ENCODERS: YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW

ENCODERS: YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW NATIONAL TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING DENVER, COLORADO May 19, 2017 Laszlo L. Zoltan V.P. DVEO laszlo@dveo.com Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1

Takeaways: Next Generation Encoder 1. FLEXIBILITY AND SCALABILITY ARE THE KEYS TO NEXT GENERATION ENCODER o Ability to quickly enable more encoding resources as input sources are added o Ability to add more encoding resources where demanding codecs, bitrates or output formats, are necessary o Ability to quickly "re program" for changes 2. GIVEN THE TRANSITION TO ATSC 3.0 AND IPTV, ENCODER HARDWARE WILL SOON HAVE TO SUPPORT o Ability to handle more than just serial or digitally broadcast video inputs o Variety of various compression and output formats and an easy way to set them as options o Simple to use but sophisticated networking options for inputs and outputs to get them where they need to be 3. VIRTUALIZATION OF ENCODERS WILL BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF ENCODING... IT'S ALREADY STARTING o Adding virtual processors, memory, virtual storage is cost effective (like "leasing" encoders) and instantaneous o As long as your virtualization vendor has the resources, you do too Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2

1993: MPEG1 Characteristics o CD ROM storage of Images o 352x288 resolution, YUV 4:2:0 Chroma Subsampling o Progressive Video o GOPs (Group of Pictures): I Frame, P Frame, B Frame o Intraframe Compression (within a frame) Status o Outmoded Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4

1995: MPEG2 Characteristics o Broadcasters Adopted it in 1900 s o DVD Storage (Moving Pictures Movies) o SD and HD Resolutions, YUV 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 Chroma Subsampling o Progressive and Interlaced Video o Profiles and Levels Signal Capabilities Sophisticated Profiles o Extensible to Multiple Streams (e.g., different resolutions, etc.) Status o Yesterday s Technology, But Still in Use 22 Years Later for Broadcast! Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5

1999: MPEG4 (ISO) Characteristics o Lower Bitrate from MPEG 2 Support Makes it Suitable for Mobile Platforms and Internet o Support for Foreground/Background Objects o Shared Features with h.263 Status o In Widespread Use Today Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6

2003: H.264 (ITU) Similar to MPEG 4 Characteristics o 2X More Efficient as MPEG 2 o For Mobile and Internet Platforms o Improvement in Picture Quality at Cost of Computing Resources o Improvement in Motion Compensation Status o In Widespread Use Today Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7

2013: H.265/HEVC (ITU) Characteristics o 2X More Compression than H.264 o Supports UHD to 8K, Framerates to 120 fps o Support for Parallel Processing (use of more than one CPU to encode/decode given the higher complexity and larger data) o Highly Efficient Bitrates When Compared to Same Picture Quality as Previous Standards o Requires More Processing Power to Encode vs. Decode (Asymmetrical) o Requires 4 6x More Processing Power than Previously Described Standards STRONG! Will be a Mainstay of OTT Television Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8

History Takeaway Each Standard is More Complex Each Standard Supports Better, Larger, Faster or More Efficient Video Additional Complexity Requires More Processing Resources Introduction of New Platforms and Hardware (e.g., mobile Internet, high density screen panels, etc) Drives Increased Complexity Varied Landscape of Platforms and Hardware. Viewers Can Watch Video Over Mobile, WiFi, With Small Screen, Large Screen, etc. And it Ain t Never Gonna Stop! Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9

Broadcast Encoder Basic Requirements Must Have Features for Today s Market o Serial Digital Input with SD and HD Support o Video Output Standards (Most if not all): ASI, UDP, RTP, SMTPE 2022 FEC, HLS, HTTP, RTMP, Line21 CC o Audio Output Standards: MPEG1 Layer II, AC 3 o Video and Audio Multiplexing o Meta Data Standards: PSIP (Program and System Information Protocol) In Other Words: the Ability to Encode and Prepare for Delivery Everything a Broadcast Video is Expected to Have Even if the Delivery Platforms are Cheap Handsets With Marginal LTE on the One Hand, and a State of the Art Smart TV with a Fiber to thehome connection on the Other Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10

