All posts by Like Tangents In The Rain

The Future Holds...

IBC…Image Matters…and Sound for DCinema

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As the Image Matters press release indicates, the concept of High Frame Rate for Digital Cinema being 48 or 60 is so 2011. The new I’m XS video board calls out at 120 fps and beyond. We’re not certain when “and beyond…” became a technical term, but it is better than ‘greater than…”

What we know is that 48 is going to be a bridging technology at best. The presentation from the Jackson/Park/Hobbit team at SMPTE/NAB earlier this year mentioned that they had to predict the future with insight (and a strong bet) into how many manufacturers could get to 48. They figured correctly that 48 would be possible, and tests seem to indicate that cinema theaters who want to go that route will have equipment that works.

It seems that Image Matters idea is that the time for arbitrarily picking numbers based on odd circumstance is over. 24 frames per second was chosen for reasons of what passed for sound fidelity many many decades ago. Multiplying anachronism by hyperbole might work…but why let it?

IBC also might be blessed with two competing sound systems in the auditorium. What we know is that the Prometheus showing on Saturday will be with Dolby 3D and Dolby’s new audio system, Atmos. But Auro 3D, marketed through Barco, has announced that they will also be demonstrating in the auditorium. One wonders if they will be ever playing Dualing Banjos together.

One also wonders if we can get a Big Auditorium showing of the Image Matters art and science…

More as it happens.

Image Matters Press Release — They’ll be at booth # 10.D31

(Boncelles, Belgium–September 3, 2012) At IBC 2012, Image Matters will contribute to the evolution in advanced imaging. It will announce a new system for evaluating high frame rate digital cinema quality. Built around the Image Matters I’m XS video board for extreme imaging, the system will allow high frame-rate image streams of 2K 120 fps and beyond.

Delivering playback simultaneously from uncompressed and JPEG 2000 files, the system compares in real time original and encoded-decoded pictures. It displays various picture combinations like side-by-side, butterfly, and pixel-to-pixel differences.

To reach the utmost quality, the system is capable of JPEG 2000 bitrates in excess of 1Gbps — more than four times the current DCI specification. The decoded 2K images are transmitted to four 3G-SDI links to Digital Cinema qualified projector at frame rates of up to 120 fps (or 60 fps per eye for stereoscopic 3D content).

Helping to prepare the content for comparison, the system can encode in multiple JPEG 2000 encoding formats. It can handle image resolutions up to 4K using a single I’m XS board.

At the heart of the system, the I’m XS board provides the JPEG 2000 processing power for 30 frames per second at 4K, or more than 120 fps at HD or 2K, using a compression engine from intoPIX. Multiple I’m XS boards can be linked for even more demanding applications. For example, four boards can be synchronized to deliver 4K images at 120 frames per second.

“IBC is a wonderful opportunity to promote JPEG 2000 and to discuss how to even improve image quality on cinema screens” said Jean-François Nivart, CEO at Image Matters.

More information about this and any other Image Matters products is available at http://image.matters.pro or by phone at +32 495 23 00 08.

Auro-3D Press Release

Auro Technologies Demonstrates Auro-3D® Solution       

Delivering True 3D Sound Experience at IBC2012

The company also presents its Auro-Codec, integrating multi-channel audio into uncompressed PCM streams and offering full compatibility with existing and future playback and distribution formats.

Amsterdam,  3  September, 2012 – At IBC2012, Auro Technologies, a spin-off of the renowned Galaxy Studios, is demonstrating its groundbreaking Auro-3D® audio format, combining an unprecedented immersive sound experience with revolutionarytechnology based on uncompressed audio quality and full compatibility with existing standards and formats. Also during IBC2012, the company is showcasing its new Auro-Codec solution to support the new format and release its full potential. Both solutions offer unrivalled ease of use and new levels of cost-efficiency (bandwidth reduction up till factor 8 without audible loss), and will help bring richer forms of audio entertainment to the market. The Auro-Codec is very attractive for the Auro-3D® format, as well as for Surround and Stereo.

The next-generation 3D theatre sound system, Auro-3D® is the only solution offering a true 3D immersive experience, based on a newly developed recording and production process and a unique loudspeaker placement in theatre settings. Auro-3D® adds a height layer around the audience above the traditional 2D surround sound system, creating a unique sensation of authentic life-like spatial sound. Apart from being fully compatible with existing production processes and theatre systems, it also offers a host of advantages such as Single Inventory Distribution (multiple formats are combined in one PCM carrier) and full DCI compliancy.  Thanks to its seamless compatibility and supporting encoding/decoding technologies, Auro-3D® is easy to implement in existing workflows and DAW stations, offering the most cost-efficient solution to provide a truly immersive listening experience.

