Hitomi’s Matchbox system chosen by ProSiebenSat.1

Johnson: confirm the veracity of your links before you start sending video or audio signals down them

Hitomi Broadcast, manufacturer of the MatchBox audio video alignment toolbox, has announced that Germany-based satellite and cable broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE has purchased a MatchBox system comprising xFrame, MatchBox Generator and MatchBox Analyser 3G.

The MatchBox installation was supplied to ProSiebenSat.1 by Hitomi reseller Vidi, based in Germany, via the manufacturer-independent international systems integrator, BFE Studio und Medien Systeme, as part of a solution-focused project to help streamline its live production workflows.

MatchBox is a toolkit that streamlines live broadcast synchronisation and is said to be relied on by broadcasters worldwide to ensure the timing of live sports, news and events. A two part solution, the MatchBox Analyser tool looks and listens for the specific Hitomi video and audio signatures produced by the hardware MatchBox Generator.

The measurement performed by the analyser is very fast ,just a few seconds, and said to be highly effective, speeding up the process and ultimately helping to eliminate the headaches and frustrations of last-minute lip-sync issues.

Russell Johnson, broadcast director at Hitomi, commented: “What MatchBox ultimately means is that instead of having someone tapping a mic or clapping a board in front of a camera to take subjective readings from, you have a known, verified, highly precise test pattern that in turn enables you to measure and confirm the veracity of your links before you start sending video or audio signals down them.”