Hamlet - New Approach to High-Precision, Multi-Channel Quality Control

The DS900 uses a new version of Hamlet’s bespoke digital modular test and measurement platform, designed to deliver more processing power while at the same time reducing the cost of the individual input modules. It includes an optional built-in test signal generator and space for up to four input modules which can be of mixed formats: analogue and digital, composite or component, standard definition, HD or 3G. Embedded audio can be decoded from any input and there is an option for surround sound monitoring. For each input the user can select up to four test displays, and the built-in multiviewer presents all four inputs simultaneously with up to 16 windows on a suitable monitor (DVI or XVGA).

The unit is housed in a compact, half width 1U cabinet with three touch-sensitive displays on the front. The left panel chooses from the four inputs, the right panel chooses the tests to be performed, and the centre display acts as a confidence monitor so the operator can confirm that the right selections have been made. Set-ups can also be managed remotely over an IP connection. The software in the processor platform and individual modules can be updated online when required.

“We spend a lot of time talking to our customers to find out what they really need, unlike some of our competitors who are obsessed with technical detail,” said Steve Nunney, director of Hamlet. “Real users tell us you can learn a lot about the quality of a signal without automated measurements, which is why we provide them the tests they want, like the eye pattern for the robustness of a digital signal. In the heat of television production you do not have time to worry about numbers, you just want to know whether your signal is right or not, which is just what the new DS900 delivers.”

Hamlet is celebrating its 25th anniversary year of providing excellent, practical and affordable test and measurement solutions in 2011. See the new DS900 and the rest of the Hamlet range on booth C4841 at NAB.

About Hamlet Video International

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2011, Hamlet Video International Limited is a British company dedicated to the design, manufacture and supply of innovative, high quality and cost-effective test, measurement, monitoring and quality control equipment to the video and broadcast industries worldwide. Hamlet has completely eliminated CRTs from its instruments, thereby removing the need for routine display recalibration and thus reducing significantly the cost of ownership of a precision instrument. With its latest devices using an all-digital internal platform, Hamlet has moved towards a calibrated-for-life test and measurement system. Hamlet’s vectorscopes and waveform monitors either use an internal precision LCD display or provide an output to either a video or a computer monitor, which can be routed to the operator’s convenience. In either case the graticules are generated digitally within the device, so provides a continually reliable and accurate reference. The company also develops test and measurement software to be used in conjunction with broadcast systems running on standard computers for the analysis of base band or file based signals. Finally, Hamlet manufactures digitally-stable signal generators as a companion to its measurement devices.