In today’s data-based, IP broadcast world, the days of technicians in white coats bench-testing cameras and microphones using specialized test and measurement (T&M) devices such as oscilloscopes, signal generators and spectrum analyzers would appear to be very much in the past. This is increasingly the case due to a major adoption of software for both setting up and troubleshooting equipment and, perhaps more significantly, monitoring channel output for quality control (QC) and regulatory compliance.

The two areas remain very distinct but not entirely separate, with T&M playing a role in compliance through specific test equipment and techniques. “As broadcasters migrate to IP-based environments, HDR workflows, UHD/8K and cloud operations, packet loss, jitter and PTP [precision time protocol] timing become both a T&M and a QC concern,” says Kevin Salvidge, sales engineering and technical marketing manager at Leader Electronics of Europe.

“Software-based solutions are establishing themselves in cloud-native QC platforms and are widely used in file-based and OTT workflows,” he says. “The adoption of ST 2110 has seen the introduction of software-based waveform and vectorscope monitors, but there are still a number of features only hardware solutions can provide, including latency and PTP timing. Because of this, most broadcasters today are looking for a hybrid approach.”

Achieving the Same Goal Regardless
Even though software is offering new ways of doing established jobs, it is not changing how broadcasters approach T&M and QC, as Matthew Driscoll, vice president of product management at Telestream, observes: “The team looking at camera shading and SRT [Secure Reliable Transport]/Zixi delivery to a cloud workflow are very different than the folks doing the QC on what is streamed to a subscriber. The fact that things are migrating to software, the cloud or hybrid workflows doesn’t matter in the sense that you’re doing the same jobs, just in a different location.”

Driscoll’s colleague Ravi McArthur, product manager for Telestream’s Qualify automated QC-in-the-cloud system, says the aim is to allow users to work where they want to be, rather than dictating how to use the technology. This has resulted in Qualify now being made available for on-prem operation.

“In the cloud, you effectively get infinite horizontal scaling, which is a big bonus for people with vast and wide media supply chains,” he says. “But sometimes, depending on the kind of resolutions and bit rates people are dealing with, they want their software on-prem near high-speed storage so they can process files as quickly as possible.”

In the view of Ashish Basu, executive vice president of worldwide sales and business development at Interra Systems, the situation has “changed for good,” with software and cloud now “almost everywhere” in T&M and QC.

“Broadcasters are saying they’re increasing the level of automation in checking audio-video quality as much as they can,” he says. “But that is not necessarily aligned with the compliance side. Some of the most advanced broadcasting organizations may have no interest in looking at captioning QC because it’s not mandated in their specific geographic region. We see that variation, but otherwise broadcasters are still interested in delivering pristine content.”

Increasing Complexity
What is clear is that the way broadcasters are approaching T&M and QC is driven by new distribution and platform technologies, Triveni Digital President and CEO Mark Simpson says.

“A key trend is the increasing diversity and complexity of the service being delivered,” he says. “ATSC 3.0 is a more complex standard than what came before, not only in the technical underpinnings but also because more services are being deployed. It is something we feel should have a more integrated, comprehensive approach rather than a lot of different subsystems.”

On the compliance side, Mediaproxy has been completely software-based since it was founded in 2001. “There are virtually no hardware solutions used for QC and compliance anymore,” CEO Erik Otto says. “There’s probably still a lot of hardware involved in T&M, but I’m sure they will have to change as well.”

Even so, Otto adds, there may still be a requirement for dedicated physical devices when it comes to detecting faults such as jitter. “When you deal with packets of data, you need to detect jitter properly for correct synchronization of audio and video streams,” he explains. “To do that you need a clock, so technically, a piece of hardware to give the necessary accuracy.”

The Impact of AI
While a physical timepiece might appear to be irreplaceable, even this area could eventually follow the software trend due to that inevitable game-changer, artificial intelligence (AI). “With AI being everywhere, we are putting it throughout many of our products where the idea of a clock seems like a skeuomorphism,” Telestream’s McArthur says. “We’re very focused on practical AI and are responding to customer requests for features including clock and slate reading, contextual analysis and object detection.”

