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TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to Today’s Streaming Media Web
Event
Moderator
Dan RayburnEVPStreaming Media
David TrescotVP, Rhozet Business UnitHarmonic, Inc
Transcoding 101
Speaker
David TrescotVP, RhozetHarmonic, Inc.
Introductions
• Who is Rhozet?Spun out from Canopus in 2004Maker of ProCoder and Carbon CoderProvides transcoding for Yahoo!, Amazon, Microsoft,
Hulu, CBS, NBC, Turner, BBC, Fox, Discovery, Lifetime, etc.
Acquired by Harmonic in 2007
• Who is Harmonic?Leading equipment provider to cable, satellite, and
IPTV networksPublicly traded (NASDAQ:HLIT)690 people, $365M in revenue
This Transcoding Thing…• The process of converting one format to
anotherFacilitates moving media across production, post-
production, archival, and delivery ecosystemsActs as the “glue” between different manufacturersProvides future proofing
• Allows repurposing and monetization of assetsEvery destination viewer has different requirementsAllows for the automated creation of custom assets
(commercials, promos, logos, etc.)
• Enables advanced workflowsSending a file to 10 people who all see it differently
depending on their needs (preview, timecode, language…)
Database integration
• An engine that can be integrated into various applications and devices
Transcoding Terminology
• Codecs• Profiles• Containers• Formats• Platforms
Codecs• Codec = Compressor/Decompressor
The software or hardware engine that moves uncompressed frames into the compressed domain (and vice versa)
• Typically “lossy”Reduction in information at each encode
• Typically asymetricalDecompression is often 10x (or more) faster than
compression• Techniques
Subsampling• 4:2:0 vs. 4:2:2 or 4:4:4• 8 bit vs. 10 bit color resolution
Transformation and simplification• Discard high-frequency changes in color • DCT (MPEG-2)• Wavelet (JPEG-2000)• Intra-frame = within a single frame
Motion analysis and estimation• Most video frames are similar to the ones around them• Inter-frame = between multiple frames
Codecs (cont.)
• Codecs using intra-frame compressionDV, MPEG-2 (IMX), AVC-Intra, JPEG-2000,
DNxHD, etc.Typically acquisition and editing formats
• Codecs using inter-frame compressionH.264, MPEG-2 LongGOP, WMV, VP6, etc.Typically distribution formats
• Standards like H.264 only specify how to decode the contentAllows for compatibility while leaving room for
innovation in compression techniques
Profiles (and Levels)• A “Profile” defines a specific type of compression for
a particular codecDefines the syntax that is supportedThe decoder must match the encoder’s profile supportA codec vendor does not have to support all possible profilesA “Level” defines maximum resolution and data rate
• H.264 ExamplesBaseline Profile (BP): limited computing power required for
decodeHigh Profile (HiP): primary profile for broadcast and BluRayHigh 4:2:2 Profile (Hi422P): 4:2:2 chroma
• MPEG-2 ExamplesMain Profile@Main Level (MP@ML): standard def at max 15Mb/sMain Profile@High Level (HP@HL): up to HD at 80Mb/s4:4:4 Profile@High Level (422P@HL): supports 4:2:2 chroma
Containers• AKA “wrappers”
• A container can contain multiple types of codecs
• A container can contain more than just videoAnimation, music, speech, text, subtitles, etc.
• A container is used to identify, interleave, and synchronize the various componentsCritically important for successful playbackMost of the idiosyncrasies of a particular device or
distribution medium are expressed in the container specifications
Single biggest source of incompatibility is in containers rather than codecs
• Example containersQuickTime, AVI, ASF, WMV, MXF, M2TS, M2PS, MP4, VOB,
LXF, GXF, WAV, 3GPP
Formats
• The combination of a container and a specified set of codecs (essence) and metadataExample: M2TS with H.264 (HP) video and MPEG-1
Layer 2 audio• In more detail includes parameters
M2TSH.264 video
• 720x480, 29.97fps, upper field first• CBR, 3 Mbps data rate, • High profile, 3.2 Level, ATSC closed-captioning• …and about 50 other parameters
MPEG-1 Layer 2 audio• Stereo, 16-bits per sample, 48Khz sample rate• 128 Kbps data rate
Platforms• The device on which a particular format
will be played back, archived, edited, etc.
