North America:
+1 800 231 9673
Caribbean and Latin America:
+1 786 437 1960
Europe, Middle East & Africa:
+44 (0) 118 964 8200
Asia, Pacific Rim:
+852 2776 0628
Harris is a strong supporter of many new and emerging SMPTE standards, including the Active Format Description (AFD)
Designed to assist broadcasters in their transition to 16:9 high-definition broadcasting, AFD improves the workflow in a hybrid system of SD and HD products. It's a method of identifying the aspect ratio of a picture by inserting flags (metadata) into the Vertical Ancillary Data Space (VANC); these flags optimize aspect ratio conversion (ARC) when that image is displayed on downstream devices.
We offer a complete portfolio of interoperable AFD-ready solutions, from individual point products to end-to-end systems.
- Our enterprise-level software systems employ the BXF standard through traffic, automation and digital asset management to enhance the process of generating and utilizing AFD information.
- Harris infrastructure systems provide support for management of AFD metadata during signal processing, routing, content distribution, storage, editing and monitoring.
- Our test & measurement products verify AFD information to help assure aspect ratio conformance from content ingest through playback.
Through standards like AFD, Harris is delivering systems that work together to enhance day-to-day operations at all broadcast facilities embarking on the transition to digital.