Interra has been working with AI and machine learning for three to four years, says Ashish Basu, and has incorporated both into many of its products. “We use them in areas like video signal quality or degradation measurements,” he says. “However, we do not say we are an AI company or that we produce AI products. But there is space where AI can make a significant difference for our customers.”

Triveni has had early versions of AI in its products from the beginning because they were rules-based, Simpson says: “AI is a kind of rules-driven technology and it’s getting more sophisticated. Over time, we’ll see an increasing use of AI techniques—for example, our monitoring system with quality scoring for the feeds based on a number of observations.”

Otto has a different take on how AI could possibly change T&M, or, ultimately, the need for it: “Problems with satellite links, 4/5G, internet connections with terrestrial transmitters and networks in general can’t be controlled or predicted,” he says. “Technically, everything else—software and hardware—is in everyone’s control. Because AI is probably better at producing better code and outcomes, it could, in the long term, shrink the need for T&M.”

AKRON, Ohio—What began as one Christian station in the Cincinnati area has exploded into a large network of broadcast stations helping to bring the Gospel message to the world, 24x7x365. Using cutting-edge technology to provide the best in faith and family television, TCT has become a powerful voice for the Gospel with a mission to “Evangelize, Educate, Entertain, and Edify.”

Award-winning TCT Network programming is distributed to nearly 40 U.S. television stations, plus many satellite/cable TV providers and via OTT devices such as iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Android TV, Tizen and Xbox One.

Raising the Bar on QC
At TCT, we strive to deliver high-quality Christian content to our viewers. However, as our network has grown, maintaining consistent quality and regulatory compliance has become increasingly complex. Actus Digital has been a game-changing solution that has revolutionized our approach to quality control and provides us with an unprecedented level of visibility across our entire network.

The Actus Multiviewer offers our NOC engineering team in Akron a real-time panorama of all of our channels nationwide, but the system’s flexibility also allows unlimited simultaneous users to access live and recorded content from anywhere at any time. This feature enables collaborative problem-solving that has proven invaluable for our geographically dispersed team.

Quality control is essential for broadcast success, and our Actus has equipped us with a powerful platform to maintain our high standards. The system’s real-time monitoring and alerting capabilities allow us to identify and address issues such as audio dropouts, video freezing, or signal degradation, almost instantaneously. This allows our team to spot irregularities quickly and efficiently, which reduces downtime and ensures our viewers enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality programming.

Streamlined Compliance
In the world of broadcasting, the FCC imposes rigorous regulations for several items including closed captioning, adherence to the CALM Act, and airing proper EAS tests and alerts.

Actus Digital has transformed our approach to compliance from a potential headache into a streamlined, automated process. The system’s comprehensive compliance logging features allow us to easily track and document our broadcast performance and ensure we’re meeting FCC requirements across all our stations.

The peace of mind this brings cannot be overstated. We know that we’re not just protecting our broadcast license but also reinforcing our credibility with viewers.

While quality control and compliance were our primary motivations for adopting Actus, we’ve discovered an unexpected benefit: improved operational efficiency. The system’s user-friendly interface has increased our team’s overall productivity and helps our team provide quick assistance to our viewers and programming partners.

The centralized monitoring capabilities have streamlined our operations, fostering better communication among team members. With everyone literally on the same page, we’ve seen faster problem resolution and a more cohesive approach to broadcasting across our entire network.

The Actus system has become an indispensable part of our quality assurance strategy, empowering us to maintain the best possible viewing experience across all our local stations. In the ever-evolving landscape of modern broadcasting, challenges are inevitable. But with Actus Digital, we’re confident in our ability to meet these challenges head-on.

At TCT, our mission has always been to spread the good news of salvation, hope, and faith through high-quality Christian programming. Thanks to Actus Digital, we’re now better equipped than ever to fulfill this mission, ensuring that our content not only reaches our viewers but does so with the clarity, consistency, and quality they deserve.

