Video Breakthroughs
242.5K views | +0 today
Follow
Video Breakthroughs
Monitoring innovations in post-production, head-end, streaming, OTT, second-screen, UHDTV, multiscreen strategies & tools
Curated by Nicolas Weil
Your new post is loading...
Your new post is loading...
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

Paris trial for proposed DVB-T2/LTE hybrid standard

Paris trial for proposed DVB-T2/LTE hybrid standard | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it
A new hybrid mobile broadcast technology platform could provide a solution to the current standoff between the mobile and TV sectors over a common approach to mobile broadcast standards. The system, which embeds an LTE-A+ video steam within a standard DVB-T2 broadcast signal, is about to be field-trialled.
No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

How Fox Is Using 4K at the Super Bowl

How Fox Is Using 4K at the Super Bowl | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

The age of 4K may have officially begun, but the world still has some catching up to do. Case in point: You can't actually watch this weekend's Super Bowl in 4K (a.k.a. Ultra HD), even if you have a 4K TV, since there isn't yet a broadcast or cable standard for ultra-high-def format. Even the live stream is "just" in 720p.


That doesn't mean 4K won't make a difference at the big game. Fox will have six 4K cameras at MetLife Stadium — two on the sidelines, two on the goal lines and two on the end lines — specifically for the network's "Super Zoom" feature. When the broadcast needs to get in tight on some action, the feed will crop a 720p "window" from the 4K picture captured by those cameras. That way, Fox can get tight, high-res images without needing to zoom in optically.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

Diffusion Ultra HD : essais concluants sur le réseau DVB-T2 en HEVC

Diffusion Ultra HD : essais concluants sur le réseau DVB-T2 en HEVC | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

Alors que l'on évoquait il y a quelques jours les tests menés par la NHK au Japon sur la diffusion hertzienne de flux vidéo en 8K (et réussis sur une distance de 27 Km), on apprend aujourd'hui que l'équipementier Broadcom est, en partenariat avec l'opérateur scandinave Teracom, parvenu à diffuser un flux vidéo en 2160p (sans doute de l'Ultra HD en 3840 x 2160) via le codec HEVC (ex-H.265) en exploitant la technologie DVB-T2 (une évolution du DVB-T utilisé pour notre TNT).


Norme DVB-T2 qui devrait, logiquement, être choisie pour la future TNT2, tandis que malgré les tentatives de Google d'imposer son codec VP9, l'industrie devrait se tourner massivement vers le HEVC pour la compression des flux vidéo Ultra HD à l'avenir. HEVC qui permet, gross modo, de diviser par deux la bande passante nécessaire pour la diffusion d'un flux vidéo de qualité identique par rapport à l'actuel H.264. Soit un précieux allié pour ne pas voir la taille des fichiers trop exploser lors du passage à l'Ultra HD. 

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

Harris Broadcast Communications Leads BXF into Next Phase

Harris Broadcast Communications Leads BXF into Next Phase | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

Harris today celebrates the publication of the BXF 2.0 suite — a move that evolves the way broadcasters and new media organizations share and exchange business data and on-air content across the media workflow.

 

BXF, or Broadcast eXchange Format, standardizes the exchange of schedule, as-run, content metadata, and content transfer instructions between workflow systems — including servers, editors, traffic and billing, sales and scheduling, automation and digital asset management equipment. The publication of BXF 2.0 marks an important continuation in BXF development and implementation — an effort that began with the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) in 2004, led by Harris CTO Group Lead Chris Lennon.

 

BXF 2.0 consists of several backward-compatible enhancements to the existing standard including additional support for sponsored secondary events, re-use of house numbers, enhanced multi-language support, and the ability to communicate “aired” events (previous, current and next).

 

The SMPTE group now sets their sights on BXF 3.0, which includes a list of useful enhancements that advance well beyond the efficiencies published in BXF 2.0.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

HBO’s Future is in Standalone Streaming, It Just Doesn’t Know It Yet

HBO’s Future is in Standalone Streaming, It Just Doesn’t Know It Yet | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

One morning during the next five years, you’ll wake up to news that HBO has seen the light. The cable network will announce that it has decided to take your money — maybe $12, $15, or $20 a month — and from that moment on, you’ll be able to watch its shows without a cable subscription.

