The American writer William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry, wrote of New York City in the early 1900s that “It’ll be a great place if they ever finish it.” A similar comment could be made of the broadcast media industry in which progress itself is the dominant influence.
Established in 1954, Leader approaches 2025 with confidence based on proven success as a globally respected technology innovator. Leader is a responsive organization, guided by user feedback as well as trends like the adoption of IP-based broadcast content distribution and direct-to-home IPTV transmission. Trade events such as the NAB Show, Broadcast Asia, MPTS, IBC, SATIS and Inter BEE provide useful opportunities for direct dialog with existing and potential Leader customers.
At the U.S. National Association of Broadcasters Show, held in Las Vegas mid April, we announced a major update to our flagship ZEN Series test instruments. The new ZEN-W Series comprises the LV5600W waveform monitor and LV7600W rack-mountable rasterizer. Developed from the established LV5600 and LV7600, they support WebRTC secure remote control and monitoring, hence the W, plus a wide range of new features.
Leader has long recognized the importance of making its products as future-proof as possible to ensure compatibility with latest generation production standards and file formats. One way in which we achieve this is by offering downloadable software and plug-in modules which customers can add easily and cost-efficiently to their existing Leader equipment. Following the introduction of the Leader LT4670 synchronous SDI/IP reference and test signal generator in September 2023, we this year followed through with option LT4670-SER04 which adds new capabilities such as Precision Time Protocol grandmaster and analogue genlock plus 25G IP and 12G-SDI signal output.
IBC 2024 Amsterdam, mid September, was chosen as the launch venue for the LPX500 hybrid SDI/IP quad-input waveform monitor. This is the first in a family of video analysis and generation instruments encompassing advanced technology from Leader and our PHABRIX sister company. Its four autonomous analyzers allow the simultaneous display of four 4K SDI or IP video source inputs. A compact second touchscreen unit optionally extends the instrument’s integral display capabilities. Multiple screen layouts provide a huge control canvas, optimizing the viewing and control experience.
From a user perspective, Leader test and measurement products are the preferred choice for many of the world’s most experienced multimedia content creators, post-production service providers, broadcasters and digital cinematographers. A busy 2024 summer of sports kept the mobile production sector active across a very wide range of events, many of them integrating SMPTE ST 2110 IP technology into HD HDR and 4K UHD. Mobile production companies particularly appreciate the compactness and robust build quality of Leader instruments plus the ability to compare measurements in a wide range of different display formats side by side on a single screen.
To paraphrase O. Henry, the broadcast media market continues to embrace technical and operational advancement as it strives to serve a global audience with the highest possible quality and efficiency.
Leader, established in 1954, has 70 years of experience in designing and manufacturing highly reliable, practical and powerful test & measurement instruments. Leader products are specified for broadcast, production, post-production, research, product development, manufacturing and service applications. 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 color 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 SDI to IP, HD to UHD and SDR to HDR.
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