© 2011 amberfin limited loose coupling for multipurpose distribution bruce devlin chief technical...

© 2011 AmberFin Limited

Loose Coupling for Multipurpose Distribution

Bruce DevlinChief Technical Officer


Some Words …

• Wrapper• MXF, GXF, QuickTime, AVI

• Codec• Encoder, Transcoder

• Format Conversion• Up conversion, Down conversion, Cross Conversion

• Standards Conversion• Frame rate conversion 50Hz 60Hz, 60Hz 50Hz

• API• Some programming interface like web services, C++, Java

• SOA• Service Oriented Architecture – a methodology


File Based Workflows

•Why?


• The best way to explain Loose Coupling is to look at …

Tight coupling …

4

Loose Coupling … what ??


Start easy … Simple Business Web Page

• Let’s make a web page• It will say “Hello World”• Nicely(ish) styled

.html


Tightly coupled web page

<html> <head> <title>Tight Coupling</title> <script type="text/javascript">function img(){ document.body.background="smpte.png" };</script> </head> <body onload="img();"> <table border="2"> <tr><td font face="arial bold">Message</td></tr> <tr><td>Hello World</td></tr> </table> </body></html>

.html


Time passes ...

• Requirements change• Someone invents

– iPhone, gPhone, iPad, gPad, dPad

• Our business grows– Spanish, Italian, French, German, British English etc.

• Our web page must change with our business



<html> <head> <title>Tight Coupling</title> <script type="text/javascript">function img(){ document.body.background="smpte.png" };</script> </head> <body onload="img();"> <table border="2"> <tr><td font face="arial bold">Message</td></tr> <tr><td>Hello World</td></tr> </table> </body></html>

Business Rules

Language SensitiveContentLook & Feel

Language Insensitive

Content

Structure

.html



• Quick to develop• Quick to deploy• A pain to update• A pain to maintain• A pain to scale

• Tight Coupling makes change expensive!


Loosely coupled web page

• Structure is defined in HTML• Styling in CSS• Logic in some language• Data in some database

.html

.css

.js.dB

.java

.php

.asp


Loosely coupled web page

• Change language but don’t touch styling• Change styling but don’t touch structure• Add new content safely• Replicate and scale using existing

IT tools (database replication etc)

.html

.css

.js.dB

.java

.php

.asp


How loose is loose?

• This stuff ain’t trivial• Explore probabilities of change• Explore consequences of change• Explore costs of change• Explore system stability of change


Business Layer

Pg:13Pg:13

Generic State of the Art Facility

• SD Playout

HD

CDN

Delivery • CDN

• HD Playout

SD

• Multi-rate Web Streaming

• IPTV

• Versioning

• International

• Captioning Accessibility


MAM, DAM, BPM, frys?

Web Services


Day #1 – it goes live

• Business Process system• Manages which jobs to run

• Media Management system• Manages where the content is and which transcoder to use

• Transcoder• Has profiles configured for all the deliverables• Receives instructions from above and just works


Time passes …


Day #n – it gets fun

• The business enters a new territory• A new language needs to be added• The new Avocado zPad is selling well …• Every asset is needed in a new transcode profile …• Many assets need new language and captions adding …• What needs to change?

• Plan A• Update existing system with a new profile

© 2011 AmberFin Limited Pg:17Pg:17



Business Layer

• SD Playout

HD

CDN

Delivery • CDN

• HD Playout

SD


• IPTV

• Versioning

• International


Business Layer

New format

New profile

New API parameter

New MAM move rule

New MAM process

New BPM rule

$$


Tight coupling alert !


Day #n – it gets fun

• The business enters a new territory• A new language needs to be added• The new Avocado zPad is selling well …• Every asset is needed in a new transcode profile …• Many assets need new language and captions adding …• What needs to change?

• Plan B• Throw in a new brand of transcoder

© 2011 AmberFin Limited Pg:20Pg:20



Business Layer

• SD Playout

HD

CDN

Delivery • CDN

• HD Playout

SD


• IPTV

• Versioning

• International


Business Layer

New format

New profile structure

Brand New API

New MAM integration

New MAM process

New BPM rule

$$$


Even tighter coupling alert !


Wouldn’t it be nice …

• To have a standard Transcode API• Change friendly – it expects system change over time

• Codec neutral – cheaply add a new codec variant

• Vendor neutral – add a new vendor to the mix cheaply

• Loosely coupled – tries to localise the impacts of change


AmberFin Proposal to FIMS & VCOForum

• Focussed on …• How a job is described

• What stays constant between jobs

• What changes job by job

• Ignores the compute complexity of the job

• Assumes existence of …• transcode() function via RPC, SOAP, RESTful


Wake up, it’s Quiz time

• Which of the following are transcodes?• MPEG2 to MPEG4 conversion• Rewrap MXF to QuickTime• IMX50 to Long GOP SD VoD• IMX50 to XDCAM50• Motion Compensated Standards convert from

720x576 @ 50i to 1920x1080 @ 60i


System diagram view

OtherB

Transcode

API

Work orders


The Work Order Layer

Business Layer

(Business Process Management paradigm)

Media Asset Management

(Media Logistics Management)

Media Manipulation / Transform

(Media Manipulation Paradigm)

Work orders KPIs


The Work Order Interface

• Goals• Allow a MAM / business system to make business decisions• Allow a MAM / Automation system to make logistics decisions• Pass those decisions to the Transcoder• Don’t rely on 2 transcoders having the same capabilities• Don’t make it company specific• Orient the API towards the Business System needs

