UK made: Phabrix celebrates making its 8,000th broadcast tester

Established in 2005 by engineer Phillip Adams, the company was set-up to create an instrument to test and monitor the then new 3G-SDI signals. The SxA prototype was unveiled at IBC2007, with production starting the following year.

13 years later, the company is still making SxAs, celebrating milestones by making custom units that are kept in a cabinet at the company’s Thatcham HQ. The 1,000th was gold plated, the there was one in carbon fibre, and another in a yew housing, followed by a Union Jack 3,000th version to celebrate the 2012 Olympic games, where over 30 Sx testers were used.

There are two main candidates for unit 8,000. “I’d like to create a Perspex one so everyone can see the internal workings as there’s a lot going on in a very small space,” said CEO Adams, although “bamboo would be a good choice too, as its recyclable and sustainable”.

The initial product was built around a Xilinx FPGA (the company is named after ‘Phillip Adams broadcasting in Xilinx’) and a screen sourced after looking inside a PlayStation Portable.

It “was both a signal analyser and generator whereas most competitor’s products were just analysers,” said Adams. “Companies had to buy a separate generator and a separate analyser which would have to be shared between staff and typically moved around on trollies. Our product was portable, and a third of the price.”

Sx is now a range, and it has been joined by the Qx series for hybrid IP, 4K/UHD and HDR/WCG signal generation, analysis, and video/audio monitoring, and the rack-mount Rx range for intermittent fault diagnosis in 3G/HD-SDI environments using video capture and remote access.

“Our customers range from broadcast engineers with their own personal unit, all the way up to companies with 100+ units,” said Adams. The company claims its units now operate in the Sydney Opera House, the Japanese police force, the Paris Metro, NASA and SpaceX.

The company was recently acquired Leader Electronics.

Phabrix website