Setting Up AV-Sync

This guide walks you through the complete process of setting up AV-Sync to synchronize audio with video displays in your exhibit.

Step 1 — Process your video files

1. Download the AV-Sync Video Tool (Windows)
2. Load your original video file into the tool
3. The tool generates two outputs:
   • A video file with an embedded timecode track
   • A separate audio file for the Guide-ID platform

Once your files are ready, create an AV-Sync stop in the Tour Editor. Click Add Stop and select Audiovisual Sync Tour Stop as the stop type. The dialog also provides a download link for the AV-Sync video tool.

After creating the stop, it appears in the stop list with a video camera icon to distinguish it from regular audio stops.

Video: AV-Sync in the Platform

Setting up AV-Sync in the Platform: the AV-Sync stop, the narration, the video code, the beacon and publishing.

Transcript

1. 0:00 Now let's set up AV-Sync in the Platform. Open your tour, and click Add Stop.
2. 0:06 Give the stop a name, and choose Audiovisual Sync Tour Stop.
3. 0:17 The next screen links to the AV-Sync Video Tool, which prepares your film. Click Next.
4. 0:27 The new stop has a camera icon, so you can recognise it in the list.
5. 0:32 Upload the narration that the Video Tool made for this film: click Select file, and choose the audio file.
6. 0:39 Then open Stop settings.
7. 0:42 Enter the video code. It starts with A1, for example A101, and it must be the same code you used in the Video Tool.
8. 0:50 Add the beacon at the screen: click Add Beacon, and type the number printed on the beacon.
9. 0:56 The green check mark means the video code is correct. Save the settings.
10. 1:02 Finally, publish your tour, so the audio and the video code reach your Podcatchers.
11. 1:17 That is it: when the film plays, your visitors hear it in their own language.

Step 2 — Assign a video code

Each video requires a unique identifier starting with A1 (for example, A101 or A102). Enter this code in the Video Code field of the AV-Sync stop.

If the code does not follow the correct format, a validation error is displayed. The code must start with A1, followed by exactly two characters (for example, A101).

Caution

The video code must match exactly between the AV-Sync Tool and the Guide-ID platform configuration. A mismatch will prevent synchronization.

Step 3 — Configure the platform

1. Upload the audio file to a dedicated AV-Sync stop in the Guide-ID platform
2. Pair the stop with the corresponding video code
3. Assign the correct beacon identifier to the stop

When a beacon is assigned and the video code is valid, a green checkmark confirms the configuration is correct.

Video: connecting the Brainbox

Connecting the Brainbox: with an audio cable or a BrightSign over USB, and what the AV-Sync light tells you.

Transcript

1. 0:00 There are two ways to connect the Brainbox to your media player: with an audio cable, or, with a BrightSign player, over USB.
2. 0:09 The first way works with any media player.
3. 0:12 Connect the audio output of the media player to the 3.5 millimetre audio input of the Brainbox.
4. 0:20 Power the Brainbox with a USB-C charger.
5. 0:23 Set the volume of the media player to about thirty to forty percent.
6. 0:28 Then press the switch on the Brainbox. The light turns orange while it calibrates itself.
7. 0:34 Play the film. When the light blinks green, the Brainbox hears the timecode.
8. 0:40 Would you like the film's own sound in the room as well? Choose room audio in the AV-Sync Video Tool. The left channel goes to your speakers, the right channel to the Brainbox.
9. 0:51 Always use the 3.5 millimetre jack for the audio. The round RCA socket is not an audio input.
10. 1:00 With a BrightSign player, one USB cable is enough.
11. 1:04 It powers the Brainbox, and passes on which film is playing and how far along it is. No timecode track needed.
12. 1:12 It works the other way round as well: when a visitor scans the beacon, the BrightSign can start the matching film.
13. 1:19 Your AV integrator sets this up once in BrightAuthor. The steps are on our help pages.
14. 1:26 The light on the Brainbox tells you how things are going. Blinking green: everything works.
15. 1:32 Orange: it is calibrating.
16. 1:35 Blinking red: there is sound, but no timecode. Check the video file, or the cable.
17. 1:41 And when the light is off, no sound is reaching the Brainbox.
18. 1:46 In the next video, we set up AV-Sync in the Platform.

Step 4 — Connect the hardware

1. Connect the Brainbox to the media player’s audio output via a 3.5 mm audio jack
2. Power the Brainbox through USB-C
3. Set the media player volume to 30–40% (recommended)

Step 5 — Calibrate and test

1. Press the switch button on the Brainbox to start Auto Gain calibration
2. Wait for calibration to complete
3. Test with a Podcatcher Pro to verify audio synchronization

LED indicator reference

LED state	Meaning
Green blinking	System functioning correctly
Solid orange	Auto Gain calibration in progress
Red blinking	Audio detected but timecode signal missing
Off	No audio signal detected

Tip

The setup is working correctly when the Brainbox AV-Sync LED blinks green during video playback and the Podcatcher Pro audio syncs with the video content.

Related articles

• Understanding AV-Sync — how AV-Sync works
• AV-Sync Using BrightSign Plugin — alternative timecode method
• Understanding the Brainbox — learn about the Brainbox hardware