In Broadcast - September 2015 - 70

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 9 | September 2015

InMedia

A Smart Upgrade Of
Video Infrastructure

Low-complexity compression enables you to upgrade to higher-quality
video, such as 4K, without heavy investment in new infrastructure.
Jean-Marie Cloquet, Manager of Barco Silex' Video Division, explains
why the VC-2 LD codec may be your best choice...

igh-quality video formats offer
a better viewing experience,
so they will take a growing share of
the market. But they also threaten to
make part of the current infrastructure
obsolete and force you to invest in more
bandwidth in your IP network or more
expensive SDI cabling. Unless you can
make clever use of video compression.
Take the production infrastructure,
for example. There is a trend towards
transporting video over IP networks,
and IP is gaining ground in the SDIdominated contribution channels. The
Joint Task Force on Networked Media
(JT-NM) also aims to build future
production environments based on
Ethernet/IP networks.
But UHD video at 60Hz requires up

to 12 Gbit/s - too much even for the
widely supported 10 Gbit/s Ethernet.
So should you consider deploying
even higher bandwidth network
infrastructure? Or postpone your
UHD plans? Not necessarily. Adding
a lightweight, low-cost compression
to your equipment can save the day.
With a 4:1 compression, it would
even become possible to transport
up to three channels of 4k60 video in
parallel over a 10 Gbit/s link. Likewise,
a mezzanine compression can also
upgrade legacy SDI infrastructure. It
would allow, for example, to transport
4k60 video over 3G-SDI, or 1080p60
video over a common HD-SDI.
At Barco Silex, we have been
comparing
compression
codecs,

looking for the one that is best suited
to this application. A clear champion is
SMPTE 2042, also known as VC-2, and
more precisely the High Quality Low
Delay profile. VC-2 LD was originally
conceived at the research labs of
the BBC. As a line-based intra-frame
codec, it achieves latencies down to
a few image lines. The compression
ratio can be configured up to four
times visually lossless, although the

complexity and its associated costs
are low. A key distinguishing feature
of VC-2 is that it is a standardised and
open technology, designed to avoid
patent infringements. So it can be
easily included in video production
equipment as a hardware or software
solution, without the potential costs,
legal uncertainties, and practical
difficulties
of
including
other
comparable codecs. Also the transport
of VC-2 is under standardisation
and will ease interoperability of the
broadcast equipment.
So for those in the AV industry
that are confronted with the choice
between an expensive bandwidth
upgrade or postponing to offer UHD,
there is a middle way: a light upgrade
of your equipment to add lowcomplexity compression. VC-2 LD has
all that it takes for a smooth transition
to 4K, whether on IP networks or over
SDI links.

VC-2 Low Delay codec used in broadcasting production in order
to optimise cost and capabilities of the IP or SDI infrastructure

Pixit Media Announces Friend MTS To Launch
Collaboration With
Revolutionary Content
Google Cloud Platform Protection Technology
P

ixit Media, the developer of
storage, archive and network
solutions designed specifically for
media organisations, has announced
a collaboration with Google Cloud
Platform. The relationship enables Pixit
Media to offer a new range of services
that improve efficiencies and reduce
capital
expenditure,
significantly
accelerating project completion times.
The
PixCache
Cloud
Render
Gateway for Google Cloud Platform,
considerably reduces the time
and complexity required to launch
render resources in the cloud, by
automatically and securely caching
assets from the customer's local
storage.
This unique capability enables the
integration of Visual
Effects workflows
into the cloud
Barry Evans,
Technical Director,
Pixit Media

rapidly and cost-effectively. The
PixCache Cloud Render Gateway for
Google Cloud Platform accelerates
rendering by transferring a single copy
of the data requested to multiple cloud
render instances, from your existing
on-site storage.
In addition, PixStor storage solutions
can be extended into Google Cloud
Storage Nearline and off-site disaster
recovery storage, without the need
for costly interfaces or additional
hardware.
This allows media companies to
reduce or even remove the cost of
on-site backup, archive and physical
tape infrastructure, to free up precious
space within facilities that can be used
for more artists.
Barry Evans, Technical Director, Pixit
Media, said: "Our collaboration with
Google Cloud Platform enables us to
offer more solutions to the evolving
storage challenges faced by media
companies today, while saving our
clients significant time and money."

TS is ramping up the fight
against video piracy with the
launch of ASiD (Advanced Subscriber
iDentification), a revolutionary new
content protection service at IBC 2015.
ASiD, which will be demonstrated
on the Friend MTS stand, is an ultralightweight subscriber identification
technology that enables both traditional broadcasters and OTT providers
to identify and shut down unauthorised
streams within minutes. It works by
inserting near undetectable identifying symbols onto the content for just
a fraction of a second to identify any
subscriber who is re-transmitting an
unauthorised stream within five minutes of detection. ASiD is a true step
change in the fight against video piracy. Its combination of discrete identifying symbols, fractional second display
and sophisticated placement, and
interpretation algorithms make it impossible to obscure or mask with zero
impact on the consumer experience.
Friend MTS's President Jonathan

Friend said: "We're really excited to be
showing ASiD for the first time at IBC
this year. It is a truly game changing
technology and will give us a real opportunity to show the entire industry
exactly what Friend MTS can offer
- best-in-class content and revenue
protection solutions built on years of
experience and a lot of innovation."
ASiD is currently being rolled out
to a number of companies in Europe
and the Middle East. It will feature
alongside Friend MTS's other content
protection solutions, Expose Linear
and Expose Source, at IBC from 11-15
September.
Together they will demonstrate exactly how Friend MTS is putting control
back in the hands of broadcasters and
rights holders worldwide, by ensuring
they are the ones
that decide where
their content flows.
Jonathan Friend
President, Friend MTS

http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.barco-silex.com/ip-cores/vc2-codec

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