Hitomi Broadcast, market leader in audio/video alignment and latency tools based in the UK, has signed a partnership deal with global broadcast rental specialist ES Broadcast Hire. The agreement means that broadcasters and production companies across the US can easily add Hitomi MatchBox to their set-up when they need it, on a use-by-use basis.

Based in Orlando, Florida, the US arm of ES Broadcast Hire aims to deliver to any site in the country within 24 hours. Adding Hitomi equipment to its roster expands the opportunities for both companies, improving logistics, support and availability.

As live productions – and particularly sport – become ever-more rich and complex, so the challenges of maintaining synchronization between cameras and sound becomes more challenging. Large-scale remote production multiplies the challenges. The smallest synchronization difference between image and sound can be very distracting for audiences, not least in sport where sound is such a big part of the experience.

Hitomi MatchBox is widely recognized as the gold standard in the market, providing an objective means of defining, precisely and very quickly, latency and lip-sync errors across any circuit from glass to glass. Matching lip-sync by eye is virtually impossible on a single feed: precise alignment on 50 or more video feeds and associated sound can only be achieved using Hitomi.

“People turn to specialist rental houses like ES Broadcast Hire because they need specific equipment for a project, or they need to augment the gear they already have,” said Warren Taggart, managing director of ES Broadcast Hire. “That is exactly why we are excited to add Hitomi to our inventory: it is the best tool for the job, and will help our clients make their productions even better by offering them the practical way to address lip-sync and latency issues.”

Russell Johnson, director at Hitomi, added, “We are excited to partner with ES Broadcast Hire. By offering comprehensive training to their technicians, we ensure they can provide timely front-line support for our products. This collaboration makes achieving perfect lip-sync easier, benefiting everyone: our technology gains wider use, ES Broadcast Hire enhances its client services, and, most importantly, productions can achieve higher quality with less effort.”