More information is available here.

THATCHAM, U.K.—Broadcast test & measurement tech provider Phabrix, has announced that EVS has purchased two of its 25G IP ST 2110 QxL rasterizers. EVS will use the rasterizers to analyze video generated by its products during quality control (QC) tests.

With a distinguished track-record in sports, news and entertainment, EVS’ solutions enable content creators to deliver live content to billions of viewers every day. The new rasterizers will help EVS ensure that its live production, media asset management and media infrastructure solutions offer both high quality and reliability, the companies said. 

Several factors contributed to EVS’ recent decision to update its video analysis inventory with a pair of QxL rasterizers from Phabrix, including: the need to analyze both SDI and IP ST 2110 signal quality (the existing rasterizer was SDI-only); and the increased requirement for the analysis of HDR (High Dynamic Range).

The deal for the two rasterizers was arranged via Phabrix reseller and distribution partner Tevios. The QxLs are now in use at EVS’ quality control facilities and are being deployed to undertake a wide range of analytical tasks in QC.

“We are mostly using the QxLs with different test patterns to feed our servers and then analyze what’s going out from our playout,” explained EVS broadcast equipment software test supervisor Benjamin Coulée. “They are also being employed to generate audio frequencies. Primarily we are using analyzer waveforms and vectorscope, although with the recent purchase of an HDR license we are also analyzing HDR using the CIE Chart. We’ve found the units to be extremely capable for analyzing both SDI and ST 2110 signal quality, and measuring delay as determined by the ST 2022-7 standard.”

“EVS remains a watchword for live video quality around the world, so naturally we are delighted that they have chosen to invest in two of our acclaimed QxL rasterizers,” added Phillip Adams, CEO, Phabrix. “With the need to accommodate more formats and workflows seamlessly, the need for a flexible UHD-25G rasterizer that can address the requirements of broadcast media IP networks, as well as SDI, is evident to see. That’s why the QxL has been in constant demand since we launched it in April 2020, and it’s great to know that EVS is now using the product during its vital QC processes.”

MUNICH—ARRI has announced that Dr. Raphael Kiesel has been named its new head of quality management. 

Based at the film technology company’s headquarters in Munich, he will work to convert customer requirements into products and services as part of a push by ARRI to place even more emphasis on the quality it delivers to customers.

“ARRI has stood for the highest quality in the film industry since 1917,” explained Dr. Matthias Erb, chairman of the Executive Board at ARRI. “These high-quality standards must be further advanced globally in all business and corporate areas. I wish Dr. Raphael Kiesel every success with this important task.”

Kiesel assumed the role of  head of quality management at ARRI in January 1, 2023.

“I am very much looking forward to this exciting position and am well aware of ARRI’s heritage and the responsibility that comes with it,” he said. “Our goal is to further improve upon the quality of ARRI’s products and services and to offer customers the very best that is possible.”

ARRI said that Dr. Raphael Kiesel is an entrepreneurial thinker who possesses technical know-how combined with international experience. He successfully studied industrial engineering with a specialization in mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University while also spending time abroad in the U.S., France, and China. 

Subsequently, he worked in Germany as a research assistant in the Production Quality department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT and for the past two years as head of the Quality Intelligence department at the Machine Tool Laboratory (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University. During this time, he also completed an MBA at the Collège des Ingénieurs in cooperation with Siemens.

VIENNA—Digitizing and archiving specialist NOA will showcase newly added features to its QualityChecker content assessment tool for jobDB and mediARC at the 2021 IBC Show in Amsterdam, Dec. 3-6.

NOA QualityChecker, an application for validating and adjusting video, streamlines and optimizes archive migration and improves efficiency of the entire archival business process. The content assessment tool is key in streamlining the entire digitization process and reducing overall project costs by facilitating job separation between ingest and technical QC, the company said.

QualityChecker allows QC engineers to load open tasks directly within the standalone client application and present optimized tools and features to process tasks, including locating error sources, ensuring technical quality is within parameters, certifying that content and its descriptive metadata coincide and trimming (in/out) or extracting individual segments from the content, it said.