The patented all-in-one Auro-Codec format offers the following key benefits:

  • encoding of multi-channel audio into a single PCM stream with fewer channels (e.g. 9.1 into 5.1), which can be played back by existing systems without the need for a decoder. When the decoder is used, though, the extra channels can be retrieved in their original audio quality
  • decoding of the original multi-channel audio with 100% channel separation
  • audible lossless compression with greater compression ratios than lossy codecs without the use of any kind of perceptual coding or masking techniques
  • highest compatibility (backward and forward) with existing playback and distribution formats

New standard

Auro-3D® is the only independent and viable alternative to existing 3D sound processing solutions, exceeding the audio quality of competitive technologies. It meets the existing and future needs of a wide variety of professional and consumer markets, ranging from cinema, broadcasting and automotive to consumer electronics, multimedia and mobile devices. With its ease of use, end-to-end compatibility and affordability, Auro-3D® offers all it takes to become the next-generation standard for 3D audio reproduction.

Coming up: Beautifyer™

Coinciding with IBC2012, Auro Technologies is also launching the Beautifyer™ app, an audio player for iPhone and iPod Touch that quickly transforms your digital music library into a totally new sound experience through headphones. Beautifyer™ enhances the quality of any compressed stereo music file playable on iTunes (MP3, AC3 or AAC) by expanding its impact and depth. For more info and downloads, go to www.beautifyer.com.

Find us, hear us at IBC2012

Visit Auro Technologies at IBC2012 in the RAI Conference Centre in Amsterdam. You will find us at Stand 3.A40, in Hall 3.

The Future Holds...

IBC…Image Matters…and Sound for DCinema

Leave a comment

As the Image Matters press release indicates, the concept of High Frame Rate for Digital Cinema being 48 or 60 is so 2011. The new I’m XS video board calls out at 120 fps and beyond. We’re not certain when “and beyond…” became a technical term, but it is better than ‘greater than…”

What we know is that 48 is going to be a bridging technology at best. The presentation from the Jackson/Park/Hobbit team at SMPTE/NAB earlier this year mentioned that they had to predict the future with insight (and a strong bet) into how many manufacturers could get to 48. They figured correctly that 48 would be possible, and tests seem to indicate that cinema theaters who want to go that route will have equipment that works.

It seems that Image Matters idea is that the time for arbitrarily picking numbers based on odd circumstance is over. 24 frames per second was chosen for reasons of what passed for sound fidelity many many decades ago. Multiplying anachronism by hyperbole might work…but why let it?

IBC also might be blessed with two competing sound systems in the auditorium. What we know is that the Prometheus showing on Saturday will be with Dolby 3D and Dolby’s new audio system, Atmos. But Auro 3D, marketed through Barco, has announced that they will also be demonstrating in the auditorium. One wonders if they will be ever playing Dualing Banjos together.

One also wonders if we can get a Big Auditorium showing of the Image Matters art and science…

More as it happens.

Image Matters Press Release — They’ll be at booth # 10.D31

(Boncelles, Belgium–September 3, 2012) At IBC 2012, Image Matters will contribute to the evolution in advanced imaging. It will announce a new system for evaluating high frame rate digital cinema quality. Built around the Image Matters I’m XS video board for extreme imaging, the system will allow high frame-rate image streams of 2K 120 fps and beyond.

Delivering playback simultaneously from uncompressed and JPEG 2000 files, the system compares in real time original and encoded-decoded pictures. It displays various picture combinations like side-by-side, butterfly, and pixel-to-pixel differences.

To reach the utmost quality, the system is capable of JPEG 2000 bitrates in excess of 1Gbps — more than four times the current DCI specification. The decoded 2K images are transmitted to four 3G-SDI links to Digital Cinema qualified projector at frame rates of up to 120 fps (or 60 fps per eye for stereoscopic 3D content).

Helping to prepare the content for comparison, the system can encode in multiple JPEG 2000 encoding formats. It can handle image resolutions up to 4K using a single I’m XS board.

At the heart of the system, the I’m XS board provides the JPEG 2000 processing power for 30 frames per second at 4K, or more than 120 fps at HD or 2K, using a compression engine from intoPIX. Multiple I’m XS boards can be linked for even more demanding applications. For example, four boards can be synchronized to deliver 4K images at 120 frames per second.

“IBC is a wonderful opportunity to promote JPEG 2000 and to discuss how to even improve image quality on cinema screens” said Jean-François Nivart, CEO at Image Matters.

More information about this and any other Image Matters products is available at http://image.matters.pro or by phone at +32 495 23 00 08.

