Today, industry has not fully embraced the matrix converter solution. One important reason is its high control complexity. It is therefore relevant to propose a simpler but efficient modulation scheme, similar as three phase voltage source inverter modulators with the well-known symmetrical carrier-based ones. The modulation presented in this paper is equivalent to a particular space vector modulation (SVM) and takes into account harmonics and unbalanced input voltages, with the same maximum voltage transfer ratio (86%). The aim of this work is to propose a simple and general pulse width-modulation method using carrier-based modulator for an easier matrix converter control. Furthermore, a simple duty cycle calculation method is used, based on a virtual matrix converter. Finally, simulations and experimentations are presented to validate this simple, original and efficient modulation concept equivalent to matrix converter SVM.