Hitomi is a professional television broadcast equipment manufacturer located in the UK. Specialising in streamlining the line-up process of lip synchronisation, coherence and channel identification, it is dedicated to helping customers achieve exceptional broadcasts. Hitomi technology is integrated into numerous systems worldwide and has been used for a multitude of high-profile events and productions. It's flagship product 'MatchBox' solves lip-sync, coherence, line identification and audio level monitoring problems. Hitomi's engineering team has many decades of experience in professional broadcast manufacture, developing world-leading products to exacting standards.
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IdentBox
All that MatchBox Generator offers without the lip-sync option
IdentBox
Support » Monitoring, Control & Communications » System Monitoring & Control » Data-driven analysis and self-healing »
Advanced audio and video identing
IdentBox provides a visual cue on a test pattern and confers the ability to test all the visuals and coms before broadcasting to prevent the possibility of live, on air mishaps.
Text overlaid on a test pattern can be used to indicate what is about to be shown, where, and from what camera. This is extremely useful for those at the other end, where they have loads of feeds coming in. The content has yet to be captured and broadcast, but to test all the visuals and coms beforehand is invaluable.
Even for the best and most experienced professionals, potentially more so with the advent of remote production requirements, it’s easy to get confused. So a visual cue on a test pattern that identifies it exactly is a subtle, but substantial benefit.
Similarly with multiple audio channels, all test tones can sound alike. IdentBox has a text-speech synthesiser so that the spoken word can easily be inserted into audio feeds. For example, after a sequence of tones the voice could say "commentary channel".
Test Tones
Audio tones are easily configurable per channel. Just choose GLITS, BLITS, or continuous tones. Tones can also be conveniently generated as encoded Dolby. All tones are precisely generated at 24 bit resolution.
Audio Idents
No need for the time consuming and inflexible pre-recorded sequences; our text to speech synthesis handles it all for you! You can insert phrases onto the audio outputs at regular intervals and create common prefixes with staggered leg ident to identify channels without the idents talking over each other. All of this is configurable via simple text entry through the web interface, and applied within seconds.
Test Patterns
Once you have a IdentBox you will not need another TPG! Whether you want plain bars, sweeps, ramps, pathological, RP219 bars or even High Dynamic Range (HDR BT2111) our flexible TPG will do the job.... and if the pattern you are looking for is not there, we are happy to add patterns for our valued customers.
Text Idents
Designed for clear readability and contrast. Our text ident generation boasts tidy anti-aliased text with a neat outline for clear display against any background. A range of available fonts, sizes and colours get your line identification across.
Logo/Bug Insertion
Customise your source with a logo or other graphic. Logo insertion allows you to upload and place your graphic keyed into the source.
Video Output
MatchBox has all your SDI needs covered from SD to 12G & ST 2110. A single card can output up to four uniquely idented test patterns at SD, HD or 3G, or a single channel of UHD (quadlink or 12G). With four IdentBoxes loaded into the xFrame that’s 16 outputs in a 1U form factor!
Genlock Input
Lock the video output to Black&Burst or Tri-Level house references.
Web Interface
Simply type the IP address of your IdentBox into a web browser and set it up! This clear and compact interface can be used on any PC, Mac and touch screen device.
Advanced audio and video identing
IdentBox provides a visual cue on a test pattern and confers the ability to test all the visuals and coms before broadcasting to prevent the possibility of live, on air mishaps.
Text overlaid on a test pattern can be used to indicate what is about to be shown, where, and from what camera. This is extremely useful for those at the other end, where they have loads of feeds coming in. The content has yet to be captured and broadcast, but to test all the visuals and coms beforehand is invaluable.
Even for the best and most experienced professionals, potentially more so with the advent of remote production requirements, it’s easy to get confused. So a visual cue on a test pattern that identifies it exactly is a subtle, but substantial benefit.
Similarly with multiple audio channels, all test tones can sound alike. IdentBox has a text-speech synthesiser so that the spoken word can easily be inserted into audio feeds. For example, after a sequence of tones the voice could say "commentary channel".
Test Tones
Audio tones are easily configurable per channel. Just choose GLITS, BLITS, or continuous tones. Tones can also be conveniently generated as encoded Dolby. All tones are precisely generated at 24 bit resolution.
Audio Idents
No need for the time consuming and inflexible pre-recorded sequences; our text to speech synthesis handles it all for you! You can insert phrases onto the audio outputs at regular intervals and create common prefixes with staggered leg ident to identify channels without the idents talking over each other. All of this is configurable via simple text entry through the web interface, and applied within seconds.