 

Execs at the network and the rest of the TV industry will hail the news as momentous. But don’t be surprised by it. I’m not going out on a limb in making this prediction, because what happens from here is slam-dunk obvious: HBO’s current business is doomed. Yes, the network is riding high now. But there are simply too many growing forces arrayed against its cable-dependent model for the business to continue as it is — too many high-quality shows from competing, non-premium cable channels, too many new technologies for watching TV, too many startups gunning for HBO’s customers. At some point, too, there will simply be too much money in the streaming business for HBO to ignore.

 

The only question now is, When?

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

LTE Tempts With Advanced Services

LTE Tempts With Advanced Services | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

Could the future of broadcasting be wireless broadband?

 

“Big-stick” broadcasting—where you place an antenna atop a tall tower and fling out a megawatt or more of power—may be dying. The advertising economics of an election year will mask eroding TV station advertising margins, but the past 10 years have not been kind to a broadcasting model that had been profitable for decades.

 

There are many reasons why broadcasting doesn’t generate the profits it used to, but there’s no denying that competition from cable operators and telcos is at least one reason.

 

Meanwhile, broadcasters are stuck with their big-stick broadcasting model, while the competition nimbly builds new services and new revenue streams.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

BBC R&D White Paper : Enabling and Enriching Broadcast Services by Combining IP and Broadcast Delivery

BBC R&D  White Paper : Enabling and Enriching Broadcast Services by Combining IP and Broadcast Delivery | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of supplementing television broadcast channels with additional content using IP delivery. It looks at the way in which the additional material could be resynchronised with the broadcast content and what level of accuracy is required by different types of material.

 

It focuses on the use case of an alternative soundtrack to provide improved intelligibility for viewers who have difficulty understanding speech when presented with background sound. It then goes on to describe our demonstration system and discusses the opportunities for further research into hybrid delivery and the way it could enable a richer broadcasting landscape.

 

Blog post : http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2010/11/synchronising-broadcast-and-ip.shtml

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

Centralcasting: As trends and technology change, efficient playout is as important as ever

Centralcasting: As trends and technology change, efficient playout is as important as ever | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

The changing nature of media consumption has transformed the broadcast business model. Broadcasters are delivering a proliferation of media-related services to broader audiences via additional outlets and platforms. As the number of offerings has grown, however, average revenue per service has dropped. In a tough economic climate, and with IPTV and VOD services gaining ground, broadcasters face constant competitive and price pressures. And, while trends and evolving technologies continue to shape products, broadcasters are finding that it's more important than ever that their established channel playout operations run as efficiently as possible.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

A Producer's Guide to Leveraging Twitter as a Social TV Tool

A Producer's Guide to Leveraging Twitter as a Social TV Tool | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

This is reprinted from The Twitter Developer's Website - Twitter TV. It's a wonderful document that will surely help Social Media practitioners in the TV arena. Unless you are French - where mentioning Twitter or Facebook has been banned by the French TV regulatory agency, Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), similar to Ofcom in the UK and FCC in the US.

 

Twitter has released of a compendium of best practices for engaging and growing your audience on Twitter using the power of the TV screen - along with some compelling data in the form of graphs and a video. This is a living document that will grow and change over time at Twitter - as shows and networks continue to break new ground with Twitter on air.

 

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

VidiGo's Dutch Army Knife of Broadcast Tools

VidiGo's Dutch Army Knife of Broadcast Tools | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

"It all started with graphics," says VidiGo CEO Hans Krouwels. The Amsterdam-headquartered software company was founded with the idea that the production workflow could be simplified without losing quality. It now offers a range of products that cover the complete workflow of a professional TV production.

