Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 6, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Both the synchronization system and the timecode system currently in use date from the era of analog signal processing and were designed for analog systems. They are only partly suitable for fully digital signal processing in television production.
Distributing analog synchronization signals in a digital environment requires a separate analog distribution infrastructure. With the introduction of a permanent HDTV service and the associated higher frame rate, the timing system is reaching its limits. The original version of SMPTE 12M, “Time and Control Code,” was not designed for frame rates above 30 Hz.
For this reason, the EBU and SMPTE established the “Joint EBU SMPTE Task Force on Time and Synchronisation” in 2007 and charged it with identifying a future timecode and synchronization system. The presentation explains the working group’s approach, shows a possible future time-labeling and synchronization system and how it works, reports on the group’s current progress, and concludes with the next steps toward standardization.
Location: Auditorium at the IRT, Building 17 B, Floriansmühlstraße 60, 80939 Munich (BR television site)
Speakers: Friedrich, Gierlinger, IRT, Television Production Systems
Topic: Future Timecode and Synchronization Systems — Report from the Joint EBU SMPTE Task Force on Time and Synchronisation
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