QC Kitchen is live as a self-serve quality-control service for editors, DITs, producers and post houses. Users upload a file, choose a test package and receive the result by email. PixelPantry positions the service around broadcast compliance checks rather than creative anything.
The workflow centres on finished files and test clips. The service accepts up to two uploads at once, processes them systematically and sends each report when its scan finishes.
The service claims that most scans complete faster than realtime. File length and complexity affect the duration. The completed report uses frame-accurate references and contains errors, warnings, pass or fail results, plus flags that need investigation.
Four menus, one kitchen joke
The automated service has three tiers. Set Menu runs one selected check. À la carte runs a broader automated QC pass. Tasting Menu targets finished AS-11 masters in an MXF container. Chef’s Table adds human review. Set Menu lets the user select PSE SDR testing under ITU BT.1702, RGB and luma testing under Rec.709, dead-pixel detection, blanking detection, Black Detection or a loudness test. The service advertises the automated report as available as soon as processing finishes.
The PSE check targets flashing and patterning in SDR material. ITU BT.1702 provides guidance for reducing the risk of photosensitive epileptic seizures caused by television imagery. QC Kitchen lists that recommendation for Set Menu, À la carte and Tasting Menu testing.
RGB and luma checks target legal-range violations in Rec.709 material. Set Menu groups RGB and luma as one selectable test. À la carte lists RGB gamut, luma at 100 nits and EBU R128 loudness tolerance of plus or minus 0.5.
Dead-pixel detection and blanking checks sit in Set Menu. The service also names black-frame detection. These checks can be used on test clips as well as delivery files, including camera-prep material intended to reveal stuck or faint pixels.
Loudness gets its own course
The loudness scan uses EBU R128. The broader Audio checks include loudness and peaks, while Tasting Menu also examines audio track layout.
Stereo and 5.1 material are supported. Set Menu can analyse six embedded channels or a separate interleaved audio upload. Tasting Menu uses the audio configuration declared in the AS-11 metadata.
Configuration examples use EBU R128 R48 code 2a for stereo and EBU R128 R123 code 16c for 5.1. The service checks the declared arrangement rather than asking the user to flatten every mix into stereo before upload.
À la carte is the broad scan
À la carte combines PSE, RGB gamut, luma at 100 nits and EBU R128 loudness in one automated pass. It is intended for a file that needs broader checking before the final AS-11 master is made. The À la carte tier does not list dead-pixel detection, blanking detection or audio-track-layout validation. Those functions appear elsewhere in the service. Users should select the tier from the stated test list rather than assume that every named check appears in every menu.
A full scan returns pass and fail information, warnings and QC flags. A flag still requires investigation. The report identifies where the check found the condition, so the user can return to the relevant frame or section in the master.
Tasting Menu checks the master
Tasting Menu accepts finished Full HD AS-11 MXF material for UK DPP delivery. It checks metadata, PSE, RGB gamut, luma at 100 nits and EBU R128 loudness. Tasting Menu also examines audio-track layout and segment structure, then presents AS-11 metadata fields in one AQC PSE report.
AS-11 UK DPP HD defines an MXF delivery format for finished HD programmes sent to UK DPP broadcasters. The family constrains media formats for specific delivery purposes and includes video, audio and metadata rules.
The service’s own AS-11 workflow also checks file and container structure, codec, resolution, frame rate, audio mapping, timecode start points and basic metadata compliance. Its report identifies faults with frame-accurate references.
AS-11 checking does not create or repair the master. The upload workflow reads the file and reports conditions. Users cannot modify, share or download the uploaded file from the system after submission.
Pricing follows duration
Set Menu starts at £5 per file. À la carte starts at £10 per file. Tasting Menu starts at £13 per file. Chef’s Table starts at £50 per file and requires a quote for the human review.
Duration-based examples add another layer. At 30 minutes, Set Menu costs £35, À la carte costs £40 and Tasting Menu costs £50. PixelPantry charges £5 at sign-up, then deducts that amount from the first bill.
Billing runs at the end of each day in which a QC finishes. The emailed report includes the cost, the test performed and its pass or fial result. The account’s stored card is charged for the completed scans.
The current model is pay as you go. A subscription is not currently available, though a future subscription model with a bulk discount is planned. Free trials and discounts are distributed through newsletter promotions rather than through a permanent open trial.
SDR means SDR
QC Kitchen currently accepts SDR material for the automated picture tests. Current automated picture tests require Rec.709 files. Non-SDR files are deleted immediately while the charge still applies.
HDR testing is not available at present. The service says HDR tests are planned and places them on its 2026 development list. A user who uploads an HDR file to the SDR workflow can therefore pay for a file that the system deletes.
