A Video router or Matrix are used for transporting video

Video

Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...

 signals from sources or inputs to output destinations.

Inputs and outputs

The number of inputs and outputs varies dramatically. The way routers are described is normally number of inputs by number of outputs e.g. 2x1, 256x256.

Signals

The signal format that the router transports can be anything from analogue composite video

Composite video

Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...

 using PAL

PAL

PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...

 and NTSC

NTSC

NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...

. Also Broadband routers can route more than one Digital video

Digital video

Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...

 signal format, Serial Digital Interface

Serial Digital Interface

Serial digital interface is a family of video interfaces standardized by SMPTE. For example, ITU-R BT.656 and SMPTE 259M define digital video interfaces used for broadcast-grade video...

 (SDI), HD-SDI, component video

Component video

Component video is a video signal that has been split into two or more component channels. In popular use, it refers to a type of component analog video information that is transmitted or stored as three separate signals...

. Some routers have the ability to internally convert digital to analog and analog to digital.

Crosspoints

Because any of the source can be routed to any destination, the internal arrangement of the router is arranged as a number of crosspoints which can be activated to pass the corresponding source signal to the desired destination.

Control

Many type of broadcast automation

Broadcast automation

Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator...

 systems can be used to control a video router via IP

Internet protocol suite

The Internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols used for the Internet and other similar networks. It is commonly known as TCP/IP from its most important protocols: Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol , which were the first networking protocols defined in this...

, or serial communications

Serial communications

In telecommunication and computer science, serial communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or computer bus. This is in contrast to parallel communication, where several bits are sent as a whole, on a link with several parallel channels...

 such as the RS-422 9-Pin Protocol

9-Pin Protocol

The 9-Pin Protocol is a two-way communications protocol for the RS-422 D-sub electrical connector interface, in which a bi-direction signal is transmitted over a single, four wire, serial cable to allow the remote control of a wide variety of devices including, reel-to-reel type C videotape video...

.

Manufacturers

• Blackmagic Design
• Datavideo
• Ampex
  Ampex
  Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
  
  
• Evertz Microsystems
• Harris Corporation (formerly Leitch)
  Harris Corporation
  Harris Corporation is a Florida-based international communications equipment company that produces wireless equipment, electronic systems, and both terrestrial and spaceborne antennas for use in the government, defense, and commercial sectors. It is also the largest private-sector employer in...
  
  
• Miranda Technologies (NVision)
• Nevion
• PESA Switching Systems
• Snell (Pro-Bel)
• Thomson Grass Valley
• Sony
  Sony
  , commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
  
  
• Utah Scientific
• Matrix Switch Corporation