High-quality encoding
Jul 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Stephane Blondin
Sophisticated solutions preserve the quality of your assets.
Centralized storage
Most encoding products ingest either to proprietary storage or to standard computer disk, but the greatest workflow advantages are gained when the encoder performs well with centralized storage. Proprietary systems often require ingest to a local disk and then transfer of the ingested file to a SAN or NAS. This process doubles the storage requirement and also creates additional traffic on the network.
However, encoding directly to a SAN is not a trivial matter, and it's difficult for many systems to accommodate multiple users performing read and write operations. By implementing an advanced PC-based encoding system optimized for centralized storage, the content owner can realize time and cost savings while ensuring that media is available almost instantly to all operators.
Managing time code
Time code is a critical component of most media operations, serving as the foundation for frame accuracy. Although time code has been standardized in the baseband video and tape-based domain, the same can't be said for the file-based domain. As a result, time code for a clip on a disk might be indicated in a variety of areas — in the actual video (VBI), in the codec information, in the file wrapper (like MXF and QuickTime), in a private stream of metadata within the wrapper or even as a separate XML file.
Due to the industry's lack of standards, different receiving systems will look for time code information in various places. Consequently, it is especially important to work with a professional encoder that records time code accurately, and in a coherent fashion, in all these different areas. This capability greatly improves interoperability among systems, with the assurance that edit lists and cataloging information will still have accurate time code as a reference.
Advanced encoders also provide a solution for discontinuous time code. In the tape-based world, people often collate different scenes or programs on the same videotape, creating discontinuous tape time code. Because most file-based systems on the market can only handle one range of time code per clip, significant issues arise when a whole videotape with discontinuous time codes is ingested as a single clip. This is particularly true of sports and news material, which have the commonality of being shot on cameras — usually locked to a running clock — with on-and-off recording throughout the day.
Content producers can use an advanced encoder to ingest a whole videotape as a single media clip so that they can have a one-to-one relationship of the asset to their existing database of content. The encoder's ability to track both the discontinuous time code and continuous time code supports workflows requiring ingest of multiple programs or segments as a single clip, while maintaining frame accuracy. This operation extracts content without wreaking havoc on a facility's established library system.
Conclusion
The advanced functionality of a professional encoder brings valuable efficiency to the handling of content in the modern media facility. While content producers and owners can choose from several media formats and numerous workflow models, their selection of a robust, highly automated encoding platform provides the reliability and quality needed to meet the requirements of media mastering and delivery in a demanding and quickly evolving marketplace.
Stephane Blondin is director of product management for AmberFin, a Snell & Wilcox company.
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