Part of the QualityChecker enhancements is an improved engine that enables faster operation, quicker task loading, combined functions and improved productivity. The system also now has a new gateway that puts each scenario into context, making it easier for operators to make decisions when validating and processing, it said. 

Improving content assessment means staff can assess certain quality aspects in only a few seconds, no matter the overall length of the content. NOA has added visual interpretation of the complete task to help minimize potential errors even further, the company said.

“We’ve upgraded the entire process from a production perspective by combining analyses, including vector shapes and improved timeline visualization,” said NOA managing partner Jean-Christophe Kummer. “We know that a quality assessment tool plays a critical role in successfully scrutinizing all content, so we are constantly working to enhance QualityChecker’s performance to ease the daily operations of our clients.”

NOA QualityChecker, a part of NOA actLINE product family, is provided as an upgrade or extension to any existing and future video digitization projects with FrameLector in jobDB or mediARC environments, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

See NOA at IBC Stand 8.C51.

PARIS—Interra Systems’ Baton platform will be integrated into the Ooyala Flex Media Platform as part of an expanded technology partnership established by Interra and Dalet.

The Baton machine-learning and AI-enabled automated file-based quality control platform will provide comprehensive quality and compliance checks for VOD content for linear and streaming workflows both in the cloud and on premises. The technology will be specifically integrated into the Ooyala Flex platform as well as Dalet Galaxy five, which previously utilized Interra technology.

Working with the Ooyala platform, this integration is designed to address QC throughout the supply chain, automating quality checks at various stages. Baton’s QC reports can be populated automatically to metadata fields for each asset within the workflow for users to view the results.

“The integration of our platforms with the industry-leading BATON QC platform provides an automated solution for accelerated delivery of high-quality, tested content, opening the door for media companies to increase their operational efficiency and better monetize their catalogs, no matter their business model,” said Bea Alonso, director of product marketing at Dalet

Today, content creators are increasingly looking to expand across geographies, but one of the biggest challenges they face is overcoming language barriers. Delivering content to non-native speakers is possible through captions and subtitles, or audio dubbing. Yet, quality control (QC) checks are imperative to ensure that everything flows smoothly. This article will examine why audio dubbing is better than providing subtitles, the key capabilities to look for in a QC system and how machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are simplifying QC workflows for audio dubbing.

WHY AUDIO DUBBING MAKES SENSE VS. SUBTITLES

Subtitles are an easy and affordable way to deliver content to non-native speaking viewers, but they have limitations. For example, using subtitles, it can be difficult to deliver long dialogue scenes within limited screen times. Furthermore, subtitles can be distracting to viewers, since it makes them focus on the text vs. important details in the scene. Another reason why subtitles aren’t ideal is because they don’t express the emotions being delivered in the dialogue.

Audio dubbing to regional languages is an alternative option that translates a foreign language program into the audience's native language. Dubbed tracks are created by adding language-specific content to the original audio and have become a cost-effective solution for content creators to reach audiences in different areas of the world. When creating dubbed audio tracks, content creators must ensure high quality and synchronization with the video or original audio track.

HOW TO SIMPLIFY AUDIO DUBBING QC WORKFLOWS

Recent advancements in ML and AI technologies have simplified the way that content creators perform quality control on audio dubbed tracks, automating the process of verifying languages and assuring synchronization.

There are several key capabilities content creators should look for in an ML/AI-powered QC solution for dubbing workflows in order to ensure the utmost efficiency, accuracy and quality of experience for viewers.

One important feature is the ability to verify dubbing packages with complex structure. The QC solution should be able to verify complex dubbing packages. Oftentimes, a dubbing package consists of multiple MXF and .wav files as opposed to a single file. The MXF file contains video tracks along with original audio tracks and .wav files corresponding to multiple dubbed audio tracks. Sometimes .wav files represent individual channels of a 5.1 audio track, or there are multiple audio tracks or channels encapsulated in container formats instead of .wav files. The QC solution should be able to handle package variations and verify the multiple dubbed audio tracks properly.