 

First came VidiGo Graphics, graphics engine for internal mixing of graphics with HD/SD-SDI input. After partnering with Adobe, VidiGo brought Adobe Flash to broadcast: With VidiGo Graphics, stations can use all the tools in Adobe Creative Suite 5 (Illustrator, Photoshop, and Flash Professional) and then render the files for on-air consumption in VidiGo Graphics.

 

"We realized we had a huge opportunity," says Krouwels. "We created VidiGo Graphics, based on Adobe Creative Suite, to run on standard PCs, allowing stations to maintain the same quality as high-end systems, at a fraction of the cost and many times the speed and flexibility." Since creating VidiGo Graphics, the company has added VidiGo ToolBox, VidiGo Live, VidiGo Works and VidiGo PlayOut.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

DIY BROADCAST : How to build your own TV Channel with Open-Source & other goodies

DIY BROADCAST : How to build your own TV Channel with Open-Source & other goodies | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

Here is our scenario : you are the technical director of a web startup, already having proven your talents with your thematic VOD streaming channel – and your boss suddenly thinks you’re a grown enough company to jump on the broadcast wagon and manage your own 24/7 live TV channel, targeting IPTV and multiplatform OTT, with a mix of some live studio shows and mainly pre-recorded programs. And of course readify it for later iTV DTT distribution. Quite an exciting challenge !

 

But once you passed the wow effect, you just realize that despite his high expectations for the TV channel, your boss has got just a web budget – which is close to 0$ – and of course a tight launch schedule. Therefore, your first duty is to be creative on how to build the platform for the lowest possible cost : that’s why, using your web reflexes, you naturally turn yourself towards the open-source world to achieve this impossible mission. Inexpensive or free closed-source software will eventually fill the gaps (and obviously there are some).

 

Fortunately, the web attitude has contaminated many industries with its desire to promote interoperability and avoid vendor lock-in with full-IP standard worflows. The BBC has shown the way for a long-time, funding many developments like the Dirac codec for its own needs of tapeless workflows and open-sourcing them quickly afterwards. Other TV channels like SVT from Sweden (with CasparCG) and many independent developers have jumped onboard, and by combining their efforts with your usual web video tools like FFmpeg or other free tools, you can for sure build the target platform.

 

Apart from this software layer, you’ll just need :
- commodity IT hardware to run all the software
- some inexpensive SDI cards
- the minimalistic general audio/video routing hardware & cables
- a reasonable amount of time to configure and interface all pieces
and of course the right IT/dev skills to bring it all together…

 

OK, Let’s build it now !

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

Infographic: Sochi Olympics Live Video Workflow

Infographic: Sochi Olympics Live Video Workflow | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

Live streaming every phase of every sporting event of the Olympics is a big task. This year NBC expanded their targeted devices to include iOS, Android and Windows smartphones, PCs, Macs, and tablets. The combination of the increased number of live feeds and the increased number of targeted devices creates a complex live video workflow requiring coordination between a number of technologies and partners.

Nicolas Weil's insight:

If you look for me : I'm on point 6 :-)

Nitin Narang's curator insight, February 24, 2014 4:14 AM

Amazing infographic for Sochi live video workflow

Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

NHK tests 8K terrestrial television transmissions

NHK tests 8K terrestrial television transmissions | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

While the rest of the world is wondering about when we will see 4K broadcasts, NHK in Japan is conducting test transmissions of 8K Super Hi-Vision signals over the air. Its latest test demonstrated a signal with 16 times the resolution of high-definition sent over a single terrestrial television channel.

The standards for Ultra-High-Definition or UHDTV include both 8K and 4K profiles. An 8K Super Hi-Vision image has a resolution of 7680×4320 pixels, or over 33 megapixels, which is four times the resolution of a 4K or 3840×2160 image, or 16 times the resolution of a full-frame high-definition picture.


In its latest test, at the research laboratories of NHK in Hitoyoshi in southern Japan, an 8K signal was transmitted over a standard 6MHz broadcast channel and received 27 kilometres away.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

ATSC 3.0 expected by the end of March

ATSC 3.0 expected by the end of March | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

After 20 years, a next-generation digital television transmission standard is about to be unveiled.

