncompressed image sequences (TGA, DPX)
- HTML-based web content with full Java script support
- RTSP network streams
- Generated texts
Model Differences
Now that you’ve seen the solid foundation that all Picturall media servers are built on, let’s take a closer look at the differences between the models in the line.
Playback: The Picturall Pro and Uncompressed are both designed for mission critical 24/7 applications and can handle extreme playback. Both allow for a canvas size of up to 128K pixels across. While the Pro can handle uncompressed playback of up to 4K@30, the Uncompressed can handle playback up to 8K@30. Optional Genlock and Framelock cards are available for the Pro and Uncompressed, but not the Twin and Quad.
Outputs: All servers in the Picturall range support resolution of up to 4096×2160@60Hz 10-bit and full 4:4:4 color sampling. The Twin supports 2 x DP 1.2 outputs, the Quad supports 4 x DP 1.2 outputs, the Uncompressed supports up to 12 x DP 1.2, and the Pro supports up to 16 x DP 1.2 outputs.
Networking: The Twin and Quad both feature a 1 Gb EtherCON port for Networking, while the Pro and Uncompressed both feature 2 x 1 Gb EtherCON ports.
Input Cards: Optional low latency input cards featuring either 2 x HDMI 1.4, 4 x HDMI 1.4, 1 x HDMI 2.0, 2 x 3G-SDI, 4 x 3G-SDI, 1 x DVI and 2 x DVI, are available for the Picturall range. The Twin and Quad both support up to two input cards; the Uncompressed supports up to 5 input cards; and the Pro supports up to 4 input cards.
Media Storage: The Twin features 275GB SSD — speed 500 MB/S – Optional 525GB or 1TB drive. The Quad features a 525GB SSD — speed 1000 MB/s — Optional 1TB drive. The Pro features a 1000GB SSD -speed 1000 MB/S — Optional 2TB drive. The Uncompressed comes standard with a 2TB ultra high-speed media storage with 4TB and 8TB options available. From the specs, the 8TB claims ~80 min of uncompressed playback at 4K@60.
At a Glance
Robust and Dependable
Picturall media servers from Analog Way promise to serve as robust and dependable playback solutions for a wide range of projects and budgets. Whether you are looking for a powerful and cost effective dual 4K solution (i.e., the Twin), a quad 4K solution (the Quad), or a server with massive playback capabilities (the Pro) and/or stunning visual performance (the Uncompressed), this range of servers is ready for the task.
Picturall Media Servers from Analog Way
Picturall Uncompressed: 8K@30 10-bit uncompressed playback performance, up to 12x 4K@60 10-bit pixel accurate outputs. MSRP: From $45,000.
Picturall Pro: Up to 16 4K@60 10-bit pixel accurate outputs. MSRP: From $38,390.
Picturall Quad: Quad 4K@60 10-bit outputs, for larger scale events and installations. MSRP: From $17,990.
Picturall Twin: Dual 4K@60 10-bit outputs, for medium-sized events and installations. MSRP: From $10,590.
More Info: Analog Way Americas, 678.487.6644; salesusa@analogway.com, www.analogway.com