• Formats can be platform dependent or independentMPEG-1 is platform independentFlash and WMV are platform dependent (Flash
Media Player and Windows Media Player respectively)
• Just to make things confusing, codecs, containers, formats, and platforms can all be named similarlyFor example, MPEG-2 is both a codec and a
container
The Transcoding Pipeline
DeMultiplex
VideoDecode
AudioDecode
VideoTransform
AudioTransform
VideoEncode
AudioEncode
Multiplex
• Multipex = “wrapping” in the container
• Transform = scale, frame rate, crop, logos, concatenation, filtering, etc.
• Different transcoders can yield very different results even if they use the same codecs
The Great Thing About Standards…
MPEG-1OP1a QuickTime LXF WAV
MPEG-2 DVCPro100DPS WMV DolbyVOB
H.264 DPX FlashMXF AAC M2TS
MPEG-4VC-1 AVC-Intra DV50 M2PS 3GPP
DV25 DVCPro HDVAVI GXFMP4
DNxHDJPEG-2000 OPAtomASF F4V3G2
AVCHDAC-3 Omneon WAV DivX
Why Can’t We Just Use One Format?• Specific purposes
Acquisition/editing (highest quality, generational fidelity, direct frame access)
Distribution (bandwidth, acceptable quality)
• Hardware restrictionsSet top boxesCable bandwidthMobile phone processing power
• MoneyManufacturer “lock-in”Platform ownershipRoyaltiesRhozet needs your business
What’s Next?• Reduction in bitrate for the same
quality
• Will there be a codec twice as “good” as H.264?
Place Your Bets…• Acquisition
H.264 (AVC-Intra)
• TelevisionH.264 in M2TS
• WebH.264 in MP4/F4VWMV/VC-1 in ASF
• MobileH.264 in MP4, 3GPP
• ArchivingWhatever you acquired in
• TranscodingEven if everything is in H.264 you will still be
transcoding
Beyond Transcoding
• Watermarking & Fingerprinting
• DRM
• Smooth Streaming
• Royalties
• ROI
Watermarking and Fingerprinting• Watermarking
Invisible information embedded into image data, typically embedding data in color frequency information
Can be used to track individual assetsPhilips/Teletrax (now Civolution), Thomson NexGuard,
Dolby Cinea, etc.Embedder, investigator, manager, databaseWatermarks can “step” on each other
• FingerprintingNo information embedded into fileAudio and video are sampled to create “fingerprint”
that can be searched and matched against central database
No tracking ability for individual versions of assetsCivolution, Vobile, Audible Magic, YouTube, etc.
Digital Rights Management (DRM)• Technology to restrict unauthorized use or
distribution of contentMost computer-based systems use a combination of
a license server and public key encryption which ties specific content to a specific machine or device
Reduces but does not eliminate piracyAll broadly deployed technologies have been beaten
• Popular SystemsFairPlay (Apple, iTunes and iPod specific)Windows Media DRM (Microsoft, Windows specific)Flash DRM (Adobe, Flash specific)MagicGate (Sony, PSP and MemoryStick specific)
Emerging Technologies
• Microsoft Smooth StreamingNot really “streaming”, but rather smart
downloadUses HTTP rather than RTSPEncodes video at 6 different bitrates in many
small 2 second “chunks”Player requests “chunks” of different bitrates
depending on available connection speedUser experience is seamless even with variable
connectionRequires Silverlight player and Microsoft IIS
serverCheck it out at www.SmoothHD.com
H.264 Royalties• H.264 patent pool administered by MPEG-LA
Four categories: title-by-title, subscription, free TV, free internet
• Title-by-title (includes VOD and Disc)No royalty for <12 minute contentLower of 2% or $.02 per title
• SubscriptionNo royalty < 100K subs$25K for 100K to 250K subs, $50K for 250K to 500K, $75K
for 500K to 1M, $100K for > 1M• Free TV
$2,500 one-time per AVC transmission encoder or…$2,500 annual per Broadcast Market of 100K to 500K, $5K
for 500K to 1M, $10K > 1M• Free Internet
No royalty before 2011After that, no more than for “economic equivalent” of free
televisionUnclear exactly how that applies
How Do You Increase Your ROI?• Customize