Auro-3D Press Release

Auro Technologies Demonstrates Auro-3D® Solution       

Delivering True 3D Sound Experience at IBC2012

The company also presents its Auro-Codec, integrating multi-channel audio into uncompressed PCM streams and offering full compatibility with existing and future playback and distribution formats.

Amsterdam,  3  September, 2012 – At IBC2012, Auro Technologies, a spin-off of the renowned Galaxy Studios, is demonstrating its groundbreaking Auro-3D® audio format, combining an unprecedented immersive sound experience with revolutionarytechnology based on uncompressed audio quality and full compatibility with existing standards and formats. Also during IBC2012, the company is showcasing its new Auro-Codec solution to support the new format and release its full potential. Both solutions offer unrivalled ease of use and new levels of cost-efficiency (bandwidth reduction up till factor 8 without audible loss), and will help bring richer forms of audio entertainment to the market. The Auro-Codec is very attractive for the Auro-3D® format, as well as for Surround and Stereo.

The next-generation 3D theatre sound system, Auro-3D® is the only solution offering a true 3D immersive experience, based on a newly developed recording and production process and a unique loudspeaker placement in theatre settings. Auro-3D® adds a height layer around the audience above the traditional 2D surround sound system, creating a unique sensation of authentic life-like spatial sound. Apart from being fully compatible with existing production processes and theatre systems, it also offers a host of advantages such as Single Inventory Distribution (multiple formats are combined in one PCM carrier) and full DCI compliancy.  Thanks to its seamless compatibility and supporting encoding/decoding technologies, Auro-3D® is easy to implement in existing workflows and DAW stations, offering the most cost-efficient solution to provide a truly immersive listening experience.

The patented all-in-one Auro-Codec format offers the following key benefits:

  • encoding of multi-channel audio into a single PCM stream with fewer channels (e.g. 9.1 into 5.1), which can be played back by existing systems without the need for a decoder. When the decoder is used, though, the extra channels can be retrieved in their original audio quality
  • decoding of the original multi-channel audio with 100% channel separation
  • audible lossless compression with greater compression ratios than lossy codecs without the use of any kind of perceptual coding or masking techniques
  • highest compatibility (backward and forward) with existing playback and distribution formats

New standard

Auro-3D® is the only independent and viable alternative to existing 3D sound processing solutions, exceeding the audio quality of competitive technologies. It meets the existing and future needs of a wide variety of professional and consumer markets, ranging from cinema, broadcasting and automotive to consumer electronics, multimedia and mobile devices. With its ease of use, end-to-end compatibility and affordability, Auro-3D® offers all it takes to become the next-generation standard for 3D audio reproduction.

Coming up: Beautifyer™

Coinciding with IBC2012, Auro Technologies is also launching the Beautifyer™ app, an audio player for iPhone and iPod Touch that quickly transforms your digital music library into a totally new sound experience through headphones. Beautifyer™ enhances the quality of any compressed stereo music file playable on iTunes (MP3, AC3 or AAC) by expanding its impact and depth. For more info and downloads, go to www.beautifyer.com.

Find us, hear us at IBC2012

Visit Auro Technologies at IBC2012 in the RAI Conference Centre in Amsterdam. You will find us at Stand 3.A40, in Hall 3.

Societies

BuzzwordCompliance™ Detectors Already Overloading at IBC

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One of the great parts of being Press at a convention like IBC is the absolute flood of email’d press releases that come in for weeks in advance. It allows one to prepare, and I am especially prepared for the BuzzwordCompliance Award.

So far, Customer Experience Management (CEM) Technology has got me hyped. I’ll spend the entire train ride to the show wondering why it isn’t CEMT.

Societies

BuzzwordCompliance™ Detectors Already Overloading at IBC

Leave a comment

One of the great parts of being Press at a convention like IBC is the absolute flood of email’d press releases that come in for weeks in advance. It allows one to prepare, and I am especially prepared for the BuzzwordCompliance Award.

So far, Customer Experience Management (CEM) Technology has got me hyped. I’ll spend the entire train ride to the show wondering why it isn’t CEMT.

Integrator News

Harkness At Puma

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Half the light at 26 degreesFrom the press release: “…the 3D projection setup achieved the longest throw distance (using a Barco DP2K-32B projector) ever recorded at 73.6 metres (242ft) exceeding the recommended throw distance. Furthermore, the setup, which included an 18.70 x 8.45m Stagelite Stereo 3D Screen from Harkness Screens, achieved a wide-viewing angle of 60º allowing the 3D presentation to be viewed at suitable brightness levels throughout the entire seating area.”

5,920 people. 