Test Patterns
Once you have a IdentBox you will not need another TPG! Whether you want plain bars, sweeps, ramps, pathological, RP219 bars or even High Dynamic Range (HDR BT2111) our flexible TPG will do the job.... and if the pattern you are looking for is not there, we are happy to add patterns for our valued customers.
Text Idents
Designed for clear readability and contrast. Our text ident generation boasts tidy anti-aliased text with a neat outline for clear display against any background. A range of available fonts, sizes and colours get your line identification across.
Logo/Bug Insertion
Customise your source with a logo or other graphic. Logo insertion allows you to upload and place your graphic keyed into the source.
Video Output
MatchBox has all your SDI needs covered from SD to 12G & ST 2110. A single card can output up to four uniquely idented test patterns at SD, HD or 3G, or a single channel of UHD (quadlink or 12G). With four IdentBoxes loaded into the xFrame that’s 16 outputs in a 1U form factor!
Genlock Input
Lock the video output to Black&Burst or Tri-Level house references.
Web Interface
Simply type the IP address of your IdentBox into a web browser and set it up! This clear and compact interface can be used on any PC, Mac and touch screen device.
MatchBox Analyser
The constant half of our 2-part solution for lip-sync, coherence and channel identification.
MatchBox Analyser
Support » Monitoring, Control & Communications » System Monitoring & Control » Data-driven analysis and self-healing »
A Perfect MatchBox
MatchBox Analyser is the constant half of our 2-part solution for lip-sync, coherence and channel identification. With either MatchBox Generator or MatchBox Glass replacing clapper boards and tapping mics, the Analyser is the device at the receiving end that replaces eyes and ears.
MatchBox Analyser looks for the pattern sent by MatchBox Generator or Glass and calculates the time of flight and the difference between what it knows should be there and what it actually receives. Accurate measurements are then provided of the video latency and the delay between the arrival of the sound and associated vision.
This means that guesswork is replaced by a highly accurate, electronic generator and receiver that compose and submit their respective signals to the best and most accurate pair of eyes and ears you could ever imagine, i.e. electronics that know exactly what should line up, and it if doesn’t.
AV Timing
Audio Video timing is measured to a resolution of 0.1ms with a maximum range of +/- 2 seconds. The MatchBox video signal from the generator is tolerant of almost all processing which does not add movement to the centre area of the picture, including up down cross conversion, frame rate conversion and compression.
Coherence
Coherence is the measure of precise alignment of audio legs with respect to each other. This is especially important with surround sound, where unpleasant comb filtering effects can dramatically distort the frequency response of the system if mistimed audio legs are mixed together. Legs should be kept to within 0.1 audio samples to minimise this effect.
MatchBox measures coherence to a precision of 0.01 samples.
Transport Timing
It is now easy to check the relative timing of SDI video channels against each other and the video reference. The Transport Timing measurement indicates the literal timing of the SDI transport vs another SDI or the reference. This is great to confirm video feeds are genlocked and with the 4K open allows you to instantly confirm that all four feeds of a quadlink program are in line.
Content Timing
What if one of your feeds has perfect transport timing but is a frame delayed? No problem! The MatchBox Analyser also checks the content timing of all the inputs for you.
Levels
Audio level is measured to +/-0.01dBFS, using a true peak algorithm, making sure that your levels are spot on.
Inversion
Has one of your audio legs been inverted through the processing chain? Would you know if it was? With the MatchBox system you will, a simple indication of leg inversion is displayed.
Leg Identification / Channel ordering
Legs crossed? We can tell you that too! A simple display of the tones on each input channel gives immediate indication of what is on which channel... This does what your ears do when listening to BLITS tone but without the listening.
Web Interface
All Analyser values can be read from one page on the web-based control system in a clear and compact format. Status is updated on a second by second basis, so you do not have to wait.
On Screen Display
The MatchBox Analyser passes through the input video and overlays all readings on a simple to understand graphic; again rapidly updating and easy to read. Clear bar graphs give an idea of magnitude of AV errors, with text readout of levels, coherence and source.
A Perfect MatchBox
MatchBox Analyser is the constant half of our 2-part solution for lip-sync, coherence and channel identification. With either MatchBox Generator or MatchBox Glass replacing clapper boards and tapping mics, the Analyser is the device at the receiving end that replaces eyes and ears.