For audio dubbing, metadata verification is a must-have capability in a media QC solution. The system needs to verify the number of audio tracks or the channel configuration of multiple dubbed tracks, along with the duration of the original audio track compared with the dubbed audio tracks.

Language identification is an integral component of a QC system to ensure that each track has the correct intended language. Over the years, machines have become more intelligent and computing power more affordable, making accurate, automated language detection a reality. If the content creator has access to a few hours of audio content in the target languages, they can be used to train the ML models for language prediction purposes. Content creators can then verify that the language is correct by checking it against metadata.

During the audio dubbing process, content creators must make sure synchronization between video and dubbed tracks exists. This can be challenging, as there is no way to map the correct audio sequence for any video screen with dialogue. However, the majority of video content contains black frames and color bars that are designed to help in meeting requirements like synchronization. The corresponding audio sequence for black frames and color bars is silence and test tone, respectively. Choosing a QC solution that can verify the presence of black frames in video tracks as well as silence while color bars appear with test tone in dubbed audio tracks is critical.

Synchronization must also be present between original and dubbed tracks. This is no easy feat since audio data in master and dubbed tracks are completely different. It’s likely that common background music or effects were not used for the master track and dubbed track. These can be separated from the audio track using mechanisms like band pass filter.

Checking for loss of synchronization between background beds of dubbed audio tracks and the original audio track can easily be performed by a QC system with ML and AI technology. The challenge is ensuring a proper separation of background bed from audio tracks. One way this can be achieved is by comparing loudness curves. The technology will compare loudness curves, checking for mismatch between loudness values of original and dubbed tracks.

CONCLUSION

Through audio dubbing, content creators can reach audiences all around the world, providing content in their local language without the limitations of subtitles. Automating QC dubbing workflows speeds up this process immensely, while also introducing increased accuracy. When ML and AI technologies are added to the workflow, dubbed packages can be created even more rapidly, with reduced manual intervention. It’s a win-win situation for content creators and viewers. Content creators can expand their brand into new regions of the world, and viewers are assured a high-quality television experience in their native language.

Niraj Sinha is the principal engineer at Interra Systems.

COLUMBIA, MD.—For two decades, Ed Grogan has been hunkered over video monitors and computer terminals performing a very unusual type of video “quality control.” This particular QC work, however, doesn’t result in less-than-perfect footage being sent back to the colorist or returned to the production company to be reshot. In Grogan’s case, what he sees or doesn’t see may make the difference between American lives being lost or unnecessary deployment of big-ticket military resources.

Grogan, a four-decade civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense, has spent half of his career directly or indirectly involved in the relatively new field of video forensics—a painstaking and careful analysis of recordings produced by enemies of the state for any evidence of less-than-honest presentation of events, and any and all clues that could spell fakery.

So, why the interest in such video?

Grogan spelled out the answer very bluntly.

“American lives may be at stake,” he said. “Terrorists don’t get paid unless they can show that they killed or injured Americans,” adding that terrorists are not always inspired by idealism or religious fervor, but rather as a means of financial support for themselves and their nefarious activities.

“Sometimes they manipulate the video they’re submitting for payment to show things that didn’t really happen,” Grogan added. “In other cases, recordings are prepared for propaganda purposes—to show that they fought with the ‘infidels,’ to show that they are in tune with the mission, and to try and get others to follow along in what they are doing.”

Grogan offered a recording of a motorized improvised explosive being remotely piloted to explode under a military vehicle as an example of this attempted video legerdemain.

“In some of the videos it was obvious that the bomb went off early by several frames,” he said. “This probably damaged the radiator rather than the main parts of the vehicle. The bad guys drop a few frames and this moves the explosion so that it looks like they made a direct hit on the vehicle or whatever when they really didn’t. That’s quite creative—just offsetting things a few frames. They haven’t necessarily been good at this sort of manipulation, but have gotten better over time—at least some of them.”