Broadcast Encoders Going Forward Need: Support For Streaming at Multiple Resolutions and Bitrates Support For Advanced Compression Standards Easy Path to Incorporate New Standards Ability to Scale Up as Successive Compression Standards Require More Powerful CPUs. Likely going to be Software Encoders Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11

Harmonic Video Delivery Infrastructure Focusing On o Compression Quality o Software Based Platform o Cloud Based Services VBE Products: ViBE EM2000, EM4000, ViBE 4K, Electra 9200 Target is Service Providers. Satellite, terrestrial broadcast and cable or IPTV applications, as well as various other kinds of content aggregation. Company Focus on Network Management and Monitoring Great Products with Great Support, Not Expensive. Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14

Imagine Communications Selenio Line: Modular Hardware o Flexibility Geared for on the fly, Multiformat Contribution o HD Video and Audio Compression for Distribution of Live Event Streaming and OTT Delivery of Linear Channels o Modular with Plug In Cards Widespread Adoption: o Today, nearly half of the world s video channels traverse through more than 3 million Imagine Communications products deployed around the world. (Imagine Press Release About Statement, 2015) Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15

Evertz Modular Media Exchange Platform: o Universal Encoding Platform: o Emphasis on contribution networks evolving from classic satellite transmission to terrestrial large pipe Ethernet o Focus on scenarios requiring the support of more than one encoding codec, such as simultaneously outputting H.264 10 Bit 4:2:2 +8 Bit 4:2:0 and JPEG 2000 compressed Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16

Blonder Tongue Focus on Cost Effective Quality Delivery of SD/HDTV and Digital Signage Services to a variety of Locations Long Established and Well Known Supplier to the Cable Industry Understands Market Needs Focuses on LPTV and Cable Affordable Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17

That Bunch of Guys on Alibaba Lowest Cost Common Features with Varying Inputs and Outputs Don t Expect Much Support Don t Expect it to Last Forever But Sometimes the Stuff Works! Don t Really Understand the US/Canada/Mexico Market DVEO Provides a few from these but adds good support and instant availability. Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18

ATSC 3.0 Envelops 20 Major Standards o mobile devices o 3D television o 4K UHD o high dynamic range (HDR) o high frame rate (HFR) AMAZING QUALITY o wide color gamut (WCG) Bootstrap Signal Allows Receiver to Identify the Transmitted Signals Bitrate Can Vary From 1 Mbit/s to 36 Mbit/s Four Pipes Per Channel Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20

Equipping for ATSC 3.0 4K ASIC, More Demanding Hardware Requirements: o Higher Level CPU, or Dedicated Graphical Processor to Handle Advanced Compression Codecs H.265 will be standard H.264 will be gone o Smarter Network Management to Handle Greater Bandwidths UHD at H.265 requires high bitrate Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 21

How Much More Demanding Could it Be? Ask Your Best IT Guru a test he can do today o Take an HD 1080p h.264 video, ask him to transcode it to H.265 at a medium compression pre set. o Have him do it on a 14 core Intel i7 (their top of the line for PCs) o Have him do it with ffmpeg, or a program like it. o Typically: a 4 core i7 will code at 15 20% speed figure six minutes to encode each minute! (Don t forget decoding is asymmetrical, and takes less time). o Throw server hardware such as an 8 Core Xeon at it, and you can get up to 35%. Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 22

IP Content Distribution So You ve Encoded Your Program o You almost certainly want to distribute in multiple resolutions (ATSC 3.0) o Therefore you want to make sure your encoder supports it and has the power to do so o You probably want to store the H.265 encoded program in a secure Network Attached Storage system so you never have to encode it again o Then your distribution system takes care of the DRM issues o Multiply by however many VOD program requests you expect to support! o Make sure that your encoder(s) have a top quality networking support so that you don t have to worry about the encoded program not making it to your destination! Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 23

