Metadata
2008-Q2	Tag-based informational retrieval for educational videos
	Mark Melenhorst, Marjan Grootveld and Mettina Veenstra (1323 kB)
	In this article we report on a study that explores the contribution of social tags, professional metadata and automatically generated metadata to the retrieval process. In the tagging phase of the study, 194 participants tagged a total of 115 educational videos. In the search phase, 140 participants searched the video collection for answers to eight questions. The results show that, in the current context, social tags yield an effective retrieval process, whereas automatically-generated metadata do not. In this study we have found some evidence for the claim that social tagging is effective, because in the retrieval process the same terminology is used as in the process of assigning metadata.
295	TV-Anytime Phase 1 — a decisive milestone in open standards for Personal Video Recorders Jean-Pierre Evain and Hervé Murret-Labarthe (566 KB)
	TV-Anytime is an “open” set of specifications for use with personal video recorders. It is being adapted for use in Europe (the DVB Consortium), Japan (ARIB), the USA (ATSC) and other areas. This article describes Phase 1 of the specifications, which will shortly be published as ETSI Technical Specifications and Reports.
294	Some considerations on using P_META and Dublin Core EBU Project Group P/Meta (192 KB)
	Since the EBU P/Meta Project began in 1999, a number of standardized metadata schemes have become available, and there is considerable debate regarding their relative merits and appropriateness for different purposes. As well as P/Meta’s output – EBU Tech doc 3295 (P_META v1.0) – the EBU also offers Tech doc 3293 (Metadata for Radio Archives), based on Dublin Core. However, the different schemes need not be mutually exclusive. This article – written by the former Chair of P/FRA, Richard Wright from the BBC Information & Archives division – discusses the relationship between these two schemes and the scope for co-existence.
294	Data modelling terminology and P_META EBU Project Group P/Meta (204 KB)
	Data analysis and modelling are relatively new disciplines in the broadcasting industry, but have become increasingly important because the digital convergence of media and information systems has raised the profile and value of “metadata” to organizations. Professional data analysts, entering the broadcasting industry from the information systems industry, have brought with them some well-established terms and techniques which are now entering regular use – and they need to be clearly understood. This article – written by Andy Carter, a Data Analyst in BBC Technology's Media Data Group – attempts to provide some clear definitions for common information industry terms and approaches, and it positions the P_META Scheme v1.0 within this context.
290	Radio archive metadata Richard Wright and Marit Grimstad (362 KB)
	Radio archivists and engineers across Europe have agreed on a simple set of terms for describing archive content. This set agrees with the standard widely used in conventional archives, libraries, publishing and web production – and by the Audio Engineering Society. This article describes what was agreed and why, and how it fits in with other metadata work in broadcasting.
290	EBU Project Group P/Meta — Metadata Exchange Scheme, V1.0 Richard Hopper (574 KB)
	Since we last reported here on the work of EBU Project Group P/Meta, the Metadata Exchange Scheme has been published in version 0.9 (to encourage user feedback). This follow-up article describes what is expected to appear in version 1.0 of the Scheme, to be published in Spring 2002 – what it will represent and how it will relate to other metadata schemes, particularly those of the SMPTE and TV-Anytime. The article identifies what should happen next to support implementation and use of the Scheme, and describes some example transactions used in the P/Meta demonstration at IBC 2001.
284	EBU Project Group P/Meta — Metadata Exchange Standards Richard Hopper (251 KB)
	EBU project group, P/META, is defining and representing the information requirements for the exchange of programme content between the high-level business functions of EBU members: Production, Delivery / Broadcast and Archive. The product under development – the P/META Scheme – provides defined metadata to support the identification, description, discovery and use of essence in Business-to-Business (“B2B”) transactions. The metadata may either accompany the essence in streams or files, using a variety of standardized transports; or it may be transported independently of the essence, as metadata alone. The P/META Scheme itself is independent of the technology used and may be supported by any coding protocol / transport that assures its information integrity. This article outlines the approach taken by the P/META project and identifies the deliverables.
284	TV-Anytime metadata – a preliminary specification on schedule! Jean-Pierre Evain (187 KB)
	TV-Anytime will allow consumers to watch programmes in the way they want and when they want. Consumers will be able to access content from a variety of sources, including traditional broadcast and new on-line interactive services – for presentation at any time of the day. New tools (including hard-disk storage, set-top boxes, and high-speed Internet access) will allow us to achieve that goal, i.e. to search, select, access, personalize, capture, and manage a wide and diverse range of attractive content. This article describes the current work to define a metadata solution, within the metadata technical framework approved by the TV-Anytime Forum. The article is based on the preliminary TV-Anytime specification, which was approved for publication on 28 September 2000 at Marina del Rey, California.