Grogan speculates that the quality improvements may be the result of terrorists now relying on professional videographers and post-production specialists.

“We’re seeing really good skill sets in some of the more recent stuff,” he said. “They do make mistakes from time to time, though. Sometimes they’re not good at greenscreen work, or they do a garbage matte and someone will put his hand right through the matte. Maybe this is just for a frame or two, so you have to look quickly.”

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

In the case of the military video forensics, decisions as to whether it’s real or manipulated have to be rendered very quickly to avoid either placing lives at stake or unnecessarily—and very expensively—deploying military resources that could be better utilized elsewhere.

“We have to look at all the videos and make decisions based on this evaluation, because if the videos are real, someone has to be alerted as to where American or allied forces might have been killed or injured,” Grogan said. “I get calls every now and then with someone saying ‘we’ve got some footage and they want a report all the way up to the President—what do you think?’ They’ll tell us ‘you’ve got 20 minutes; please send us your thoughts.’”

MANY CLUES IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK

During his career as a video forensics analyst, Grogan has compiled a checklist of some 90 “fingerprints” that could suggest less than truthful presentation of events.

“Any time I saw what appeared to be a mistake, I wrote it down.” Over time he was able to reduce the original list down to about 50 items. These include:

● Stuck pixels
● Errors in focus and lighting in various parts of images
● Gamma errors
● Reflections that don’t match the object supposedly casting the reflections
● Histograms that don’t match across certain scenes
● Errors seen in shadows and reflections of objects
● Inconsistent black levels across a frame
● Incorrect intermixing of even and odd video fields
● Mixing of 8-bit and 10-bit video

TOOLS OF THE [BOGUS VIDEO] TRADE

Grogan said terrorists have been known to use any tools that can be pirated to doctor video; however, some of the bad guys do stay up-to-date with post-production software and may even secure legitimate copies.

“Over time, terrorists have gotten fairly good at creating stuff that was faked to make their point,” said Grogan, adding that there are exceptions. In one case, implementation of Adobe software by a less-than-fully-knowledgeable group resulted in much consternation by forensicists.

“This was back in the analog NTSC and PAL days. We were seeing a lot of stuff that was really, really weird,” he said, referring to motion artifacts being observed. “It was just plain stupid and we couldn’t explain why.”

Eventually the answer came from an individual who had knowledge of video production as practiced in the Middle East.

“Through luck we got to talk to this guy,” he said. “And he told us what was happening, saying, ‘Oh, I can explain that. We opened the box from Adobe, loaded it and ran it. We took the video in and processed it and outputted it. I knew that it was set for American standards and everything we were doing was PAL, but we were directed not to change any settings, so the software converted the (frame rate, and line count) going in and coming out. This was the philosophy. Don’t touch the software settings. If it came from the company that way it must be right!’”

This quickly explained the dropped/added frames and other previously inexplicable artifacts observed in the video.

HOW DO YOU GET TO BE A VIDEO FORENSICIST?

Asked about his career track, Grogan was quick to state that scrutiny of video was not really part of his educational track, as his formal training was in electrical engineering. Shortly after taking his BS degree from Drexel University, he first took a job at the Philadelphia Navy Shipyard while earning his MSEE. Grogan then accepted a position in Washington, D.C., with his initial duties involving military communications and the development of engineering solutions for problems being reported in the field.

“I never worked in broadcasting,” said Grogan, “But I was the AV guy in high school, and while I was in college, I did do some work in video production for a cable TV company, but I liked the hardware side of things better.”

His eventual springboard into video detective work stemmed from a conversation with a co-worker.

“We had a secure phone and one of the guys said that he couldn’t wait until we had a picture phone, as then he wouldn’t have to take the steps necessary to verify who was calling. I said ‘yeah, provided you could trust the video, because I could fake it.’ This was around 1996 and I knew enough about Hollywood then to know things like this could be faked.

“I wrote a technical paper on this and rather quickly the question arose that if I could create fake video, could I detect it? My paper got circulated through the DoD and I was asked to do some briefings. Later, I was asked to teach classes on the effects of video deception. This is how I entered the world of video forensics.”

