Interfaces & Audio

Unique range of equipment interfaces available

Our unique experience of Voyage Data Recorders means that the Broadgate VER4000 is available with a comprehensive range of equipment interfaces, including all current radar types and many types of data source. It has been designed in a modular format to allow customers to maximise the benefits of installing a Voyage Data Recorder cost effectively. A range of options is available to allow each system to meet the individual requirements of a particular vessel.

In addition to a range of interfaces which ensure IMO / IEC compliance, the following options are available:

• Recording of multiple video channels (additional radars, ECDIS, CCTV etc)
• Satellite download of data from ship to shore
• Extended data storage in the MEE and / or protective capsule
• Recording of additional data signals
• Live onboard playback facility
• Recording of additional communications signals

Superior audio quality

In designing the VER4000 system, we have paid particular attention to the quality and definition of audio recording.

Our experience in analysing numerous incidents over the past decade has shown that good audio reproduction can speed up the investigation process, as well as making it more effective and efficient.

The problem is that audio recording takes up a relatively large amount of memory, and although compression is an option, this can have an adverse effect on the clarity of the recording. It has been proven that simply merging output from several microphones does not work. Because the sound sources are often widely separated on a ships bridge, the mixture of sounds can become extremely difficult to understand.

Using all of our experience of VDRs our software engineers have developed an innovative solution to the problem, using digital sound processing techniques and a specially developed algorithm.

This processing allows the outputs from eight microphones to be grouped into two sets of four and then the software automatically analyses the outputs to exploit any correlation between the different audio sources. This technology achieves the same recording quality as would be gained from individual microphones, but with a significantly reduced memory requirement.