MCX8000
Multi-Carrier Satellite Gateway

The MCX8000 multi-carrier satellite gateway is a high density, highavailability, fully redundant slotted-based modular system designed forDirect-To-Home (DTH) broadcasting, primary distribution to head ends
and OTT delivery of video and audio content. Thanks to its slotted basedarchitecture, the MCX8000 system provides a 3 in 1 solution designed toreduce down-time and simplify operational support costs with two
hot-swappable modem modules, hot-swappable power supply units
and an integrated 1+1 redundancy switch. All hot-swappable modules
on the MCX8000 can be added or removed without any special tools oraffecting the operation of the other modules on the device
Built upon the M(DM)6100 and MCX70000 software suites capabilities,
the MCX8000 can provide up to four 133 Msps carriers to be modulatedwith full support of the DVB satellite standards up to DVB-S2X. Transport
streams embedded in one of the received carriers can be output (ortransmodulated) on one of the eight (optional) ASI or four Ethernet
ports. The same data interfaces can be used as input ports for themodulator. The MCX8000 also features a web-based GUI dashboard
designed to guide you through the configuration of the MCX8000 andalign it with any use case.

Media & Broadcast
Direct-To-Home (DTH)
Distribution to Towers (DTT)
Distribution to Head-Ends
OTT delivery

Main Advantages:• Upgrade or downgrade to any
configuration by adding or removing
hot-swappable modules andappropriate software licenses• Highest system reliability and service
uptime through robust design andindustry leading redundancy solutions
and optional integrated redundancyswitch• Low TCO using very high bandwidth
efficiency technology options, and easeof monitoring and control• DVB-NIP compliant, future-proof design
combining video and IP multiservice
capabilities, supports transport oftoday's and tomorrow's services• Multi-stream reception and transmission(16 streams in modulator)• Clean Channel Technology provides up
to 15% bandwidth efficiency gains on
top of the DVB-S2 standard

Use Cases
Direct-to-Home
Direct-to-Home or DTH enables a broadcasting company to directly deliver the satellite signal to consumer households. The consumer has anindividual reception system existing of an antenna/dish and satellite Integrated Receiver-Decoder (IRD)/receiver). Bringing quality content to thelargest possible subscriber base is one of the key factors of DTH. However, the bandwidth pipe over satellite is limited and could impose a hard
limit on quality, subscriber coverage and growth.

The MCX8000 Multi-Carrier Satellite Gateway has the right features for squeezing the maximum throughput out of the available bandwidth,
whether using the DVB-S, DVB-S2, or DVB-S2X standard. It supports SMPTE 2022-7 Seamless Protection Switching providing reliable transport
stream delivery.
Thanks to its slotted based architecture, the MCX8000 system provides a 3 in 1 solution designed to reduced down-time and simplify
operational support costs with two hot-swappable modem modules that can be added or removed without any special tools or affecting theoperation of the other slot, hot-swappable power supply units and an integrated 1+1 redundancy switch.

ST Engineering iDirect | www.idirect.net

Distribution-To-Towers
Distribution to Towers or DTT utilizes conventional antennas (or aerials) instead of satellite dishes or cable connections to deliver video and audio
services to customers. While the transmission of radio frequencies through airwaves is like analogue television, the biggest difference is that themultiplex transmitters enable the reception of multiple channels on a single frequency range.
The MCX8000 Multi-Carrier Satellite Gateway ideally fits as a satellite front-end feeding multiple IRDs (Integrated Receiver Decoders). The
MCX8000 receives multiple MPEG-2 transport streams from a single or multiple saturated transponder(s) using DVB-S2X. It then extracts thosetransport streams and feeds them over ASI or IP into the existing installed base of IRDs. One MCX8000 can be used for tens of TV channels. In caseolder IRDs have no ASI nor IP input, the MCX8000 can even transmodulate the DVB-S2X multistream carrier into a traditional DVB-S/DVB-S2 single
stream carrier.

What are the benefits to use the MCX8000 for DTT?
AES or Asynchronous Encryption Standard allows to encrypt the content delivered to the towers. In the ST Engineering iDirect's modulators anddemodulators, two different AES keys can be defined (odd and even key). New keys are pushed to the demodulator via in-band uni-directional
remote control. Change keys on the fly? The IP data from the AES key generator is MPE encapsulated with the build in MPE encapsulator. The MPE
encapsulated data is injected in the transport stream by replacing some null packets present in the transport stream.