Grogan continued to screen recordings for tampering, eventually doing “post-graduate” work of a sorts with a DoD-sponsored four-month stay in Hollywood, where he had free access to most all of the post-production houses there and got to observe that community’s professionals at work in creating visual effects for the big screen.

“That was extremely helpful,” he said.

THE NEXT GENERATION

Although not now directly involved in video forensics, Grogan does step in to assist from time to time, and observed that sometimes identifying video prestidigitation can depend on one’s perspective. He recalled a particular incident in which he was asked to evaluate a scene involving movement of a vehicle at dusk.

“I said that I didn’t think it was possible for the camera to capture such a lousy image of the truck while at the same time producing such gorgeous images of the stars above,” he said. “Sometime later, one of the new hires—a young kid really—looked at the same video and recognized the buildings in the scene, saying ‘Oh that’s from the so-and-so video game.’ He correctly identified footage the bad guys had appropriated from a game.”

Grogan recalled another case involving propaganda footage of an airliner being shot down. He calculated the required elevation of the camera to capture the images shown, and quickly determined that it couldn’t have been on the ground.

To further “ice the cake,” Grogan said one of the younger teammates was able to identify the explosion in the propaganda video as having been excerpted from a video game. “We were able to match it pixel-by-pixel,” he said, noting that “perhaps there just may be a future for people who are hung up on playing video games.”

Boston, MA – May 10, 2018–EditShare, a technology leader in intelligent shared storage and media management solutions, will be exhibiting at the BroadcastAsia 2018, held in Singapore from June 26-28 on stand 6J4-04. Headlining the showcase are EditShare’s new XStream EFS scale-out, high-availability shared storage, QScan automated quality assurance and new Flow software defined media asset management solutions. “In terms of content, the Asia creative market is generating world-class programmes and films that rank among the most watched on the planet,”comments Peter Lambert, sales director, EditShare. “The facilities behind these global blockbusters are employing advanced workflows and EditShare is here to support those requiring more comprehensive content protection and quality assurance to meet the international delivery demands for their popular content.” India-based Red Chillies recently invested in EditShare scale-out shared storage to support its upcoming “Zero” production starring Shah Rukh Khan. Lambert adds, “When you are supporting productions withmega starslike Shah Rukh Khan, you have to have the very best production infrastructure in place. Zero compromises and this is what EditShare delivers for its customers.” EditShare will be showcasing a number of new advancements across security, compliance and remote workflows including:

Scale-Out Storage with Industry Best Practice-Compliant Content Security Capabilities
The new EditShare XStream EFS storage is the first media purpose-built storage solution that supports comprehensive File Auditing. The new XStream EFS File Auditing platform allows users to collect and analyze shared storage user activity. In addition to forensic purposes, data can be used to assure clients that their content is stored according to MPAA best practices, meeting security audit protocols and procedures. Detailed reports pinpoint which user carried out an action, what files or directories were affected, and exactly when these actions took place. Unlike other auditing approaches, EFS Auditing does not impact real-time operations or system performance. EFS Auditing data is easily exported to third parties and other auditing applications.

Ensuring Delivery Compliance Through Automated Quality Assurance
Powered by the award-winning QUALES QC engine, the new file-based video and audio AQC QScan product line simplifies compliance and delivery requirements with robust quality check capabilities that leverage a patent-pending QScan Single-Pass Analysis process, which can be applied at any point during the workflow. Certified by DPP and AMWA, all EditShare QScan models support DPP compliance, including PSE and IMF testing. Models include:

• QScan One – A robust full-featured entry-level AQC solution that processes one file at a time. Ideal for small post facilities requiring the facility to check the integrity of files on an on-going basis but that don't need to check large volumes of media concurrently.
• QScan Pro – A full-featured professional AQC solution that processes four files at a time. Designed for mid-sized post facilities, with different departments such as audio, grading, VFX and editing. Each department can set up parameters to test their files, with up to four files being tested simultaneously.
• QScan Max – A fully scalable multi-node enterprise AQC solution with each node allowing for processing four concurrent files at a time. Ideal for VOD, OTT and Telco companies, the Max revision has limitless scalability, allowing a large operator to test hundreds of files concurrently.

