MXFLegalizer in the Centre of German Public Broadcasting

Bremen, Mainz, Frankfurt 29.03.2019

CC BY-SA 3.0

The ARD-Sternpunkt in Frankfurt is the central control centre of the German public broadcasting authorities. ARD-Sternpunkt is responsible for the hosting and operation of central technical infrastructures in the field of television, radio, program distribution as well as network & IT infrastructure.

As part of the renewal of the technical infrastructure of the ARD broadcasting centre by the BFE Studio and Media Systems GmbH, the Cube-Tec MXF•Legalizer was installed as a central MXF control and correction system.

The technical acceptance - free of any defects - of the entire system took place in February 2019.


Hartmut Opfermann, Head of System Integration Broadcast IT at BFE, emphasizes the good cooperation with Cube-Tec:

During the project, specific customer requirements, e.g. adaptation of multi-track audio profiles or additional, customer-specific checks in the MPEG data stream were implemented by Cube-Tec in a timely manner."

Jörg Houpert, Managing Director and Technical Director of Cube-Tec, sums up:

Ensuring file-based material exchange is essential in a complex broadcasting operation. File-based program delivery from external third parties is particularly critical in terms of standard compliance and MXF interoperability. With the MXF•Legalizer System, the ARD Broadcasting Center is now well-equipped to handle its growing needs smoothly."

Holger Lichtenthäler, director of ARD broadcasting centre „Das Erste“:

In the case of automated checking of delivered programs for standards compliance, it is also important to us to validate the supplied audio formats.
By using the Cube-Tec MXF•Legalizer, we can now control the broadcasting process decisively, whether a readjustment of loudness is necessary or not, regardless of whether a program with Dolby E or discrete multichannel sound is delivered."


*Photo by dontworry - CC BY-SA 3.0 - Link to source