ST Engineering iDirect | www.idirect.net

Over-The-Top Distribution
Over-the-top or OTT refers to the productized practice of streaming content to customers directly over the web. It represents the future ofentertainment. It is essential that service providers offer content that is ready to be viewed on consumer devices. However, at the same time,
it is imperative to keep costs under control.

The benefits of broadcasting over satellite networks for content distribution are well known for scale and quality of experience. Now
broadcasters can leverage multicast to expand their portfolio to include IP-based video content models, including OTT. Designed for thefuture of broadcasting, the MCX8000 is a DVB Native IP compliant solution capable of efficiently multicasting OTT content over satellite withIP encapsulation rates of over 300 Mbps across multiple carriers.
It offers ultra-fast, low latency delivery of live and on-demand video and files to mobile devices and large screens for a global audience.
ST Engineering iDirect and its partners have developed a cutting-edge mABR end-to-end ecosystem called SKYflow, capable of origination,transport and reception of live and on demand OTT content over satellite. As part of the SKYflow ecosystem, the MCX8000 is a standalone
solution that takes care of the encapsulation of the mABR video over MPE and provides the choice to modulate DVB-S2 or DVB-S2X.

ST Engineering iDirect | www.idirect.net

Specifications
Key Features•Configurations:- Single Modem Board configuration (Up to 2x DVB-S2X carrier
modulators with optional ASI interfaces)- Dual Modem Board configuration (Up to 4x DVB-S2X carrier
modulators with optional ASI interfaces – Up to 2x modulators
per modem module)- Dual Modem Board + Integrated Redundancy Switch (2xDVB-S2X carrier modulators with integrated 1+1 redundancyswitch)• Minimum symbol rate per modulator: 256 ksps
• Maximum symbol rate per modulator: 133 Msps
• Data rates up to 550 Mbps
• DVB Native IP compliant (MPE)• IF (50/180) and L-Band (950 - 2150) high power outputs• Optional Equalink 3 pre-distortion provides up to 15%
bandwidth gain in DVB-S2(X) 8PSK mode, higher Quality ofService (QoS) and geographic coverage• Highest system reliability and service uptime through robust
design and industry leading redundancy solutions:- Integrated 1+1 redundancy switch- Exceptional jitter recovery on TS over IP inputs with SMPTE
2022 FEC- Redundant optional ASI or GbE interfaces in single streammode- Redundancy with main TS over ASI and back-up TS over IPinput- Redundant optional ASI interfaces for up to 8 TS input streams(4 per modem board)- Stream and Source redundancy on TS over IP inputs- Optional Seamless Protection Switching acc. SMPTE 2022-7 on
TS over IP inputs- User configurable alarm table for device & carrier redundancy
switching- Carrier-based redundancy switching in a multiple modulator
1+1 configuration- Input redundancy with Payload Stuffing as Switching Criterion- Input redundancy with TR 101 290 Priority 1 parameters as
Switching Criterion- Built-in TS Analyzer with PCR jitter measurements- Accurate link margin monitoring using Noise & Distortion
Estimator (NoDE) tool
- RFI reduction using DVB RF Carrier ID (DVB-CID) and NIT table
CID- Automatic TS rate adaptation-ASI and TS over IP monitoring outputs of input TS streams
L-band monitoring output
Market leading RF purity and performance
Programmable amplitude slope equalizer
8 x PRBS generators and 3 x PRBS detectors for link
performance tests (per modem board)- Optional high stability internal clock reference- Optional dual AC power supply• Low TCO using very high bandwidth efficiency technology
options, and ease of monitoring and control:- DVB-S2X, DVB-S2, DVB-DSNG and DVB-S compliant- QPSK, 8PSK, 16APSK, 32APSK, 64APSK, 128APSK and 256 APSK- Clean Channel Technology provides up to 15% bandwidth
efficiency gains on top of the DVB-S2 standard- Optional 2% roll-off on modulator side for highest efficiency- Multi-stream CCM or VCM mode with ISSY
- Selection of DSNG profiles acc. WBU-ISOG including DVB-S2X
standard- Secure front panel, SNMP, HTTP and CLI interface• Future-proof design combining video and IP multiservice
capabilities, supports transport of today´s and tomorrow´sservices:- Multi-stream reception and transmission (16 streams inmodulator)- Up to 8 Transport Streams mux/demux on GbE (TS over IP)
and 4 on optional ASI interfaces (per board)- Transport Stream over IP outputs optimized for minimal Packet
Inter-Arrival-Time- VLAN support• 4 x built-in encapsulators for opportunistic data insertion of atleast 160 Mbps (per modem board), interoperable with IRDs that
support Multi-Protocol Encapsulation (MPE)• Supports SFN Networks using transparent TS pass-through• Optional AES encryption/decryption per ISI stream and percarrier• Optional BISS scrambler and descrambler• External reference input• Optional 10 MHz reference output• Easy integration with industry leading management systems(EMS/NMS/OSS)• Feature-based pricing and software upgrades• Pay-as-you-grow flexible licensing scheme• Remote in-band management• Remote over-the-air software upgrade