• The API• is an abstract transcode API• provides a Work Order Interface• enables the creation of a SOA Media Manipulation Service


Transcode()

• transcode( param )

• This section describes param


AbstractTranscode API

• Transcode Request Structure

Input Specification

Segment List Specification

Transcode Output Override


Simple Example

<transcodeparameters template=”Default”>

<inputs>

<input id=”asset”><file name=”z:/examples/asset1.mxf” /></input>

</inputs>

<segments style=”in(inclusive),out(exclusive)”>

<segment>

<input>asset</input>

</segment>

</segments>

<output conversion=”MXF Op1a MPEG2”>

<attributes>

<attribute name=“videobitrate” value=“50000000” />

</attibutes>

</output>

</transcodeparameters>


Simple Splice Example

<inputs>

<input id=”feature”><file name=”z:/examples/feature1.mxf” /></input>

<input id=”trailer”> <file name=”z:/examples/trailer1.mxf” /> </input>

</inputs>


<segment>

<input>trailer</input>

</segment>

<segment>

<input>feature</input>

</segment>

</segments>


Cut and Splice Example

<inputs>

<input id=”asset”><file name=”z:/examples/asset1.mxf” /> </input>

<input id=”black”><file name=”d:/library/black/black.mxf” /> </input>

</inputs>


<segment>


<out>00:15:00:00</out>

</segment>

<segment>

<input>black</input>

</segment>

<segment>


<in>00:15:00:00</in>

</segment>

</segments>


Audio Channel Alignment example

Aligned

Audio Lead (+offset)

Audio Lag (-offset)


Closed Caption (CC) Streams

<inputs>

<input id=”feature1”>

<file name=”AmberFin:\examples\feature1.mxf”>

<file name=“Feature1English.scc”>

<stream id=”English” />

</file>

<file name=”Feature1Spanish.scc”>

<stream id=”Spanish” />

</file>

</input>

<inputs>


Closed Caption (CC) Streams

<output conversion=”Windows Media (VC1)”>

<captions type=”SAMI”>

<stream>Spanish</stream>

<stream>English</stream>

</captions>

</output>


Input Cropping

top

bottomleft

right

4:3

<inputs><input id=”feature1”>

<file name=”AmberFin:\examples\feature1.mxf”> <crop>2,2,1,1</crop>

</file>


Output Scaling

width

height

<output conversion=”MXF Op1a MPEG2”> <display>

<size width=“320” /><aspectratio>16/9</aspectratio>

</display>


Output Positioning

voffset

hoffset

width

height

<output conversion=”MXF Op1a MPEG2”> <containersize>240,500</containersize><display>

<size width=“320”><offset hoffset=“100” voffset=“100”>

</display>


Output Blanking

top

bottom

<output conversion=”MXF Op1a MPEG2”> <containersize>240,500</containersize><display>

<size width=“320”><offset hoffset=“100” voffset=“-100”><border>10,10,10,10</border>

</display>

left right


Encoding Attributes

<attribute name="Mode" value=""> audio mode<attribute name="BitRate" value=""> in bps<attribute name="Passes" value=""><attribute name="MinimumBitRate" value=""> in bps<attribute name="AverageBitRate" value=""> in bps<attribute name="MaximumBitRate" value=""> in bps<attribute name="GOPLength" value=""><attribute name="AudioBitRate" value=""> in bps<attribute name="AudioSampleRate" value=""> in Hz<attribute name="KeyFrameInterval"> in s <attribute name="BufferSize"> in s


Watermarking

<output conversion=”MXF Op1a MPEG2”><watermarking

type=“civolution”index=“2”payload=“1379”

/></output>


But it’s more than just codecs

High Energy video Encodercompressedvideo

1% of incoming bitrate is

“good energy”

99% of incoming bitrate isdiscarded


Interlace is Evil – why broadcast this?


Interlace is Evil – when you can broadcast this?


Loosely coupled APIs allow Business Quality choices

High Energy video Encodercompressedvideo

Interlace pollutes outputs

Use API to select quality based on Business Need


The Work Order Layer

•Stable, abstracted business oriented communications•Independent of transcoder vendor•Independent of delivery specification

•Transcoder specific comms•One or more transcoders behind interface


Stay loose!


• Play “What if …” with the business folk before designing


Business Layer

• SD Playout

HD

CDN

Delivery • CDN

• HD Playout

SD


• IPTV

• Versioning

• International


Business Layer

What do I store here?


What do I store here?

• SD

• HD

• What are you trying to optimise (the caching strategy problem)?• Playout centric

• Edit centric

• Acquisition centric

• Facilities house – bit of everything

© 2011 AmberFin Limited Pg:50

extra

asset

media

asset.mxf

asset_v0.mxf

asset_a0.mxf

asset_a3.mxf

asset_vanc0.mxf

Media is forward referenced from the version file

version file

Loosely coupled essence – AS02, IMF


Loose Coupling – a joy

•Stable, abstracted business oriented communications•Independent of transcoder vendor•Independent of delivery specification

•Transcoder specific comms•One or more transcoders behind interface

http://www.amwa.tv (FIMS)

http://www.vcoforum.org (profiles)

http://www.smpte.org (IMF)

http://www.amwa.tv/

http://www.vcoforum.org/

http://www.smpte.org/


Stay loose!


• Play “What if …” with the business folk before designing


Stay Loose!

Bruce Devlin

CTO, AmberFin

© 2011 amberfin limited loose coupling for multipurpose distribution bruce devlin chief technical...

Documents

new profilepg

loose coupling

web pagequick

web pageit

web servicesday

web pagestructure

web pagechange language

new brand of transcoderpg