We need to learn the lumens. We need to draw a drawing.That is a pretty wide venue. I can’t believe Viewing Angle for Stagelite Stereo–How the Light Falls Off

A shot of how wide the PULA site is

Integrator News

Harkness At Puma

Leave a comment

Half the light at 26 degreesFrom the press release: “…the 3D projection setup achieved the longest throw distance (using a Barco DP2K-32B projector) ever recorded at 73.6 metres (242ft) exceeding the recommended throw distance. Furthermore, the setup, which included an 18.70 x 8.45m Stagelite Stereo 3D Screen from Harkness Screens, achieved a wide-viewing angle of 60º allowing the 3D presentation to be viewed at suitable brightness levels throughout the entire seating area.”

5,920 people. 

We need to learn the lumens. We need to draw a drawing.That is a pretty wide venue. I can’t believe Viewing Angle for Stagelite Stereo–How the Light Falls Off

A shot of how wide the PULA site is

Societies

IBC Alert !!! Schiphol to RAI Train Disruption

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Travel disruption during IBC2012…RAI <=> Schipol, Weekend Only

The Dutch Railway Service (NS) will be carrying out essential engineering works during the weekend of Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September which will affect travel between Schipol airport and the RAI.

The train line from Schipol Airport to Holendrecht, via the RAI, will be affected, and no trains will run on this line during the weekend. There will be additional shuttle buses running from Schipol and surrounding hotels to the RAI, and Information Hostesses will be available at Schipol for additional travel information. You can see the (grey) train line affected here: http://www.amsterdamtips.com/images/amsterdam-metro-map.gif. Trams, metro and buses are not affected.

Societies

IBC Alert !!! Schiphol to RAI Train Disruption

Leave a comment

Travel disruption during IBC2012…RAI <=> Schipol, Weekend Only

The Dutch Railway Service (NS) will be carrying out essential engineering works during the weekend of Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September which will affect travel between Schipol airport and the RAI.

The train line from Schipol Airport to Holendrecht, via the RAI, will be affected, and no trains will run on this line during the weekend. There will be additional shuttle buses running from Schipol and surrounding hotels to the RAI, and Information Hostesses will be available at Schipol for additional travel information. You can see the (grey) train line affected here: http://www.amsterdamtips.com/images/amsterdam-metro-map.gif. Trams, metro and buses are not affected.

Basic Lessons

Breach Mitigation or Bust?

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Even large corporates can fall foul of the weakest link scenario, with the hacker following a likely looking ‘suit’ home and cracking the most likely default Wi-Fi router encryption. From here it’s a relatively simple journey to the machine they have attached to the corporate VPN.

From an ITPro article: Data security: is breach mitigation all that’s left? by Davd Winder (30 July 2012)

If you accept the premise that it’s inevitable your enterprise network will be attacked, and most likely breached, then is mitigation really where the IT security focus should be?

“All organisations are susceptible to being breached and anything contrary to that fact is false,” claims Marcus Carey, a security researcher at Rapid7. “

It is impossible to eliminate all risk when it comes to network security.” IT security is all about minimising the risk level through the use of defence in-depth strategies and incident response plans: detect and destroy is the motto of the day.So is it right to suggest, as I have done in the introduction to this piece, that a network breach is all but inevitable? Perhaps unsurprisingly opinion is divided on this one. Wade Baker, director of risk intelligence at Verizon, reckons that taking such a view is “unhelpful at best” and points out that “97 per cent of the attacks analysed in the 2012 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report were avoidable, without the need for organisations to resort to difficult or expensive countermeasures.”

He does, however, admit that the security industry has long been guilty of placing the emphasis on prevention and not enough into detection and response. “Risk mitigation implies companies assume an almost passive role, checking no alarms have been tripped and watching who is trying to climb over the walls,” Baker insists, concluding “I would suggest that we need agile security teams that can take a proactive role and not only monitor external attacks, but also gain visibility of what is going on inside the network to check no one has sneaked past defences.”

Darien Kindlund, senior staff scientist at security specialist FireEye, is succinct in his disagreement. “In fact, it’s better to assume your organisation has already been compromised and develop defences based around that assumption,” he told IT Pro. “You will be less surprised and better prepared, accordingly”.

Or, as Arun Sood from SCIT Labs puts it: “The current cyber security approaches rely on prior knowledge of the vulnerabilities and the threats. However, the current approaches are in-adequate. Ensuring reliable and accurate knowledge of the vulnerabilities and the attacker, is impossible – there are far too many threads to track at any one time. Attempts at increasing probability of detection leads to rapid increase in false positives and thus security operations costs. Thus we believe that intrusions are inevitable. Mitigation strategies are required for limiting the losses”.

Dead duck security?

