Leitch Technology
Leitch Technology Corporation was a Canadian corporation based in Toronto, Ontario specializing in the design and manufacture of equipment for the broadcast television and video post-production industries.
Leitch technology's history begins in 1971 when Robert A. Lehtonen, Chairman and CEO, and James Leitch, combined their experience in the broadcast industry to form Leitch Video Inc. They created the world's first zero SCH sync pulse generator. The introduction of this equipment, which simplified the video editing process, represented one of the first digital products introduced into the broadcast market and led to the development of other products --- distribution amplifiers, processing amplifiers, clock systems and test signal generators.
On October 25, 2005, Leitch was acquired by the broadcast division of the Harris Corporation for the sum of US$450 million, with former Leitch shareholders approving the acquisition by Harris for $14 CAD per share. Seven years later, in December 2012, Harris sold the division to the Gores Group for US$225 million.
Leitch was famous for developing the Viewguard system used by networks such as ABC, Fox, and others for encrypting their analog network feeds.
Their Digital Processing Systems product line is still widely used in professional video applications like time base correction and stop-motion animation.