 

The new standard is expected to be flexible, and incorporate a wide use of spectrum, mobile technologies, 4K, 3-D and multiscreen viewing on hybrid devices that can be located anywhere.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

SMPTE publishes new BXF spec for streamlined system interoperability

SMPTE publishes new BXF spec for streamlined system interoperability | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

With the publication of the BXF (Broadcast eXchange Format) 2.0 suite, broadcasters and content distributors now have a standard way of exchanging messages and files between business and media management systems. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has announced the standardization and release of a new set of specifications that will streamline workflows and content delivery chains for broadcast and new media operations.

 

SMPTE said the new set of documents addresses the specific requirements of file-based workflows, that is, ensuring that disparate system communicate with each other in order to reduce manual processes and manage a large amount of content files.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

What Open Source tools are available to media professionals? Upcoming EBU special media sessions: July 10-11

The EBU Media, Radio & Television sessions (10-11 July) during the LSM will show EBU Members' and other media professionals' Open Source authoring, recording, ingest, editing, management, storage, encoding, play-out, streaming, broadcast transmission and user devices software projects, how they are used in practice and what its features/limitations are. Colleagues from EBU Members and from the industry will share their experiences and outlook for the future. Live demonstrations of the tools will be available too, including a completely open radio transmission platform. A series of workshops will provide a deeper insight into selected tools.

 

SEE EVENT PAGE : http://tech.ebu.ch/Jahia/site/tech/cache/offonce/events/opensource2012

 

READ MY RELATED BLOG POST "DIY BROADCAST : How to build your own TV Channel with Open-Source & other goodies" : http://blog.eltrovemo.com/364/diy-broadcast-how-to-build-your-own-tv-channel-with-open-source-other-goodies/

No comment yet.
Rescooped by Nicolas Weil from Richard Kastelein on Second Screen, Social TV, Connected TV, Transmedia and Future of TV
Scoop.it!

Interoperable Master Format (IMF) for a Multi-Platform World

Interoperable Master Format (IMF) for a Multi-Platform World | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

Among other things, the looming arrival of the Interoperable Master Format (IMF) is illustrating that the digital media industry is now capable of moving "nimbly and quickly" to create technical standards to address and evolve the ways that it packages, moves, and protects precious content in the form of digital assets in a world where the technology used to do all that, and the very industry itself, is fundamentally changing at a startling rate.

 

Unlike the DCI spec, IMF is not built of wholly new parts. Wherever possible, the file package will consist of existing pieces combined together in an MXF-flavored wrapper. This should, Chang hopes, make it easier for businesses across the industry to adapt without huge infrastructure changes in most cases as IMF comes to fruition.


"With IMF, we are using existing standards—a form of MXF (called MXF OP1A/AS-02) to wrap the files, and parts of the Digital Cinema format and other formats that many manufacturers already use," says Annie Chang, Disney's VP of Post-Production Technology and chairwoman of the SMPTE IMF work group. "So, hopefully, there is not much of a learning curve. We hope that most of the big companies involved in the process won't be caught unaware, and will be able to make firmware or software upgrades to their systems in order to support IMF. Hopefully, companies will not have to buy all new equipment in order to use IMF.


Via Richard Kastelein
No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

Archive eXchange format : open archive and preservation format for the long term

Archive eXchange format : open archive and preservation format for the long term | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it
The long-awaited AXF open format for long-term preservation and storage is designed to support interoperability among systems and ensure future access to valuable, file-based assets regardless of type or how they are stored.

 

Website : http://www.openaxf.org

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

Prime Focus Technologies Launches Domain Centric Cloud for Indian Broadcast Industry

Prime Focus Technologies Launches Domain Centric Cloud for Indian Broadcast Industry | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

Prime Focus Technologies announced during IBC  the availability of the world’s first Domain Centric Cloud (DCC) which is already having wide-reaching benefits for the global Broadcast Industry. This DCC connects broadcasters, content suppliers & playout origination centres and has already revolutionised the fast-paced Indian broadcast industry where last minute presentation schedule and content delivery is common.


