Brompton Technology was recently recognized by the Television Academy with an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering, Science & Technology. The Emmy® was awarded for the company’s Tessera SX40 LED video processor, which has played a crucial role in the widespread adoption of LED screens for virtual production and elevated the storytelling process through its impact on how television programs are created.
The Television Academy named Brompton Technology’s founders Richard Mead (CEO) and Chris Deighton (CTO), alongside Director of Engineering Adrian Jeakins and Engineering Manager Evangelos Apostolopoulos, as the core team responsible for the Tessera SX40. Since its debut in 2018, the SX40 has played a crucial role in the widespread adoption of LED for virtual production in the television industry, and has been used across many of the most popular and technologically advanced television series in recent years, including: The Mandalorian, House of the Dragon, The Book of Boba Fett, Westworld, Foundation, Our Flag Means Death, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, among others.
“The entire Brompton team is incredibly thrilled and humbled to receive such a prestigious award from our industry peers, and for the recognition of the vital role that LED processing plays for in-camera visual effects,” commented Mead. “It is a demanding medium that aims to recreate reality within a studio, and that is exactly the kind of challenge that Brompton Technology has always sought to meet. Our mission is to deliver the best possible image quality, breadth of functionality, usability, and reliability in every product we build.”
With a long legacy and stellar reputation in LED processing for live events and concert touring, Brompton brought its extensive experience to support the pioneers of in-camera visual effects. The LED processor’s role is to faithfully reproduce the creative team’s intended visual content on the LED panels, to be captured in-camera, without any visual artifacts that would destroy the illusion of realism. Brompton’s color accuracy and deep understanding of how LED panels and cameras interact, were the foundation for an ever-expanding toolset that has helped establish in-camera visual effects as a mainstream filmmaking technique.
Emmy Award-winning lighting designer and virtual production specialist Peter Canning noted that in television and film, “it is all about getting the LED screen as close to reality as possible, which is where the Tessera SX40 is perfect. It is the one part of our pipeline which has never let us down.”
Since the Tessera SX40’s launch, the Brompton team has continued to develop a variety of improvements, available via free software upgrades, keeping ahead of the curve as the industry’s gold standard for color accuracy and on-camera visual performance. As virtual production has become more widely adopted, specific features were also designed to address common challenges facing directors and cinematographers. Some of the company’s key Tessera software features include ShutterSync®, which allows the refresh of the LED screen to be tuned to the preferred camera settings; Extended Bit Depth, which improves the dynamic range and low brightness performance of LED panels; and 3D LUT import, for advanced color control and grading. Together these continued advancements ensure the greatest possible flexibility and collaboration for the creative team, enabling them to focus on the storytelling rather than the technology.
The 75th annual Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy® Awards will be presented on October 18, 2023. Overseen by the Television Academy’s Engineering Emmy Awards Committee, award recipients are selected by a jury of television engineers. This jury considers all engineering, science and technology developments which have proven their efficacy during the awards year and determines which, if any, merit recognition with an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy statuette. Brompton Technology’s will be presented with that statuette at the ceremony.
“Advancements in technology are a fundamental part of television production and greatly contribute to the elevation of the storytelling process,” said Frank Scherma, Chair of the Television Academy. “We are honored to recognize these distinguished and talented engineers, scientists and technologists who are at the forefront of pioneering fundamental advancements in television and storytelling.”
“The Engineering, Science & Technology Emmys have always recognized domestic ingenuity as well as major innovators from around the world,” said Committee Co-Chair Barry Zegel. “Half of this year’s recipients are headquartered outside of North America,” added Co-Chair Wendy Aylsworth, “and it’s exciting to see how they are changing the television industry.”
Tessera SX40 Technical Specifications
Dimensions (WxHxL): 19” x 3.5” x 16”
Weight: 16.53 lbs.
Electrical:
- Switched autoranging power supply
- 100 – 240V AC
- 50Hz – 60Hz
- 1.2 – 0.6A
HDMI 2.0 Input & Re-Clocked Thru Port:
- One HDMI 2.0 input
- Full 18Gbps HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, maximum 600MHz pixel clock
- Up to 4096 x 2160 resolution (progressive only)
- 23.98Hz to 250Hz frame rate
- 8, 10 and 12 bits per channel color depths
- RGB and YCbCr 4:4:4, 4:2:2 and 4:2:0
- Compatible with DVI-D and DisplayPort sources via adapters
SDI Input & Re-Clocked Thru Port:
- One 12G SDI input that supports the following:
- HD-SDI – ST-292
- 3G-SDI – ST-424, Level A and Level B-DL
- 6G-SDI – ST-2081
- 12G-SDI – ST-2082, 2SI format
- Up to 4096 x 2160 resolution (progressive only)
- 23.98Hz to 60Hz frame rate
- 10 bits per channel color depth
- YCbCr 4:2:2
Outputs:
- Four 10GBASE-T copper output ports
- Supports nominally 9 million pixels at 36 bits per pixel @ 60Hz
- Supports Neutrik etherCON Cat 6A / etherCON (CAT5e) connectors
- Compatible with standard Cat6A / Cat5e RJ45 connectors
- Requires Cat6A cable (up to 60m) or Cat5e cable (up to 30m)
- Four 10GBASE-LR Tessera XD fiber output ports
- Supports Neutrik opticalCON DUO / DUO ARMORED / DUO X-TREME / DUO LITE connectors
- Compatible with standard LC-Duplex connectors
- Requires 1310nm, 9/125um single-mode fiber (up to 2KM) with PC or UPC connectors
- Each 10G output independently auto-switches between fiber and copper
- Closed loop redundancy support
- Processor redundancy support
Genlock:
- Bi-level and Tri-level sync
- Sync to source
- Processors genlock from source right through to panel refresh
- Frame rates from 23.98 to 60Hz
Latency:
- 2 frames end-to-end system latency (all features)
Tessera Management Software:
- Local management using monitor, keyboard and mouse connected directly to processor
- Up to 3840×2160 local monitor resolution supported, minimum 1920×1080 recommended
Tessera Remote:
- Available free for Windows PC and Mac OS
- Remote management using Windows PC or Mac connected to processor via Ethernet network
- Two Gigabit Ethernet management network ports
Remote Control:
- Support for eDMX protocols:
- Art-Net
- Streaming ACN
- DMX-512A on 5-pin XLR in and thru
- Tessera Control application for multi-processor control via management network ports
- IP Control
I/O:
- Two USB 2.0 ports on front
- Two USB 3.0 ports on rear
- One DisplayPort (DP++) monitor output supporting HDMI, DVI and VGA with adapter
Front Panel:
- Six status LEDs
- Power LED
- Freeze button
- Blackout button
Warranty: Two years
Certifications: CE, ETL/cETL
Learn more about Brompton Technology’s offerings at www.bromptontech.com.