MatchBox Analyser looks for the pattern sent by MatchBox Generator or Glass and calculates the time of flight and the difference between what it knows should be there and what it actually receives. Accurate measurements are then provided of the video latency and the delay between the arrival of the sound and associated vision.
This means that guesswork is replaced by a highly accurate, electronic generator and receiver that compose and submit their respective signals to the best and most accurate pair of eyes and ears you could ever imagine, i.e. electronics that know exactly what should line up, and it if doesn’t.
AV Timing
Audio Video timing is measured to a resolution of 0.1ms with a maximum range of +/- 2 seconds. The MatchBox video signal from the generator is tolerant of almost all processing which does not add movement to the centre area of the picture, including up down cross conversion, frame rate conversion and compression.
Coherence
Coherence is the measure of precise alignment of audio legs with respect to each other. This is especially important with surround sound, where unpleasant comb filtering effects can dramatically distort the frequency response of the system if mistimed audio legs are mixed together. Legs should be kept to within 0.1 audio samples to minimise this effect.
MatchBox measures coherence to a precision of 0.01 samples.
Transport Timing
It is now easy to check the relative timing of SDI video channels against each other and the video reference. The Transport Timing measurement indicates the literal timing of the SDI transport vs another SDI or the reference. This is great to confirm video feeds are genlocked and with the 4K open allows you to instantly confirm that all four feeds of a quadlink program are in line.
Content Timing
What if one of your feeds has perfect transport timing but is a frame delayed? No problem! The MatchBox Analyser also checks the content timing of all the inputs for you.
Levels
Audio level is measured to +/-0.01dBFS, using a true peak algorithm, making sure that your levels are spot on.
Inversion
Has one of your audio legs been inverted through the processing chain? Would you know if it was? With the MatchBox system you will, a simple indication of leg inversion is displayed.
Leg Identification / Channel ordering
Legs crossed? We can tell you that too! A simple display of the tones on each input channel gives immediate indication of what is on which channel... This does what your ears do when listening to BLITS tone but without the listening.
Web Interface
All Analyser values can be read from one page on the web-based control system in a clear and compact format. Status is updated on a second by second basis, so you do not have to wait.
On Screen Display
The MatchBox Analyser passes through the input video and overlays all readings on a simple to understand graphic; again rapidly updating and easy to read. Clear bar graphs give an idea of magnitude of AV errors, with text readout of levels, coherence and source.
MatchBox Generator
A fully-fledged test pattern generator with advanced audio/video identing
MatchBox Generator
Support » Monitoring, Control & Communications » System Monitoring & Control » Data-driven analysis and self-healing »
Getting in Tune
Need to sync audio to video accurately and fast? What if you replaced mic tapping and clapper board with a known, verified and perfectly timed signal?
That’s what MatchBox Generator does.
A fully-fledged test pattern generation with advanced audio and video identing, MatchBox Generator fulfills all your test pattern generation and identing needs with video channel identification and intuitive text to speech synthesis. Boasting 16 channels of embedded or AES audio and support for SD, HD and UHD video (quad-link or 12G). SMPTE ST 2110 options also available for HD.
Lip-Sync Test Output
Advanced signatures are added to the video and audio output to enable AV timing measurements when the Generator is paired with an Analyser. To learn more about what measurements the signatures allow checkout the MatchBox Analyser. The signatures are carefully crafted to be tolerant of almost all processing including up down cross conversion, frame rate conversion and compression.
Test Tones
Audio tones are easily configurable per channel. Just choose GLITS, BLITS, or continuous tones. Tones can also be conveniently generated as encoded Dolby. All tones are precisely generated at 24 bit resolution.
Audio Idents
No need for the time consuming and inflexible pre-recorded sequences; our text to speech synthesis handles it all for you! You can insert phrases onto the audio outputs at regular intervals and create common prefixes with staggered leg ident to identify channels without the idents talking over each other. All of this is configurable via simple text entry through the web interface, and applied within seconds.
Test Patterns
Once you have a MatchBox generator you will not need another TPG! Whether you want plain bars, sweeps, ramps, pathological, RP219 bars or even High Dynamic Range (HDR BT2111) our flexible TPG will do the job.... and if the pattern you are looking for is not there, we are happy to add patterns for our valued customers.
Text Idents
Designed for clear readability and contrast. Our text ident generation boasts tidy anti-aliased text with a neat outline for clear display against any background. A range of available fonts, sizes and colours get your line identification across.
Logo/Bug Insertions
Customise your source with a logo or other graphic. Logo insertion allows you to upload and place your graphic keyed into the source.
