With production in process and shipping fast-approaching, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty of the SyncBac PRO. We’ll be revealing more over a series of news posts here, starting today with what benefits adding timecode to the GoPro brings to professional productions.

GoPro cameras are built first and foremost for consumer use. Due to their ease of use and the unique perspective these action cameras offer, they’re now used more and more in professional film and broadcast too.

However, there is one thing that has in the past made using GoPro cameras for broadcast a bit of a hassle – they are not timecoded. And this is where SyncBac PRO comes in, providing a clip-on, wireless, embedded timecode sync solution for GoPro’s HERO4 Black and Silver cameras.

But what makes adding timecode to the GoPro so revolutionary?

1. It enables GoPro footage to be treated in exactly the same way as media extracted from more traditional professional cameras. Timecode is an important form of professional media metadata. In film and broadcast production, labelling each individual frame of video and sound with a timecode provides a useful reference for synchronising multiple sound and video sources, identifying shots and editing. Enabling HERO4 Black and Silver cameras to generate their own timecode integrates GoPro footage seamlessly into the professional production workflow.
2. This is not a clunky workaround, it’s timecode genuinely generated at source. Using a digital slate to visually slate shots has in the past provided a decent workaround for GoPros, but it’s not the seamless solution that production teams really craved. With a SyncBac PRO attached, timecode is generated at source and stamped directly onto the camera’s media file. At the end of a shoot, the camera’s SD card contains a single MP4 file with embedded, frame-accurate timecode that can be uploaded directly into AVID Media Composer, Apple Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere PRO.
3. You can shoot with multiple GoPro cameras in perfect synchronization. By attaching a SyncBac PRO to every GoPro camera unit, you can timecode sync multiple HERO4 units via long range wireless RF at the point of shooting. Simply make one GoPro the master unit and then timecode sync an unlimited number of GoPro slaves.
4. Integrate GoPro cameras seamlessly into even the most complex multi-camera, multi-sound environment. When docked with a SyncBac PRO, GoPros can wirelessly timecode sync with any professional camera and audio equipment using a :pulse, :wave or :minitrx+ unit for timecode.
5. Saves time in post-production. Without timecode, post-production is a laborious process of manually lining up each camera shot to sync with other video footage and recorded audio. If each GoPro camera is timecoded using a SyncBac PRO, footage can easily be dropped into the post-production timeline and automatically aligned. Whether you use the MP4 file or transcode to Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD, the timecode remains stable.

Can anyone else hear cheers from the edit suite?

P.S. The SyncBac PRO is not just about generating timecode – it’s also about wireless, remote camera control too via the BLINK Hub. But that’s a huge subject for another post coming soon…

The SyncBac PRO in action…

Time to buy?

SyncBac PRO is now in production and will be available to but from our dealers very soon. Make sure you’re first to know when they are in stock by registering your pre-order here.