Yokohama, Japan, December 15, 2023: Our role as a company is to develop test and measurement products for one of the most dynamic areas of human activity – the creative media business – encompassing broadcast and online video, audio and digital cinematography. An endearing characteristic of the media industry is its desire to embrace new technology. 2023 was no exception with the continuing transition from SD to HD, HD to UHD, SDR to HDR, SDI to IP and On-Premises to Cloud.
Sustaining Leader’s reputation for initiative in broadcast media test and measurement, we announced major additions to our range of products and options during 2023:
The JPEG XS standard is becoming an increasingly popular choice for high-quality high-efficiency broadcast television content distribution. At the NAB Show in Las Vegas, mid April, we introduced to the American market JPEG XS quality control options for the Leader ZEN series LV5600 waveform monitor and LV7600 rasterizer. These allow incoming JPEG XS signal streams to be decoded within the test instrument for comparison with uncompressed sources using the multiscreen facilities common to the LV5600 and LV7600.
IBC in Amsterdam, mid September, was chosen as the global launch venue for the Leader LT4670 synchronous SDI/IP reference and test signal generator. Equipped for use in film and television studios, mobile production vehicles and postproduction houses, this is designed to ease the migration from SDI to IP. Occupying just 1U, it incorporates a wide range of tools plus options which customers can add as their workflow evolves.
September also saw new additions to the Leader LVB440 IP analyzer. These include an extended audio toolset, enhanced event logging capabilities and a supplementary information display giving operators advice relevant to each measurement. The LVB440 can be accessed locally or remotely by up to eight users at the same time via their desktop or mobile PC web browser. Data rates up to 40 gigabits per second are supported, extendable via dual interfaces.
We also demonstrated software-based live cloud video flow monitoring as a technical concept. This system provides the resources needed to measure and analyze uncompressed live video being transmitted through the cloud. Applications include monitoring of studio to viewer internet channel streams and IP-connected links from remote broadcast trucks. Both examples are typically sent via virtual private cloud within third-party internet feeds such as Amazon Web Services’ Cloud Digital Interface.
Among sales successes by our distribution partners around the world, EMG, a globally active provider of broadcast services for sports and live events as well as studio-based production, chose Leader multiscreen rasterizerizing waveform monitors for integration into three new OB vehicles. A total of 16 LV7300 rasterizers, supplied by Leader channel partner Thameside.TV, are being used for master reference during live transmissions and related post-production:
“Leader test instruments have been our preferred choice for nearly 10 years,” comments Paul Francis, EMG’s Director of Engineering. “They have proved consistently reliable, accurate and operator friendly. Many of the projects we work on are very large scale with feeds sometimes exceeding 100 cameras. Precise and repeatable monitoring of video signal flow is vital to ensure accurate matching of camera channels. The LV7300 rasterizers also ensure that we maintain the full available video and audio dynamic range from source right through to output.”
As we progress into 2024, Leader will continue to respond to the needs of the creative media business and wider electronics industry with test and measurement solutions that combine precision, ease of operation, versatility, robustness and affordability.
Leader has earned a worldwide reputation for designing and manufacturing highly reliable, practical and powerful test and measurement instruments. Leader products are specified for broadcast, production, post-production, research, product development and service applications. Manufacturing quality is built in every step of the way.
The Leader product range includes award-winning 3G/HD/SD SDI waveform monitors and rasterizers, all with customizable layouts. Among the available options are 8K, 4K/UHD, CIE chroma chart, HDR measurement, test pattern generation, eye and jitter measurement, closed-caption display, IP, and 12G/6G-SDI.
Leader has helped many customers manage their transition from analog to digital, from SD to HD, from HD to 4K/UHD, from SDR to HDR, and from BT.709 to BT.2020 wide color gamut. Leader also provides SMPTE ST2022-7 and ST2110 support for the transition from SDI to IP.
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