IBC
The speed and relative equanimity with which the UK's cross-broadcaster initiative Digital Production Partnership (DPP) has cracked the file-barrier is arguably the envy of other countries. It's no coincidence that its official documentation is titled 'The Bloodless Revolution'.
Last January, BBC, ITV and Channel 4 together with Sky, Channel 5, S4C and UKTV agreed the UK’s first common file format, structure and wrapper to enable TV programme delivery by digital file. The overall aim is to avoid a proliferation of different file formats and structures for video content.
Long running ITV soap Emmerdale became the first major production to adopt the DPP-specified AS-11 standard for HD delivery in October, and Sunset & Vine-produced America's Cup programming for C4 was the first to use the DPP's metadata application, which streamlines editorial and technical information before wrapping into the programme file.
Technical guidelines for live production in HD were released in October. Based on MPEG4 they cover contribution by satellite, fibre or microwave links as well as recommended practices for the delivery of stereo and multichannel audio. The DPP is also talking with US studios about adopting a version of the specification, which shouldn't prove problematic because US body Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) worked with the DPP to create AS-11.
Broadcasters in France and Germany and the EBU have expressed interest in adapting the DPP's work. “Some have already taken the leap in quality but it's the standard way we have treated metadata which is a significant step ahead of the game,” according to Kevin Burrows, CTO Broadcast and Distribution, Channel 4 and Chair of the DPP Technical Standards Working Group.
Further trials are planned throughout 2013 between broadcasters, producers and post production facilities ahead of an agreement by the DPP's principal backers - ITV, BBC and Channel 4 - that delivery on file will be preferred by 2014.
“We cannot mandate 100% but we expect 98% of companies to be able to do so,” says Burrows.
Technical guidelines for live production in HD were released in October. Based on MPEG4 they cover contribution by satellite, fibre or microwave links as well as recommended practices for the delivery of stereo and multichannel audio. The DPP is also talking with US studios about adopting a version of the specification, which shouldn't prove problematic because US body Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) worked with the DPP to create AS-11.
Broadcasters in France and Germany and the EBU have expressed interest in adapting the DPP's work. “Some have already taken the leap in quality but it's the standard way we have treated metadata which is a significant step ahead of the game,” according to Kevin Burrows, CTO Broadcast and Distribution, Channel 4 and Chair of the DPP Technical Standards Working Group.
Further trials are planned throughout 2013 between broadcasters, producers and post production facilities ahead of an agreement by the DPP's principal backers - ITV, BBC and Channel 4 - that delivery on file will be preferred by 2014.
“We cannot mandate 100% but we expect 98% of companies to be able to do so,” says Burrows.
To create DPP-compliant HD files, the producer or post house require technology suitable for generating AVC Intra files at 100 Mbs files, which the latest models of Avid and FCP will do, along with the means to transport them.
Broadcasters have adopted accelerated file delivery over IP networks to a significant extent over the past five years, but these solutions are not yet pervasive outside of the larger distributors, production and post-production companies. In the near term the most common form of file-based delivery is likely to be removable drive.
Aside from ramping up the pilots, the DPP will next address loudness. “We are complying with EBU R128 loudness metering but we want to issue guidelines of usage for whether a show is live or recorded or within genre, for example, whether metering should differ between a pop or classical music concert,” explains Burrows.
The DPP hopes that the industry – producers, broadcasters, facilities, manufacturers, vendors, service providers – will share the commitment to making digital production smoother and more easily understood. Explains Burrows: “A lot of content in the UK emanates from small production companies where there is not a lot of dedicated expertise so the over-arching idea was to give them guidance on the whole end-to-end workflow from acquisition through post to delivery. In the longer term this make it easier for everyone so we're not battling lots of different standards. Files will never be as easy as tape but by trying to standardise we are trying to avoid the interoperability issues which plague us all.”
Once that has been achieved the idea is that the production process can go into the background – as it did in the world of tape – so everyone can all refocus on the creative potential of this new way of working. The DPP concludes its Bloodless Revolution document saying: 'It is our belief (although the case perhaps still needs to be made) that file-based production has the potential to enable greater creativity than ever before. The magic hasn’t been lost. It just needs transcoding.'
Once that has been achieved the idea is that the production process can go into the background – as it did in the world of tape – so everyone can all refocus on the creative potential of this new way of working. The DPP concludes its Bloodless Revolution document saying: 'It is our belief (although the case perhaps still needs to be made) that file-based production has the potential to enable greater creativity than ever before. The magic hasn’t been lost. It just needs transcoding.'
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