 But if the mitigation argument holds up, where does that leave attack prevention? Is it really pointless to try and prevent a breach, and should resources therefore be focused on containment instead? Filippo Cassini, vice president of International Systems Engineering at Fortinet, certainly doesn’t hold with the ‘pointless’ argument, suggesting that leaving prevention out of the equation “would be like taking away seat belts from a car because we have airbags.”

Or as Kevin Dowd, CEO at CNS says “surviving an advanced and sustained attack would be difficult for many businesses, but that doesn’t mean they should give up.” Indeed, he believes they should have counter measures in place that make an attack too challenging in terms of the resources needed. “This is where most businesses could do better,” Dowd insists. “Often, SMEs think that they are too small or not visible enough to be a target.“

Consequently, detective capabilities are often weak, the Verizon 2012 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 92 per cent of incidents were discovered by a third party, and businesses end up developing their security strategy under duress.

Mitigating post-hack is more difficult and expensive. “We estimate that every pound spent up front on security measures is worth ten pounds after a breach, when businesses can be faced with high emergency response rates and consultants on site for longer than would have previously have been necessary,” Dowd adds.

Much of this can be mitigated into oblivion by getting rid of the sensitive data in the first place – by out sourcing payments so as to avoid holding card data, for example – and improving the governance structure.

In conclusion

It’s all very well talking about mitigation in terms of containment and analysis, but this whole argument surely stands or falls on whether the breach itself is detected in a timely fashion. I would argue that, in far too many instances, detection doesn’t happen until weeks after the breach event itself and sometimes those weeks can run into months.

Verizon’s Baker told me that amongst the more advanced attacks he has investigated, such as those which target intellectual property, which are difficult to spot “many take a year or more to pinpoint, and we suspect that many more are simply never discovered by the victim.

“I’m not suggesting that breach mitigation is a red herring, and it’s certainly no dead duck either, but for mitigation strategy to work successfully it has to be coupled with effective real-time breach detection technology to prevent data loss.

“To be successful in attack mitigation you need to firstly, understand what’s happening and then target your resources appropriately to contain and eradicate the threat,” says Don Smith, director of technology at Dell SecureWorks, who warns that learning from your mistakes is a vital link in the chain and one that reactive mitigation alone is unlikely to forge.”

If your focus is always on reacting to successful breaches you are going to be the easiest target and will be breached a lot,” Smith says. “You need to focus on prevention, monitoring and how you successfully respond to a breach, not spend all your time looking at the past.”

Basic Lessons

Breach Mitigation or Bust?

Leave a comment

Even large corporates can fall foul of the weakest link scenario, with the hacker following a likely looking ‘suit’ home and cracking the most likely default Wi-Fi router encryption. From here it’s a relatively simple journey to the machine they have attached to the corporate VPN.

From an ITPro article: Data security: is breach mitigation all that’s left? by Davd Winder (30 July 2012)

If you accept the premise that it’s inevitable your enterprise network will be attacked, and most likely breached, then is mitigation really where the IT security focus should be?

“All organisations are susceptible to being breached and anything contrary to that fact is false,” claims Marcus Carey, a security researcher at Rapid7. “

It is impossible to eliminate all risk when it comes to network security.” IT security is all about minimising the risk level through the use of defence in-depth strategies and incident response plans: detect and destroy is the motto of the day.So is it right to suggest, as I have done in the introduction to this piece, that a network breach is all but inevitable? Perhaps unsurprisingly opinion is divided on this one. Wade Baker, director of risk intelligence at Verizon, reckons that taking such a view is “unhelpful at best” and points out that “97 per cent of the attacks analysed in the 2012 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report were avoidable, without the need for organisations to resort to difficult or expensive countermeasures.”

He does, however, admit that the security industry has long been guilty of placing the emphasis on prevention and not enough into detection and response. “Risk mitigation implies companies assume an almost passive role, checking no alarms have been tripped and watching who is trying to climb over the walls,” Baker insists, concluding “I would suggest that we need agile security teams that can take a proactive role and not only monitor external attacks, but also gain visibility of what is going on inside the network to check no one has sneaked past defences.”

Darien Kindlund, senior staff scientist at security specialist FireEye, is succinct in his disagreement. “In fact, it’s better to assume your organisation has already been compromised and develop defences based around that assumption,” he told IT Pro. “You will be less surprised and better prepared, accordingly”.

Or, as Arun Sood from SCIT Labs puts it: “The current cyber security approaches rely on prior knowledge of the vulnerabilities and the threats. However, the current approaches are in-adequate. Ensuring reliable and accurate knowledge of the vulnerabilities and the attacker, is impossible – there are far too many threads to track at any one time. Attempts at increasing probability of detection leads to rapid increase in false positives and thus security operations costs. Thus we believe that intrusions are inevitable. Mitigation strategies are required for limiting the losses”.