ST Engineering iDirect | www.idirect.net

Data Interfaces

Content Encryption and Protection

ASI Interface (Optional)

BISS SCRAMBLER (OPTIONAL)

Single stream mode

Support for BISS-0, BISS-1 and BISS-E4 selectable ASI inputs on BNC (F) –75 Ohm (coax)
188 or 204 byte mode

On 4 TS (SPTS or MPTS) in modulator configurations
300+ Mbps per TS
Up to 2 scramblers per modem board

Rate adapter
MPTS or SPTS according to ISO/IEC
13818
Multistream mode

AES ENCRYPTION (OPTIONAL)
AES encryption of Baseband frames
64-bit, 128-bit or 256 mode

4 BNC(F) - 75 Ohm (coax) connectors
individually configurable as input oroutput or as 3 redundant TS inputs
with auto switching
188 or 204 byte mode

One AES encryption per carrier
Single key or one key per ISI stream
Up to 1 x 140 Mbps or 4 x 32 Mbps or6 x 23 Mbps/ carrier

Rate adapter
MPTS or SPTS according to ISO/IEC
13818

IP/Ethernet frames Encapsulation/Decapsulation

Auto switching 10/100/1000 Base-T
Ethernet interface

4 MPE encapsulators per board

ETH Interface

VLAN support
Transport stream over IP interface(UDP/RTP), unicast or multicast
Seamless Protection Switching
SMPTE 2022-7 on
TSoIP inputs (optional) in the300 kbps - 90 Mbps bit rate range

4 MPE decapsulators per board
Layer 3 static router over satellite
Layer 2 bridge over satellite (VLAN compatible)
Max aggregate: 160 Mbps per board

Forward Error Correction SMPTE
2022-1 and -2
Rate adapter
MPTS or SPTS according to ISO/IEC
13818

ST Engineering iDirect | www.idirect.net

Modulation
SUPPORTED MODULATION SCHEMES AND FEC

CLEAN CHANNEL TECHNOLOGY

DVB-S•
Outer/Inner FEC: Reed Solomon / Viterbi•
MODCODs: QPSK: 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8

Roll-off option (on modulator): 2%
Roll-off: 5% -10% -15% -20% - 25% - 35%
Optimum carrier spacing

DVB-DSNG•Outer/Inner FEC: Reed Solomon / Viterbi•
MODCODs: 8PSK: 2/3, 5/6, 8/9 - 16QAM 3/4, 7/8

Advanced filter technology

CARRIER INTERFERENCE REDUCTION

DVB-S2 (acc. ETSI EN 302 307 v1.2.1 for DVB-S2)•Outer/Inner FEC: BCH/LDPC•
52 MODCODs (short & normal frames)- QPSK: from 1/4 to 9/10
- 8PSK: from 3/5 to 9/10
- 16APSK: from 2/3 to 9/10
- 32APSK: from 3/4 to 9/10

DVB RF Carrier ID (DVB-CID)•Spread Spectrum Modulator (BPSK)•Supports User Data•
Compliant to ETSI 103 129 v1.1.1 (2013-05)

