Hitomi expands sync challenges with MatchBox

The migration to software-based production has introduced a fundamental problem: how do you accurately measure synchronization in virtualized environments? Hitomi has offered a response to this challenge at IBC 2025 with its new MatchBox solution.

Traditional workflows require video signals to be sent out of cloud platforms and converted back to SDI for analysis, a process that can introduce the same synchronization errors they are trying to detect.

Hitomi's collaboration with Grass Valley Alliance represents a great advance in this challenge. MatchBox Software solutions now integrate natively into AMPP ecosystems, enabling in situ timing measurement directly into the software infrastructure. No signal conversion, no external routing, no compromise on accuracy.

Matthew Yates, Director of Strategic Alliances at Grass Valley, says, "Synchronization and latency management is a major concern when migrating to cloud production. Hitomi's MatchBox solutions demonstrate exactly the type of integration the Alliance was built to support: delivering the precise timing measurement broadcasters need, while working seamlessly within AMPP workflows."

ORF y BBC

One of the first uses of MatchBox has been carried out by Austrian public broadcaster ORF which is carrying out a comprehensive transformation of traditional baseband systems to SMPTE ST 2110. The scale encompasses regional studios throughout Austria, the modern Content Management Center in Vienna, radio operations, playback facilities and multimedia newsrooms. ORF has pioneered boundary-pushing applications, such as measuring synchronization differences between eight different televisions for events like the Vienna New Year's Concert, watched by audiences in 160 countries, ensuring perfect synchronization whether viewers are watching in Vienna or Tokyo.

Alexander Frank, head of project planning and technical planning for broadcast technology at ORF, explains that "we are carrying out a complete infrastructure transformation, moving from traditional baseband systems to a comprehensive ST 2110 network. The difference between baseband operation and that of ST 2110 is minimal with MatchBox: it is the same operation, the same use. We can use it in both environments, which was essential during our transition period."

Separately, the recent migration of BBC news channel operations from Broadcasting House to Red Bee Media demonstrates how MatchBox technology streamlines complex timing analysis. What once required cumbersome methods involving GPS-synchronized clocks and stacks of monitors is now done with precision and efficiency.

Oliver Rook, of the BBC, acknowledges that "before the MatchBox Glass system was conceived, we had carried out these tests using rudimentary and cumbersome methods involving GPS-synchronized clocks in the vision and stacks of monitors in front of the cameras. Using the Hitomi system was a much easier way to obtain general lag measurements than the methods we had previously employed and allowed us to collect a number of more granular data points."

Hitomi highlights that as broadcast workflows become increasingly software-defined, synchronization verification must evolve accordingly. Our software solutions represent this evolution, bringing the precision and reliability of MatchBox hardware to environments where traditional measurement simply isn't possible. The result is measurement everywhere: from traditional broadcast centers to cloud platforms. Because when timing is everything, there is no room for compromise.