Dead duck security?

 But if the mitigation argument holds up, where does that leave attack prevention? Is it really pointless to try and prevent a breach, and should resources therefore be focused on containment instead? Filippo Cassini, vice president of International Systems Engineering at Fortinet, certainly doesn’t hold with the ‘pointless’ argument, suggesting that leaving prevention out of the equation “would be like taking away seat belts from a car because we have airbags.”

Or as Kevin Dowd, CEO at CNS says “surviving an advanced and sustained attack would be difficult for many businesses, but that doesn’t mean they should give up.” Indeed, he believes they should have counter measures in place that make an attack too challenging in terms of the resources needed. “This is where most businesses could do better,” Dowd insists. “Often, SMEs think that they are too small or not visible enough to be a target.“

Consequently, detective capabilities are often weak, the Verizon 2012 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 92 per cent of incidents were discovered by a third party, and businesses end up developing their security strategy under duress.

Mitigating post-hack is more difficult and expensive. “We estimate that every pound spent up front on security measures is worth ten pounds after a breach, when businesses can be faced with high emergency response rates and consultants on site for longer than would have previously have been necessary,” Dowd adds.

Much of this can be mitigated into oblivion by getting rid of the sensitive data in the first place – by out sourcing payments so as to avoid holding card data, for example – and improving the governance structure.

In conclusion

It’s all very well talking about mitigation in terms of containment and analysis, but this whole argument surely stands or falls on whether the breach itself is detected in a timely fashion. I would argue that, in far too many instances, detection doesn’t happen until weeks after the breach event itself and sometimes those weeks can run into months.

Verizon’s Baker told me that amongst the more advanced attacks he has investigated, such as those which target intellectual property, which are difficult to spot “many take a year or more to pinpoint, and we suspect that many more are simply never discovered by the victim.

“I’m not suggesting that breach mitigation is a red herring, and it’s certainly no dead duck either, but for mitigation strategy to work successfully it has to be coupled with effective real-time breach detection technology to prevent data loss.

“To be successful in attack mitigation you need to firstly, understand what’s happening and then target your resources appropriately to contain and eradicate the threat,” says Don Smith, director of technology at Dell SecureWorks, who warns that learning from your mistakes is a vital link in the chain and one that reactive mitigation alone is unlikely to forge.”

If your focus is always on reacting to successful breaches you are going to be the easiest target and will be breached a lot,” Smith says. “You need to focus on prevention, monitoring and how you successfully respond to a breach, not spend all your time looking at the past.”

The Future Holds...

Beyond DCI – The Need for New D-Cinema Standards

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Those of us who create and manufacture digital cinema projection equipment face the challenge of knowing what standards to aim for as frame rates jump from 24 to 48, 60 and beyond. At 24 fps, the DCI-specified peak bit rate of 250 Mbps for the picture is satisfactory. It seems logical then that, by doubling the frame rate to 48, we also need to double the bit rate to 500. Indeed, the general industry direction for exhibiting 48 fps 3D material is leaning toward a bit rate of 450 Mbps, leaving some room for peaking to 500.

As we move toward HFR and its necessary twin, high bit rate (HBR), the whole production and exhibition chain must move in unison. Cameras, servers, IMBs and projectors all have to be modified and advanced to keep up with the necessary speeds. Nowhere is this more evident than in the giant screen venues, which require multiple synchronized projectors and servers that can handle high bit rates and high frame rates. As an industry facing change, we need to come to agreement on what is necessary and update the DCI and SMPTE specs for the D-cinema industry. Before we can, we need to address some technical issues, namely the need for HFR content to test, how to measure frame rate specs of equipment, and what to do with mixed content within the same show. An additional concern is the special needs of Giant Screen exhibition, namely servers capable of streaming 4K 3D data to dual synchronized projectors.

First, there is the problem that testing new equipment at high frame rates and high bit rates requires content. This won’t be an issue if filmmakers begin filming at 48 or 60 fps. We’re looking forward to The Hobbit presentations later this year to see the full potential of the media.

Another technical issue is the varied ways in which bit rate is measured. We saw at NAB and CinemaCon this year that most manufacturers of D-cinema projection equipment now stream 48 fps data at aggregate speeds of 500 Mbps. However, this does not necessarily mean that all the internal independent components within the JPEG 2000 codestream, each of which may have limitations, can run at bit rates of 500 Mbps. DCP providers need to be aware that these limitations exist when making decisions about mastering. We will need to ensure that manufacturers report both aggregate and component bit rates.