TargetingReuse content (yours and other people’s)Understand the long tail
• RefreshMake, beg, buy, borrow, or steal
• AutomateAutomation is the only cost-effective way to
scale
• ExploreSmall tests of technologies and partnerships can
be cheap to explore
• Save everythingThe cost of acquiring generally dwarfs the cost
of storing content
Shameless Promotion
Rhozet Universal Media TranscodingSupported Video Codecs
MPEG-1 MPEG-2, D-10/IMX MPEG-4 Part 2 H.264/AVC/MPEG-4 Part 10 VC-1 AVC-Intra DNxHD JPEG-2000 DV25, DV50, DVCPro, DVCPro100 HDV DPS DPX Windows Media Flash 8 (VP6) Image Sequences RealVideo
Supported Audio Codecs PCM MP3 DTS AC-3 AAC AMR-NB Dolby Digital Windows Media Audio RealAudio
Supported Containers AVI QuickTime ASF, WMA, WMV MXF (OP1a, OPAtom) MPEG-2 PS, MPEG-2 TS MP4, F4V VOB LXF, GXF WAV, Broadcast WAV 3GPP 3G2
Supported Systems Omneon Spectrum, MediaGrid Leitch VR, Nexio Grass Valley Profile, K2 Quantel sQ Panasonic P2 Sony XDCAM Avid Editing Systems Apple Final Cut Pro Adobe Premiere Pro Grass Valley Edius
Universal Media Transcoding (cont.)Basic Video Operations
Frame size conversion Frame rate conversion Color space conversion Aspect ratio conversion Interlace/De-interlace conversion Telecine / inverse telecine PAL/NTSC conversion SD/HD conversion Cropping
Video Processing Fade in/out Black/white correction Blur Color correction Gamma correction NTSC-safe Median Rotate Sharpen Temporal noise reduction
Audio Processing Normalize Fade In/Out Low-pass Volume Dynamic range compressor
Additional Operations Timecode imprint Subtitle/CC imprint XML controllable titler Metadata transport and conversion Line 21/CC preservation/conversion Quality checking Logo insertion 601/709 color space support Video capture board support Multiple simultaneous target outputs Unlimited number of encoding
passes Remote job submission Batch processing Watch folder automation Segment extraction/insertion FTP delivery
Scalable Technology
Rhozet’s transcoding software can run on a single machine or across an entire network of machines
Takes advantage of off-the-shelf hardware
Multiple ways to control the Carbon engineEasy-to-use GUIBatch processingNetwork watch foldersXML-based API for programmatic controlCarbon Server management software
Products & PricingCarbon Coder
Desktop and automated transcoding on Windows XPSupport for all broadcast formats (MXF, LXF, GXF, etc.)Support for analog and SDI ingest (3rd party hardware)XML-based APIPricing: $5,995 USD
Carbon ServerManager for distributed transcoding processingSupports unlimited number of engines with load
balancingXML-based API Pricing: $14,995 USDIncorporates integrated transcoding
• 5 node farm = 1 CS + 4 CCs
Some of Our Customers…Amazon.com
Ascent Media
Bayerischer Rundfunk
BBC News
BSkyB
BT
Cablevision
CBS
CinemaNow
Comcast
Cox Communications
Deluxe Digital Studios
Deutsche Telekom
Discovery Channel
E! Entertainment
Echostar
Elektrofilm
Fox
Framepool
GlobalFibre
Hulu.com
Incited Media
Lifetime
Pappas Broadcasting
MSN
MTV
Playboy
ProSiebenSat.1
Rainbow Media
Rogers Sportsnet
Sony
Studio Hamburg
Swissinfo/SRI
Technicolor
Telekom Austria
Televisa
Thought Equity
Time Warner Cable
Weather Channel
Thought Equity
TiVo
Yahoo!
OEM Partners
Adobe SystemsAdstreamAvid (Sundance Digital)Comcast (thePlatform)CrispinDaletDAQTronDayPort (Entriq)FlowWorksGrass Valleyi-YunoiMakeiQ Computer MasstechMotorola
OnlinelibPathfire Pebble Beach SoftwarePharosQuantelScreen SubtitlingS4MSGI JapanSGL-UKSilex MediaVCS EngineeringVideoBankVisonoVoliconVyvx
Question and Answer Session(please submit questions)
Archive
This presentation will be archived and available at the same URL. We will be sending
you a follow-up email once the archive is posted.
Thank You!
• All attendees will be sent a link to a white paper “Transcoding 101”
• Demos, white papers, case studies, performance guides, etc. are all available at www.rhozet .com