DVB-S2X standard•
Outer/Inner FEC: BCH/LDPC•
53 MODCODs (normal frames):- QPSK: from 1/4 to 9/10
- 8PSK: from 3/5 to 9/10
- 16APSK: from 26/45 to 9/10
- 32APSK: from 32/45 to 9/10
- 64APSK: from 11/15 to 5/6- 128APSK: 3/4; 7/9- 256APSK: 32/45; 3/4•
13 Linear MODCODs (normal frames):- 8APSK-L: 5/9; 26/45- 16APSK-L: from 1/2 to 2/3- 32APSK-L: 2/3- 64APSK-L: 32/45- 256APSK-L: 29/45 to 11/15•41 MODCODs (short frames):- QPSK: from 11/45 to 8/9- 8PSK: from 7/15 to 8/9- 16APSK: from 7/15 to 8/9- 32APSK: from 2/3 to 8/9

DVB-NIPEQUALINK 3••Linear and non-linear predistortion for all MODCODs
Fully compliant with DVB-NIP MPE encapsulation support

Modulation Interfaces
L-BAND (CONFIGURATION OPTION) (QTY: 0-4)
Connector SMA(F), 50 Ohm
Frequency 950 - 2150 MHz (10 Hz steps)
Level -35/+7 dBm (+/- 2dB)
Return loss > 14 dB
Switchable 10 MHz Reference
Spurious performance: better than - 65 dBc/4 kHz @ +5 dBm output level and > 256 kbaudIF-BAND (CONFIGURATION OPTION) (QTY: 0-4)
Connector BNC (F) - 75 Ohm (intermateable with 50 Ohm)
Frequency 50 - 180 MHz (10 Hz steps)

Support of DVB-S2 VCM mode

Level -35/+10 dBm (± 2 dB)

SYMBOL RATE RANGE

Return loss 50 Ohm: > 14 dB / 75 Ohm: > 20 dB

Modulator

Spurious performance: better than - 65 dBc/4 kHz @ +5 dBm output level and > 256 kbaud
DVB-S2, DVB-S2X 256 kbaud 133 Mbaud
DVB-S & DSNG 1 - 45 Mbaud

Non-signal related:< - 80 dBc @ +5 dBm output

L-BAND MONITORING (QTY: 0-4)
Connector SMA (F), 50 Ohm

FRAME LENGTH

Frequency same as L-Band output

DVB-S & DVB-DSNG 188 bytes

Frequency or 1050 MHz in case of IF output option only

DVB-S2 & DVB-S2X
Short Frames 16200 bits

Level -45 dBm

DVB-S2, DVB-S2X
Normal Frames 64800 bits

10 MHz REFERENCE INPUT

Return loss > 10 dB
Connector BNC (F), 50 Ohm
Output level +3 dBm (+/- 2 dB)

ST Engineering iDirect | www.idirect.net

Internal 10 MHz Reference Frequency

Physical

STANDARD STABILITY

Height: 1RU, width: 19”, depth 51 cm,

Stability: +/- 2000 ppb over 0 to 70°

Weight: 9.3 kg

Ageing: +/- 1000 ppb/year

Box:•Size: 720x600x190 mm•
Weight (max): ~11.5 kg

VERY HIGH STABILITY (OPTIONAL)
Stability: +/- 2 ppb over 0 to 65°C
Ageing: +/- 500 ppb/10 year

Monitoring Interfaces

Power supply:•
90-130 & 180-260 Vac•
260 VA, 47-63Hz

MONITOR AND CONTROL INTERFACES

Temperature:•Operational: 0°C to +50°C•Storage: -40° to +70° C / -40°F to +158°F

Web server GUI (HTTP) via web browser

Humidity: 5% to 85% non-condensing

M&C connectivity via separate ethernet links

CE label and ULDiagnostics report, alarm log (HTTP)PSU Module•
Module size: 41x165x199mm•
Module weight: 1020 gr

SNMP v2c
RESTful API (Modem board modules only)

ALARM INTERFACE
Logical interface and general device alarm

Front panel module•
Module size: 43x63x421mm•
Module weight: 340gr
Modem module•
Module size: 43x150x315 mm•
Module weight: 340gr
Platform module•
Module size: 43x60x315 mm•Module weight: 360gr max

ST Engineering iDirect | www.idirect.net