An interesting dilemma that has not yet been solved is what to do with content of different speeds played in the same show. Servers and projectors will behave differently when switching between content with different frame rates and this can lead to viewing problems. What if a 24 fps trailer is played before a 48 fps presentation of The Hobbit? We will need to hear from exhibitors and content owners about want they want to provide in terms of an acceptable user experience. The Inter-Society Digital Cinema Forum (ISDCF) is aware of this problem and has been conducting tests with various manufacturers and content owners involved.

One major limitation to implementing HFR stereo 3D that we have solved is that of moving data at sufficient speeds from server to projector. This has been accomplished by swapping the HD-SDI cable for an Ethernet connection, as well as embedding IMBs in projectors. IMBs have now become industry-standard equipment shipped with all servers, and a necessary part of any new spec. Coupled with improvements in Series 2 projectors, including image brightness, the IMB’s increased speeds will certainly enhance image quality and alleviate some of the viewer discomfort during stereo 3D projection.

How Qube handles these challenges

The Qube XP-I server is capable of a bit rate of 1 Gbps, while each Xi IMB can handle up to 500 Mbps, with no component bit rate limitation. This is in keeping with current storage throughput and image decoder specs. Qube servers have the same component and aggregate bit rates.

The Qube XP-I server and Xi IMB are capable of frame rates up to 120 fps per eye. This gives a frame rate of up to 240 fps for dual projection driven by a single server streaming a single DCP for stereo 3D.

Qube has also shown that exhibition of 4K 3D content on Giant Screens is possible from a single XP-I server, streaming data at 1 Gbps and 30 fps to dual synchronized ultra-bright projectors. This greatly enhances the 3D viewing experience at Giant Screen venues.

When updating digital cinema specifications, we should aim high with respect to HFR in anticipation of where filmmakers might go. In this way we will be future proofing the next set of standards.

Rajesh Ramachandran is the CTO of Qube Cinema.

The Future Holds...

Beyond DCI – The Need for New D-Cinema Standards

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Those of us who create and manufacture digital cinema projection equipment face the challenge of knowing what standards to aim for as frame rates jump from 24 to 48, 60 and beyond. At 24 fps, the DCI-specified peak bit rate of 250 Mbps for the picture is satisfactory. It seems logical then that, by doubling the frame rate to 48, we also need to double the bit rate to 500. Indeed, the general industry direction for exhibiting 48 fps 3D material is leaning toward a bit rate of 450 Mbps, leaving some room for peaking to 500.

As we move toward HFR and its necessary twin, high bit rate (HBR), the whole production and exhibition chain must move in unison. Cameras, servers, IMBs and projectors all have to be modified and advanced to keep up with the necessary speeds. Nowhere is this more evident than in the giant screen venues, which require multiple synchronized projectors and servers that can handle high bit rates and high frame rates. As an industry facing change, we need to come to agreement on what is necessary and update the DCI and SMPTE specs for the D-cinema industry. Before we can, we need to address some technical issues, namely the need for HFR content to test, how to measure frame rate specs of equipment, and what to do with mixed content within the same show. An additional concern is the special needs of Giant Screen exhibition, namely servers capable of streaming 4K 3D data to dual synchronized projectors.

First, there is the problem that testing new equipment at high frame rates and high bit rates requires content. This won’t be an issue if filmmakers begin filming at 48 or 60 fps. We’re looking forward to The Hobbit presentations later this year to see the full potential of the media.

Another technical issue is the varied ways in which bit rate is measured. We saw at NAB and CinemaCon this year that most manufacturers of D-cinema projection equipment now stream 48 fps data at aggregate speeds of 500 Mbps. However, this does not necessarily mean that all the internal independent components within the JPEG 2000 codestream, each of which may have limitations, can run at bit rates of 500 Mbps. DCP providers need to be aware that these limitations exist when making decisions about mastering. We will need to ensure that manufacturers report both aggregate and component bit rates.

An interesting dilemma that has not yet been solved is what to do with content of different speeds played in the same show. Servers and projectors will behave differently when switching between content with different frame rates and this can lead to viewing problems. What if a 24 fps trailer is played before a 48 fps presentation of The Hobbit? We will need to hear from exhibitors and content owners about want they want to provide in terms of an acceptable user experience. The Inter-Society Digital Cinema Forum (ISDCF) is aware of this problem and has been conducting tests with various manufacturers and content owners involved.

One major limitation to implementing HFR stereo 3D that we have solved is that of moving data at sufficient speeds from server to projector. This has been accomplished by swapping the HD-SDI cable for an Ethernet connection, as well as embedding IMBs in projectors. IMBs have now become industry-standard equipment shipped with all servers, and a necessary part of any new spec. Coupled with improvements in Series 2 projectors, including image brightness, the IMB’s increased speeds will certainly enhance image quality and alleviate some of the viewer discomfort during stereo 3D projection.