Video Output
MatchBox has all your SDI needs covered from SD to 12G & ST 2110. A single card can output up to four uniquely idented test patterns at SD, HD or 3G, or a single channel of UHD (quadlink or 12G). With four Generators loaded into the xFrame that’s 16 outputs in a 1U form factor! SMPTE ST 2110 options also available for HD or 3G.
Genlock Input
Lock the video output to Black&Burst or Tri-Level house references.
Web Interface
Simply type the IP address of your MatchBox Generator into a web browser and set it up! This clear and compact interface can be used on any PC, Mac and touch screen device.
Getting in Tune
Need to sync audio to video accurately and fast? What if you replaced mic tapping and clapper board with a known, verified and perfectly timed signal?
That’s what MatchBox Generator does.
A fully-fledged test pattern generation with advanced audio and video identing, MatchBox Generator fulfills all your test pattern generation and identing needs with video channel identification and intuitive text to speech synthesis. Boasting 16 channels of embedded or AES audio and support for SD, HD and UHD video (quad-link or 12G). SMPTE ST 2110 options also available for HD.
Lip-Sync Test Output
Advanced signatures are added to the video and audio output to enable AV timing measurements when the Generator is paired with an Analyser. To learn more about what measurements the signatures allow checkout the MatchBox Analyser. The signatures are carefully crafted to be tolerant of almost all processing including up down cross conversion, frame rate conversion and compression.
Test Tones
Audio tones are easily configurable per channel. Just choose GLITS, BLITS, or continuous tones. Tones can also be conveniently generated as encoded Dolby. All tones are precisely generated at 24 bit resolution.
Audio Idents
No need for the time consuming and inflexible pre-recorded sequences; our text to speech synthesis handles it all for you! You can insert phrases onto the audio outputs at regular intervals and create common prefixes with staggered leg ident to identify channels without the idents talking over each other. All of this is configurable via simple text entry through the web interface, and applied within seconds.
Test Patterns
Once you have a MatchBox generator you will not need another TPG! Whether you want plain bars, sweeps, ramps, pathological, RP219 bars or even High Dynamic Range (HDR BT2111) our flexible TPG will do the job.... and if the pattern you are looking for is not there, we are happy to add patterns for our valued customers.
Text Idents
Designed for clear readability and contrast. Our text ident generation boasts tidy anti-aliased text with a neat outline for clear display against any background. A range of available fonts, sizes and colours get your line identification across.
Logo/Bug Insertions
Customise your source with a logo or other graphic. Logo insertion allows you to upload and place your graphic keyed into the source.
Video Output
MatchBox has all your SDI needs covered from SD to 12G & ST 2110. A single card can output up to four uniquely idented test patterns at SD, HD or 3G, or a single channel of UHD (quadlink or 12G). With four Generators loaded into the xFrame that’s 16 outputs in a 1U form factor! SMPTE ST 2110 options also available for HD or 3G.
Genlock Input
Lock the video output to Black&Burst or Tri-Level house references.
Web Interface
Simply type the IP address of your MatchBox Generator into a web browser and set it up! This clear and compact interface can be used on any PC, Mac and touch screen device.
MatchBox Glass
A complete lip-sync and latency test source on your phone!
MatchBox Glass
Support » Monitoring, Control & Communications » System Monitoring & Control » Data-driven analysis and self-healing »
The newest member of Hitomi's MatchBox family of solutions for lip-sync and latency, MatchBox Glass is a sophisticated app that allows measurement to be made from in front of the camera on location for the ultimate in professional content.
MatchBox Glass is powerful and, like MatchBox Generator, works with MatchBox Analyser to replace the need for human intervention to test audio and video links. MatchBox Glass ensures that whatever is in front of the camera looks and sounds like it should on screen.
Making the measurement is simple and fast. The user holds an iPhone or iPad running the FREE iOS app in front of up to four cameras. At the other end, the MatchBox Analyser, which has four inputs, when enabled with the licence for Glass, can exactly measure video and audio timing differences – if any – across all four cameras.
The remote MatchBox Analyser in the OB truck or MCR looks and listens for a unique flash and audio tone generated onsite by MatchBox Glass and in approximately two seconds returns video and audio alignment and adjustment data that thus vastly accelerates the process of onsite synchronisation. This is especially useful for remote productions because it provides the ability to swiftly and accurately catch any synchronisation issues before they leave the site.
