The Broadcast Knowledge

Video: Into the Depths: The Technical Details behind AV1

Posted on 10th April 2019 by Russell Trafford-Jones

As we wait for the dust to settle on this NAB’s AV1 announcements hearing who’s added support for AV1 and what innovations have come because of it, we know that the feature set is frozen and that some companies will be using it. So here’s a chance to go in to some of the detail.

AV1 is being created by the AOM, the Alliance for Open Media, of which Mozilla is a founding member. The IETF is considering it for standardisation under their NetVC working group and implementations have started. On The Broadcast Knowledge, we have seen explanations from Xiph.org, one of the original contributors to AV1. We’ve seen how it fares against HEVC with Ian Trow and how HDR can be incorporated in it from Google and Warwick University. For a complete list of all AV1 content, have a look here.

Now, we join Nathan Egge who talks us through many of the different tools within AV1 including one which often captures the imagination of people; AV1’s ability to remove film grain ahead of encoding and then add back in synthesised grain on playback. Nathan also looks ahead in the Q&A talking about integration into RTP, WebRTC and why Broadcasters would want to use AV1.

Watch now!

Speaker

Nathan Egge
Video Codec Engineer,
Mozilla

Video: HEVC/H.265 Video Coding Standard

Posted on 9th April 2019 by Russell Trafford-Jones

HEVC, also known as H.265 is often discussed even many years after its initial release fro MPEG with some saying that people aren’t using it and others saying its gaining traction. In reality, both sides have a point. Increasingly HEVC is being adopted partly because of wider implementation in products and partly because of a continued push toward higher resolution video which often gives the opportunity to make a clean break from AVC/H.264/MPEG 4.

This expert-led talk looks in detail at HEVC and how it’s constructed. For some, the initial part of the video will be enough. Others will want to bookmark the video to use as reference in their work, whilst still others will want to watch the whole things and will immediately find it puts parts of their work in better context.

Wherever you fit, I think you’ll agree this is a great resource for understanding HEVC streams enabling you to better troubleshoot problems.

Watch now!

Speakers

	David Marpe Head of Department Video Coding & Analytics, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute
	Karsten Suehring Project Manager, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute
	Benjamin Bross Project Manager, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute
	Dan Grois Former Senior Researcher, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute

Video: Routing AES67

Posted on 8th April 2019 by Russell Trafford-Jones

Well ahead of video, audio moved to uncompressed over IP and has been reaping the benefits ever since. With more mature workflows and, as has always been the case, a much higher quantity of feeds than video traditionally has, the solutions have a higher maturity.

Anthony from Ward-Beck Systems talks about the advantages of audio IP and the things which weren’t possible before. In a very accessible talk, you’ll hear as much about soup cans as you will about the more technical aspects, like SDP.

Whilst uncompressed audio over IP started a while ago, it doesn’t mean that it’s not still being developed – in fact it’s the interface with the video world where a lot of the focus is now with SMPTE 2110-30 and -31 determining how audio can flow alongside video and other essences. As has been seen in other talks here on The Broadcast Knowledge there’s a fair bit to know.(Here’s a full list.

To simplify this, Anthony, who is also the Vice Chair of AES Toronto, describes the work the AES is doing to certify equipment as AES 67 ‘compatible’ – and what that would actually mean.

This talk finishes with a walk-through of a real world OB deployment of AES 67 which included the simple touches as using google docs for sharing links as well as more technical techniques such as virtual sound card.

Packed full of easy-to-understand insights which are useful even to those who live for video, this IP Showcase talk is worth a look.

Watch now!

Speaker

Anthony P. Kuzub
IP Audio Product Manager,
Ward-Beck Systems

Video: Multicast ABR

Posted on 5th April 2019 by Russell Trafford-Jones

Multicast ABR is a mix of two very beneficial technologies which are seldom seen together. ABR – Adaptive Bitrate – allows a player to change the bitrate of the video and audio that it’s playing to adapt to changing network conditions. Multicast is a network technology which efficiently sends a video stream over the network without duplicating bandwidth.

ABR has traditionally been deployed for chunk-based video like HLS where each client downloads its own copy of the video in blocks of several seconds in length. This means that you bandwidth you use to distribute your video increases by one thousand times if 1000 people play your video.

Multicast works with live streams, not chunks, but allows the bandwidth use for 1000 players to increase – in the best case – by 0%.

Here, the panelists look at the benefits of combining multicast distribution of live video with techniques to allow it to change bitrate between different quality streams.

This type of live streaming is actually backwards compatible with old-style STBs since the video sent is a live transport stream, it’s possible to deliver that to a legacy STB using a converter in the house at the same time as delivering a better, more modern delivery to other TVs and devices.

It thus also allows pure-streaming providers to compete with conventional broadcast cable providers and can also result in cost savings in equipment provided but also in bandwidth used.

There’s lots to unpack here, which is why the Streaming Video Alliance have put together this panel of experts.

Watch now and find out more!

Speakers

	Phillipe Carol Senior Product Manager, Anevia
	Neil Geary Technical Strategy Consultant, Liberty Global
	Brian Stevenson VP of Ecosystem Strategy & Partnerships, Ericsson
	Mark Fisher VP of Marketing & Business Development, Qwilt
	Jason Thibeault Executive Director, Streaming Video Alliance

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