Blonder Tongue and Monroe Electronics Collaborate on Emergency Alert Management Solution - Well-Suited for Campus Type Distribution
EQAM-420B EdgeQAM with EAS and One-Net™ SE Deliver Customized, Set-Top Box-less, Local Emergency Alert Information
OLD BRIDGE, N.J. – Blonder Tongue Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE MKT:BDR) and Monroe Electronics have teamed up to create a powerful emergency alert information and distribution platform for the campus environment — whether it be university, government, enterprise, retail or stadium — without requiring a set-top box (STB). Monroe Electronics' One-Net™ SE emergency alert system (EAS) has been seamlessly integrated with the EQAM-420B EdgeQAM with EAS from Blonder Tongue, allowing cable operators to deliver customized, local emergency alert information to viewers in a manner that is easy, cost-effective, and scalable. The EQAM-420B with EAS will be demonstrated at NCTC WEC 2014, Feb. 17-18 in Tampa, Fla. at the Monroe Electronics' booth 304 and by R.L. Drake, a Blonder Tongue subsidiary, at booth 513.
"Blonder Tongue and Monroe Electronics have come together to develop the optimum management and video distribution platform for emergency alert information," said Emily Nikoo, executive vice president of Blonder Tongue. "While the EQAM-420B with EAS supports a broad range of applications, it is perfect for the campus environment based on the need to deliver timely, accurate emergency alert information to all viewing locations, without the need for set-top boxes."
After receiving emergency alert information from national, local, and private agencies, Monroe Electronics' One-Net SE generates a customized EAS message and transmits the information to the EQAM-420B with EAS for distribution into the television system. The EQAM-420B with EAS features a dual Gigabit Ethernet input and a QAM coaxial output with a separate Ethernet management port, simplifying network connections. The EdgeQAM aggregates multiple SD and HD programs received in IP format and delivers them over a standard coaxial distribution network. Standard programming is replaced with full-screen text, video, and accompanying audio to ensure an impactful reception on the viewer. Since no STBs are needed at viewing locations, it's easy to reach every viewer at the lowest possible cost.
Based on a modular design, the EQAM-420B with EAS can be scaled to support anywhere between one to hundreds of channels, providing operators with a flexible, cost-effective solution that is perfect for a wide variety of markets, including education, enterprise, healthcare, and hospitality. An intuitive Web-based interface simplifies setup and operation, lowering the learning curve for operators and eliminating the need for IT support. Remote monitoring and control can be performed via a comprehensive user interface that is compatible with standard Web browsers.
"By integrating our two technologies, Blonder Tongue and Monroe Electronics provide a means to communicate quickly, with the maximum impact on viewers," said Bill Robertson, vice president of business development at Monroe Electronics. "Our combined EAS management and distribution platform is easy to set up, manage, and monitor, simplifying the presentation of critical information which is so important when lives and property are at stake."
Controlled by a simple web browser interface, the Monroe Electronics' One-Net SE is FCC-certified and IPAWS conformant, ensuring EAS messages are properly formatted and understood by the viewing audience. Optional AM/FM/NOAA internal receivers allow radio inputs for monitoring any standard over-the-air EAS alerts. Using tiered security enables multiple, simultaneous users, and a unique text-to-speech functionality automatically creates a consistent voice to accompany text messages, saving time and eliminating errors.
Blonder Tongue's next-generation EQAM-420B with EAS supports up to 64 MPEG-2/H.264 single program transport streams (SPTS) or 16 multi-program transport streams (MPTS). Each program can maintain up to one video and two audio elementary streams. The IGMPv3-capable solution can be configured with one to four modules, each with four adjacent QAM channels for a total of 16 QAM channels (40 dBmV). PMT and PID values are passed through without changes to ensure accurate program information. The EdgeQAM solution also features a soft, IP-enabled EAS trigger and SNMPv2 support for product and network management.
More information on Blonder Tongue products and Monroe Electronics products are available at www.blondertongue.com or www.monroe-electronics.com.Â
About Monroe Electronics
Monroe Electronics began operations in 1954 designing and manufacturing specialized electrostatic discharge (ESD) instrumentation that continues today. From its headquarters in Lyndonville, N.Y. the company provides R&D, manufacturing, sales, and customer service for all Monroe Electronics, One-Net™, and Digital Alert Systems brands. Monroe Electronics' Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) are the widely accepted standard for CATV with a hard-earned reputation for quality, reliability, and service to valued customers around the world. In October 2009, Digital Alert Systems, the leading innovator of next-generation Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and EAS merged with Monroe Electronics to further extend its product offerings to radio and television broadcasters and better serve their collective customers into the future.
More information is available at http://www.monroe-electronics.com.
About Blonder Tongue
Blonder Tongue Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE MKT:BDR) together with R. L. Drake Holdings, LLC — its wholly owned subsidiary — offer customers more than 130 years of combined engineering and manufacturing excellence with solid histories of delivering reliable, quality products. As a leader in the field of cable television communications, the Company provides system operators and integrators serving the cable, broadcast, satellite, IPTV, institutional, and professional video markets with comprehensive solutions for the provision of content contribution, distribution, and video delivery to homes and businesses. The Company designs, manufactures, sells, and supports an equipment portfolio of standard- and high-definition digital video solutions, as well as core analog video and high-speed data solutions for distribution over coax, fiber, and IP networks. Additional information on the Company and its products can be found at www.blondertongue.com and www.rldrake.com.
Blonder Tongue Contact:
Jeff Smith
Vice President Sales
Tel: +1 732 679 4000
Email: jsmith@blondertongue.com
Monroe Electronics Contact:
Bill Robertson
Vice President of Business Development
Tel: +1 585 765 1155
Email: bill@digitalalertsystems.com