With the DCC operational in India, broadcasters are now able to connect directly with pre-built business processes and technology infrastructures and instantly reap the benefits of being part of a Digital Media Supply Chain without having to suffer the pit falls of costly, capital expenditure heavy, design and implementation projects associated with other platforms. PFT specialises in handling the ‘heavy-lifting’ service activities for broadcasters such as QC, transcoding and mastering that are often time-consuming and expensive processes for broadcasters to undertake. PFT’s services enable the broadcaster to concentrate on the creative process and dedicate their time and resource to producing high quality content.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

BXF explained : The new open SMPTE schema standard levels the playing field

BXF explained : The new open SMPTE schema standard levels the playing field | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

For years, broadcast automation systems and business systems needed manual access and conversion interface applications to convert metadata to/from their respective systems. The multitudes of proprietary interfaces are difficult to keep up with, especially as system upgrades and enhancements were added to either side.

BXF-based applications and their open-standard schema save on costs.

 

The new SMPTE 2021 BXF 1.0 schema standard is one of the biggest advances in broadcast automation in this decade. The holy grail of automation has always been to provide a system that uses a central database for metadata between traffic and master control. Since centralizing a database between business systems and master control/operations is easier said than done, the next best thing is to standardize on a communication schema for the exchange of mission-critical data.

 

Technology standards are needed to organize varying systems and technologies. While manufacturers offer the promise of tight integration between varying systems, they still offer varied proprietary systems. BXF changes that. The new open SMPTE schema standard levels the playing field for manufacturers. By enabling their systems to work within the protocol's framework, manufacturers can assure broadcasters of getting nonproprietary full-feature metadata conversions and messaging systems.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

AMD enters the broadcast TV market with new FirePro SDI-Link cards

AMD enters the broadcast TV market with new FirePro SDI-Link cards | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

AMD is releasing the new FirePro SDI-Link cards—revealed on September 9th in Amsterdam, Netherlands—that offer video production studios real-time, GPU-accelerated post production and broadcast pipelines requiring Serial Digital Interface(SDI) input and output. In layman’s terms, these cards allow video from video cameras or servers to be processed and sent along very quickly, which is useful in settings such as video production and live TV broadcast studios.

 

The key element in the video transmission is the SDI interface. SDI is a family of video interfaces that production studios use to transmit uncompressed and unencrypted video data, and optionally can carry embedded audio and time code data as well. Typically, coaxial cables are employed, which can be up to 300 meters long—plenty long enough for most any TV studio. These cables then hook up to a workstation computer via PCI Express (PCIe) SDI cards and are then processed on specialized graphics cards (the GPUs).

 

During live broadcasts, studios require a solution that can take video from these SDI cables, run post-production such as flashy 3D motion graphics effects or interactive weather maps, and send it off for broadcasting… all with as little latency as possible. To do this, the GPU and SDI cards have to communicate with each other very quickly. This is where the new FirePro SDI-Link cards come into play.

No comment yet.
Scooped by Nicolas Weil
Scoop.it!

FFMedia Broadcast (ffmbc) : FFmpeg for broadcast and professional usage

FFMedia Broadcast (ffmbc) : FFmpeg for broadcast and professional usage | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it

What you can do with FFMBC:

 

* Import your files in Final Cut Pro or AVID Media Composer by:

- Creating XDCAM HD422 files in .mov or .mxf

- Creating XDCAM IMX/D-10 files in .mov or .mxf

- Creating AVID DNxHD files in .mov

* Transcode your MPEG-2 4:2:2 Tranport Stream files containing S302M audio.

* Transcode your AVCHD files correctly.

* Merge and split your audio tracks.

* Create Quicktime files containing timecode tracks.

* Create audio files (mp3 and m4a) with cover art.

* Keep covert art when converting your audio files.

* Faststart MP4 for streaming (replace header in front) automatically.

 

FFmbc-0.7 BETA is synced on FFmpeg git 7cbb856efe6ccab7485bb96ad3887472a6519ffa

 

Sample use cases cmdline here : http://bit.ly/pq0VqJ

No comment yet.