Software Defined Flow Media Asset Management Powers Remote Workflows
Designed for non-EditShare storage environments such as Avid NEXIS, storageDNA and Amazon S3. As a fully software-defined MAM platform, Flow has been completely re-engineered to maximize the value of customers’ existing storage infrastructure by adding an intelligent media management layer that can manage millions of assets across multiple storage tiers in different locations. At the core of Flow lie several workflow engines that enable collaboration through Ingest, Search, Review, Logging, Editing and Delivery, alongside a powerful workflow automation engine for automating tasks such as transcoding and delivery. Flow’s award-winning remote workflow features also provide the ability to review content remotely, as well as edit content on a timeline with voice-over and effects from anywhere in the world.

Along with over 500 software updates, this new version of Flow features a redesigned UI, unifying the user experience across web-based and desktop apps. Flow Story and AirFlow now have a similar look and feel, making it easier to switch between them in different scenarios. Flow has also introduced new capabilities to remotely view Avid Media Composer or Adobe Premiere edits in a web browser using AirFlow; Range Markers for enhanced Logging and Review capabilities; new software licensing with a customer portal and license management tools; and seamless integration with EditShare’s new QScan AQC software, making AQC available at any stage of the post-production workflow.

The demand for remote workflows has also increased over the past year, as more people work outside of the traditional post-production environment. Out of the box, Flow caters for this increasing trend by enabling full remote access to content, as well as seamless integration with leading NLEs such as Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere.

About EditShare
EditShare is a technology leader in networked shared storage and tapeless, end-to-end workflow solutions for the post-production, TV and film industries. Our groundbreaking products improve efficiency and workflow collaboration every step of the way. They include video capture and playout servers, high-performance central shared storage, archiving and backup software, media asset management, and Lightworks – the world’s first three-platform (Windows/OS X/Linux) professional non-linear video editing application.

©2018 EditShare LLC. All rights reserved. EditShare® is a registered trademark of EditShare.

Press Contact
Nick Govoni
Zazil Media Group
Email: nick@zazilmediagroup.com
Tel: +1 (978) 866 7354

NEW YORK—In response to the growing amount of high-quality video content, Interra Systems is planning to feature a range of its quality control/monitoring products at the 2016 NAB Show New York. Among the products expected to be shown include the Baton automated, file-based quality control; Orion OTT ABR monitoring system; Vega media analyzers; and other products that offer HEVC, 4K and HDR support.

Interra will have the latest version of its Baton system, 7.0, that is designed for file-based SD, HD and cloud-based workflows. Baton 7.0 is said to expand on the system’s pre-existing support for language verification of subtitles and closed-caption files with new multi-language checks of audio tracks, including English, Spanish, German, French and Dutch, with Arabic, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish available later in 2016. Baton can be used to match the language in each audio track with associated metadata as well as simultaneously check multiple audio tracks in each media asset. It can also measure and correct audio program loudness and true-peak audio levels to the International Telecommunication Union’s Recommendation. Interra is also expected to display the Baton+ QC and data analysis system.

The Orion OTT and Vega media analyzers will also be part of the display at NAB Show New York. The Orion system is a software-based OTT platform for real-time monitoring of adaptive bit rate content for multiscreen service delivery. The Vega system handles media analysis for the standards compliance, debug, and interoperability of encoded streams and includes recent updates for Windows 10 support, the latest HEVC HM reference code, HEVC interlaced streams, VP9 streams, PCAP streams, Dolby AC-4 audio, and AVS Plus video.

These products, as well as others that will be on display, offer support for 4K/UHD, HEVC, HDR, DPX and IMF content.

The 2016 NAB Show New York will take place from Nov. 9-10 at the Javits Convention Center. Interra Systems will be located at booth 633.