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F E A T U R E

Picture Perfect Video

July 9, 2001
By Darrin Woods

Minerva Networks Minerva VNP-201 and Minerva VNP-40

Minerva delivered two products for us to test: the VNP-201 and VNP-40. The VNP-201 incorporates an encoder and decoder within the same box, which, like the GDC MAC 500, can be put at either end of the network. The VNP-40 is an encoder designed for streaming video to the desktop, and though we tested that device, we focused on the VNP-201 because of its versatility. If this unit had performed better on our tests, it would have given the Amnis devices a run for the money.

We actually tested the VNP-201 twice. Minerva shipped our first unit with software release 1.5.1 because the next software revision was not quite stable yet. After we completed our tests, Minerva had made version 1.6 of the software stable enough for our purposes. We tried it, and it made a big difference in our testing.

For example, the original code couldn't deal with reordered packets at all. Video and audio would drop out completely, even with only 5 percent of the packets being reordered. With Minerva's latest revision, which we tested as beta and should be available by the time you read this, the device handled reordered packets as well as the Amnis NAC 4000 did. Still, with an increased buffer to handle reordered packets, the VNP-201 could not deal with any latency deviation greater than 5 ms.

Digital Video Device Performance

Click here to enlarge

The back of the VNP-201 is crammed with interfaces, making it one of the most flexible devices we tested. The unit includes the normal group of composite, S-Video and unbalanced left and right audio for both input and output. But it has several inputs and outputs not included in other units. For example, the VNP-201 includes digital SDI (serial digital interface) video and AES/EBU (Audio Engineering Society/European Broadcasting Union -- a digital audio transfer standard) audio inputs and outputs. An RS-422 port is included for direct synchronous input and output of MPEG data streams. A SCSI II port can be connected to an external hard drive to store video for later broadcast. Optibase, too, offers the built-in SCSI II port, but Minerva's port is easier to set up and configure.

Of course, an Ethernet port and RS-232 serial port for initial configuration are also included. The VNP-201 has a direct data port for VTR (Video Tape Recorder) control. Using the Betacam protocol, this port connects directly to a compatible VTR and can be controlled from within the Minerva graphical interface. All the other units we tested require a separate action to start tape play, whereas the Minerva device can control a VTR deck directly.

The graphical interface is accessed via a Web browser and has control to access everything the VNP-201 does. It took no time at all to configure one unit to encode and the other to decode. Minerva's unit had a better interface than that of any of the others we tested. All the options are presented on two main pages, giving quicker access without having to hunt for a specific HTML page to change settings. On the encode side, the VTR controls can be tied in to start, play, pause, rewind and fast-forward a connected player. You also can configure the unit to begin and end encoding at specific time-code locations on the tape.

Beyond the VTR controls, the VNP-201 has other cool options, such as scheduled encoding and decoding. This lets you set the unit to begin doing its task at a certain time without human intervention. The VNP-201 will handle the normal compression types: MPEG-1 QSIF (quarter-screen image format) and SIF, along with half and full D-1 MPEG-2.

Minerva's VNP-40 looks just like the VNP-201, until you get behind it. The VNP-40 is an encode-only unit with no digital inputs or outputs. This little purple beauty is designed for streaming video to desktop computers. Instead of streaming to a proprietary decoder, as the VNP-201 does, the VNP-40 will stream to established streaming players like QuickTime Player from Apple Computer via RTSP protocol. As a result, the device does not require additional hardware.

Both the VNP-201 and the VNP-40 each takes up 1.5U of rack space, and two units can be placed side by side. You'll need plenty of room behind the rack though, because at 19 inches deep, these were the deepest units we tested.

Minerva VNP-201, $22,950; Minerva VNP-40, $4,950. Minerva Networks, (408) 567-9400, (800) 806-9594; fax (408) 567-0747. www.minervanetworks.com