Software Compression EVERYWHERE ATSC 3.0 Even Compresses the Legacy Formats o Legacy SD Video supports resolutions up to 720x480 and supports High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) Main 10 profile at Level 3.1 Main Tier (H.265). o Interlaced HD Video supports resolutions up to 1920x1080 interlaced video and supports HEVC Main 10 profile at Level 4.1 Main Tier. o Progressive Video supports resolutions up to 3840x2160 progressive scan and supports HEVC Main 10 profile at Level 5.2 Main Tier. Progressive Video supports frame rates up to 120 fps and the Rec. 2020 color space. Progressive Video supports HDR using Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) and Perceptual Quantizer (PQ). o (above from Wikipedia) Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 24

Where Do You Get All The Encoders? Enter Virtualization Throw as Many Huge Blade Servers In the Cloud as Possible and Load them Up with Virtual Machines to Do That Encoding, and Virtual NAS s to Store the Encoded Programs Or, Find Someone Who ll Rent Use of Those VM s and Virtual NAS s Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 26

Meet OnRamp Almost All the DVEO Line from GearBox to Multi Streamer Runs a Specialized linux Distribution Called OnRamp We Enable and Disable Features via Licensing The Encoding/Decoding is Software Based, and Runs in the OnRamp Operating System All the DVEO Appliances You re Familiar With Can Therefore be Virtualized In Fact, We Run OnRamp VM s All the Time, Though We Haven t Yet Sold Them or Rented Them. OnRamp has strong networking capability; the firmware image shares a common set of networking binaries with a router flavor of the OS. Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 27

So What Can Be Done With Those VMs? Anything You Can Do With a Dozen Encoders, You Can Do With a VM o Underlying VM Host allows you to prioritize and reprovision any particular VM Increase number of processors Increase memory Grant access to virtual NAS s etc. o Or divide the work amongst several VM s Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 28

Getting the Work From the VM s to the World The VM Host Will Almost Certainly be in a Well Connected Data Center Such as the Green Data Center We re Building in Florida Send Your Program to the Data Center, and From There, Directly Out to a Content Delivery Network or Wherever Else It s Supposed to Go Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 29

Dozer In the VM DVEO VM s Have a Built In Advantage: Dozer o Our patented Error Correction Protocol o Connect your studio to your VM via Dozer and be assured that no packet loss or jitter happens between your data source and the Encoder VMs o If routing the encoded program to your own or to another server, we can route that via Dozer as well. Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 30

Summary Tomorrow s Encoder Hardware Must Support o Multiple bitrates and resolutions o New and more demanding compression, usually requiring more power on the encoder than decoder o Sophisticated networking to get programming where it needs to be Flexibility and scalability are the keys o Ability to quickly enable more encoding resources as input sources or output options are added o Ability to add more encoding resources where demanding codecs, bitrates or output formats are necessary o Ability to quickly "re program" for changing destinations Virtualization of encoders will be an important part of encoding... it's already starting o Adding virtual processors, memory, virtual storage is cost effective (like "leasing" encoders) and instantaneous o As long as your virtualization vendor has the resources, you do too Higher Resolutions and Device Proliferation Drive Aggressive Compression, Multiple Resolutions Within a Single Stream and Together They Require More Network and Hardware Resources Virtualization Optimizes Network and Hardware Resources Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 31

SHAMELESS PLUG FOR OUR PRODUCTS OF INTEREST TO TRANSLATOR COMMUNITY 1. RE MOD 8VSB 2 8VSB 8VSB IN WITH VCT CHANGE ON ASI OUTPUT 2. CHANNEL MANAGER 1HD + 3SD LIVE + SCHEDULED PLAYOUT WITH AD INSERTION + EAS UP TO12 SUB CHANNELS 3. LYNN BOX RELIABLE REMOTE MONITORING 8VSB TO IP 4. FUTURA II VERY HIGH QUALITY SINGLE CHANNEL MPEG 2 ENCODER WITH SUPPORT FOR STATIC PSIP. 5. LOOP SOURCE ASI LOOPING TRANSPORT STREAM PLAYER FOR EMERGENCY USE. 6. DOZER LINK/ASI STUDIO TO TRANSMITTER LINK WITH ASI IN ANDOUT Copyright 2016 2017 Computer Modules, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 32

Thank you Computer Modules, Inc. DVEO Division 11409 West Bernardo Court San Diego, CA 92127, USA Telephone: +1 858 613 1818 Fax: +1 858 613 1815 MEMBERSHIPS recoder