House Sync

Refers to a distributed synchronization signal available to all recording equipment in a studio. In modern production environments it’s important to have all digital and/or video equipment in a studio synchronizing its clock or frame rate to a common, stable source. This makes synchronization among different recorders (such as video and audio machines) much easier and more consistent, plus it enables material to more easily be transferred from one to another. Of course, in digital systems good word clock must be transferred between every digital device (mixer, recorder, DAW, CD recorder, etc.) to keep the signal in tact. The same results can be achieved, however, if all devices are synchronized to a common clock. Historically house sync was just another word for video sync or black burst, which have been common in video houses for years. However, with digital equipment becoming so widespread most studios are now distributing word clock signals instead of, or at least in addition to, black burst. In studios where video and digital equipment is integrated, both the word clock and video frame rate signal (black burst) must be resolved to one another. Of course, if there are any analog tape machines then standard LTC (or sometimes VITC for video machines), usually in the form of SMPTE, must be used, and that too should be resolved to the video and/or digital clock rate. Many modern house sync generators and distribution systems now deliver digital word clock and black burst.