How Qube handles these challenges

The Qube XP-I server is capable of a bit rate of 1 Gbps, while each Xi IMB can handle up to 500 Mbps, with no component bit rate limitation. This is in keeping with current storage throughput and image decoder specs. Qube servers have the same component and aggregate bit rates.

The Qube XP-I server and Xi IMB are capable of frame rates up to 120 fps per eye. This gives a frame rate of up to 240 fps for dual projection driven by a single server streaming a single DCP for stereo 3D.

Qube has also shown that exhibition of 4K 3D content on Giant Screens is possible from a single XP-I server, streaming data at 1 Gbps and 30 fps to dual synchronized ultra-bright projectors. This greatly enhances the 3D viewing experience at Giant Screen venues.

When updating digital cinema specifications, we should aim high with respect to HFR in anticipation of where filmmakers might go. In this way we will be future proofing the next set of standards.

Rajesh Ramachandran is the CTO of Qube Cinema.

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Digital Process Workflow at Createasphere

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Digital Process Workflow Lab To Simulate Leading Real-World Post Production Strategies for Both Film and Television

Partners Bring Clarity, Cohesion to First-of-its-kind Pavilion at Createasphere’s Fall Entertainment Technology Expo

BURBANK, CA (August 14, 2012)   Three months before its scheduled launch, Createasphere and its partners have announced further developments in the content of the first-ever Digital Process Workflow (DPW) Lab at the fall edition of the Entertainment Technology Expo (ETE) being held at the Burbank Marriott, November 7-8. The DPW Lab is a curated, walk-through demonstration of the digital workflow ecosystem and the processes that define how content is created, distributed and archived today and in the near future. As both the feature film and broadcast industries continue to adopt new digital technologies, many production professionals are looking for guidance. The DPW Lab will demonstrate customizable strategies that are scalable and affordable, based on real-world solutions that Lab partners are integrating and creating every day in post.

DPW Lab partners – including Dell, ARRI, Technicolor, Adobe, 5th Kind, FilmLight, Signiant, Levels Beyond, Quantum, Codex and other leading solution providers – are working together to develop a demonstration of file-based content creation from capture to archive and distribution. Each company will contribute its authoritative expertise to an integrated pavilion that showcases today’s best-in-class digital workflow. The ultimate goal of the Lab is for attendees to leave with a “big-picture” understanding of how decisions at every stage of production and post production impact the quality of content generation, and how that content can be accessed and monetized for the future.

Interactive, educational sections of the DPW Lab will break down each step of the digital processes for feature film and television content creation. A simulated workflow will explore where post begins, how decision-making impacts each stage of the process, and how content is created with real-world solutions in mind. Areas of focus will include:

  • Capture – from camera, on-set dailies management, data capture, and file movement
  • Post – integration of editing, visual effects, finishing and color grading to deliverables
  • Storage – hardware, networking, digital asset management (DAM), and media asset management (MAM)
  • Security – addressing high level protection and performance
  • Distribution – global connectivity
  • Exhibition – cinema and home
  • Mobile – extending the story to second screen experiences
  • Archiving/preservation – accessibility, usability and monetization of content

“We are extremely proud to showcase our media and entertainment solutions in Createasphere’s Digital Process Workflow Lab this year,” said Laurie Hutto-Hill, general manager for Dell Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment. “The industry’s recent digital transition has created a need for consolidated hardware, unified workflow processes and intelligent storage and archive systems, and we’re thrilled to be able to demonstrate our ability to support these new digital models at the show this year.”

Industry alliances, keynote speakers and the availability of a downloadable guide and map for the Lab will be announced soon. For more information, visit http://www.createasphere.com/dpwlab.

About Createasphere
Createasphere is the premier business development partner for technology enabled entertainment, marketing, and communications organizations. We advance careers and technologies by connecting world-class professionals globally online and in person.

Createasphere was founded in 2001, and over the past decade has grown into a global company that in 2011 produced seventeen events over three continents as well as five websites. Createasphere became part of Diversified Business Communications in 2008, and now drives their entertainment, media, technology strategies and properties division. Currently, Createasphere produces the Entertainment Technology Expos in Los Angeles; the Digital Asset Management Conference in New York, Los Angeles, and Europe; The DAMMY Awards in New York; the Executive Marketplaces for Houses of Worship in Los Angeles and Chicago; Post Production Master Classes in New York and Los Angeles, the Digital Process Workflow Lab and the online news and content portals ProVideoCoalition.com, DamCoalition.com and ProPhotoCoalition.com.

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