Glossary: GENLOCK

A system of synchronizing two video signals to the same timing and color phase in order to coordinate their colours and syncs. Genlocking permits mixing, cross fading, keying and special effects generation between the two signals. A video camera can be genlocked to a second camera through the Genlock connector on the camera. All professional cameras have genlocking capabilities. Genlocking two VCRs is more difficult and requires the intervention of a sophisticated device called a time base corrector (TBC) or a Framer synchronizer.