MatchBox SMPTE ST 2110
Easy Transition to ST 2110
MatchBox SMPTE ST 2110
Support » Monitoring, Control & Communications » System Monitoring & Control » Data-driven analysis and self-healing »
To meet the challenges our customers face in the migration to IP solutions, Hitomi has expanded the MatchBox capabilities to integrate seamlessly into SMPTE ST 2110 systems.
You get the same MatchBox features you are used to with SDI, but with ST 2110 interfaces. Still providing the innovative AV lip-sync and latency measurements from MatchBox hardware and Hitomi's free-to-download iOS Glass app.
Also, the IP interfacing options are available on the IdentBox.
Existing customers can easily update their existing hardware to support ST 2110 by adding the ST 2110 to spare slots in their xFrame. Both SDI & ST 2110 interfaces can co-exist in the same xFrame which can hold up to 4 x MatchBox modules.
The Generator acts as a Narrow Gapped sender while the Analyser supports Narrow Gapped, Narrow Linear and Wide senders (see ST 2110-21). And if you need testing coverage over your redundant links, this new interface option also supports ST 2022-7.
To meet the challenges our customers face in the migration to IP solutions, Hitomi has expanded the MatchBox capabilities to integrate seamlessly into SMPTE ST 2110 systems.
You get the same MatchBox features you are used to with SDI, but with ST 2110 interfaces. Still providing the innovative AV lip-sync and latency measurements from MatchBox hardware and Hitomi's free-to-download iOS Glass app.
Also, the IP interfacing options are available on the IdentBox.
Existing customers can easily update their existing hardware to support ST 2110 by adding the ST 2110 to spare slots in their xFrame. Both SDI & ST 2110 interfaces can co-exist in the same xFrame which can hold up to 4 x MatchBox modules.
The Generator acts as a Narrow Gapped sender while the Analyser supports Narrow Gapped, Narrow Linear and Wide senders (see ST 2110-21). And if you need testing coverage over your redundant links, this new interface option also supports ST 2022-7.
xFrame
Support » Monitoring, Control & Communications » System Monitoring & Control » Data-driven analysis and self-healing »
xFrame provides module-style flexibility for your MatchBox hardware in the form of hot-swappable cards. This gives operators the ability to change audio configurations on the fly, in the field, even on air if necessary.
The audio options are on separate cards, which are installed or removed from the front of the device. For the more technically inclined, let’s say you’re on an OB truck and you don’t have any customers that currently require Dolby E encoding, but all of a sudden, you land a job for a client who does. In an inflexible world, this was a problem that could cost business, but with xFrame all you have to do you slot in a Dolby E enabled card from Hitomi and away you go.
xFrame means that that audio options are very easy to change, or add to, a MatchBox Analyser configuration. That’s because xFrame is an extremely high quality, modular platform that has four slots to accommodate what the user needs, as well as the ability to configure the modules to suit preferences once installed. That modular flexibility is a significant win for customers, resellers, and Hitomi as a manufacturer.
FEATURES
MatchBox Module Features
xFrame provides module-style flexibility for your MatchBox hardware in the form of hot-swappable cards. This gives operators the ability to change audio configurations on the fly, in the field, even on air if necessary.
The audio options are on separate cards, which are installed or removed from the front of the device. For the more technically inclined, let’s say you’re on an OB truck and you don’t have any customers that currently require Dolby E encoding, but all of a sudden, you land a job for a client who does. In an inflexible world, this was a problem that could cost business, but with xFrame all you have to do you slot in a Dolby E enabled card from Hitomi and away you go.
xFrame means that that audio options are very easy to change, or add to, a MatchBox Analyser configuration. That’s because xFrame is an extremely high quality, modular platform that has four slots to accommodate what the user needs, as well as the ability to configure the modules to suit preferences once installed. That modular flexibility is a significant win for customers, resellers, and Hitomi as a manufacturer.
FEATURES
- Capacity for 4 MatchBox modules with options for expansions (audio, Dolby etc)
- Hot swapable modules
- Frame Ethernet interface to access each module’s web control interface – no need for an external switch
- Hot swapable redundant external power supplies (Included)
- Frame reference distributed to all modules in the frame
- Increased cooling capability with 3 x replaceable fan units – front to side cooling
- Full chassis monitoring including PSUs, fans, references, Modules status, SFP presence and temperature
MatchBox Module Features
- Integrated with frame’s Ethernet for web control
- Integrated with frame’s Video Reference interface
- Video Reference input
- Each Module can support 4 SFPs (8 video interfaces)
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