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