284	The integration of metadata – from production to consumer Peter Mulder (94 KB)
	The newly-formed MPEG-7 Ad-hoc Group on Integration is currently dedicating itself to the task of integrating metadata as approached by the SMPTE (for the professional TV Production domain) with the metadata approach chosen by the MPEG-7 community. The SMPTE approach is based on a dictionary and binary coding, and is intended specifically for machine control and fast real-time applications. The MPEG-7 approach is based on standard XML and is human readable. For professional use during the more technical phases of production and post production, the SMPTE approach can be well suited while, in the domain of consumer set-top boxes, the most promising interface is XML-based. Both approaches have value in their own right, each with distinct advantages at specific points in the content production and delivery processes. For this reason alone, it is worth the effort of trying to harmonize the two approaches. It would be of great benefit to broadcasters if production metadata and consumer services were to connect together seamlessly – without human intervention in the form of Metadata Editors in the transmission multiplex area.
277	Wrappers and Metadata O. Morgan (181 KB)
	The Wrappers and Metadata subgroup of the EBU-SMPTE Task Force set out to find a single comprehensive solution which would cover the requirements for classifying Metadata, and the requirements for wrapping programme Content into suitable containers which would ensure complete interoperability in a future networked production environment. As described in brief here, this work has led among other things to the creation of a Metadata “encyclopaedia”, which is maintained by a registry mechanism, the specification of a Unique Material Identifier for the Content contained in a Wrapper, as well as the specification of various Wrapper formats for the streaming and storage of Content.
MPEG-2
304	MPEG-2 — high-compression technologies for HDTV Masaaki Kurozumi, Yukihiro Nishida and Eisuke Nakasu (451 KB)
	Digital video coding standards offer flexibility in their encoding techniques and enable coding efficiency improvements, in compliance with the standard, over a period of time. The MPEG-2 video coding standard [1] employs the adaptive DCT coding scheme with motion-compensated prediction. The amount of overhead information, including motion vector codes and coding modes, is often large for critical HDTV sequences at lower bitrates. NHK’s new coding method [2] – conforming to the MPEG-2 Main Profile – significantly reduces the amount of overhead information and makes digital HDTV services possible at lower bitrates, while maintaining compatibility with conventional digital broadcast receivers.
288	MPEG-2 4:2:2 – interoperability and picture-quality tests in the laboratory Brian Flowers (251 KB)
	Verification of the correct interoperability of MPEG-2/P@ML encoders and decoders (IRDs) – as supplied by various manufacturers – is an important task which is best carried out by independent third parties, such as the EBU. This article gives the results of back-to-back interoperability tests carried out in the laboratory by the EBU in June 2001, as a follow-up to satellite tests made in May 2000, when several problems were encountered. The new results are very encouraging, showing that almost perfect interoperability has now been achieved. Moreover, the picture-quality performance of the latest encoders and decoders shows a noticeable improvement compared with first-generation encoders and decoders.
285	MPEG-2 4:2:2 interoperability tests via satellite Brian. Flowers (171 KB)
	This article describes the interoperability tests, via satellite, which the EBU recently carried out on commercially-available MPEG-2 Professional 4:2:2 Profile@Main Level encoders and decoders.
282	Picture quality in MPEG video J. Fletcher and M. Prior-Jones (114 KB)
	This article describes an investigation made into the effects of DCT coefficient quantization on the picture quality of MPEG-coded video. This involved subjective tests in which viewers were asked to grade pictures that had been coded at a fixed level of quantization. The results give a relationship between subjective picture quality and quantizer_scale.
281	MPEG-2 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 — comparative subjective tests at low bit-rates A. Nyberg (87 KB)
	This article reports on subjective test carried out by Swedish Television (SVT) in order to find a possible crossing point where MPEG 4:2:0 becomes superior to MPEG 4:2:2 encoding. The test were performed with the objective of extending the results reported in EBU Technical Review No. 279 to bit-rates of 5 Mbit/s and below.
279	Comparison between 4:2:2P and 4:2:0 — for 525- and 625-line pictures L. Cheveau and A. Caruso (209 KB)
	This article reports on the results of tests carried out by the EBU and CBC on 4:2:2P and 4:2:0 codecs, using the newly-available Tektronix Picture Quality Analyzer. CBC were responsible for the 525-line tests and the EBU for the 625-line tests.
276	MPEG-2 4:2:2 Profile — its use for contribution/collection and primary distribution A. Caruso, L. Cheveau and B. Flowers (226 KB)
	This article investigates the use of MPEG-2 4:2:2 technology for both contribution/collection and primary distribution networks – as a means of reducing the level of complexity created by the imminent migration into the digital world. Extensive testing, organized by the CBC with the assistance of the EBU and NDS, has shown very clearly that the performance of the 4:2:2 Profile – at bit-rates between 15 and 4 Mbit/s – remains superior to the 4:2:0 Profile (MP@ML). The results of this investigation had an immediate impact on two major broadcasting organizations; the EBU has decided to implement digital video compression technology based only on the MPEG-2 4:2:2 Profile for contribution at both 8 and 20 Mbit/s. The CBC has also decided to utilize the MPEG-2 4:2:2 Profile in its television networks at 8-10 Mbit/s for primary distribution and 18-20 Mbit/s for contribution/collection.
275	Transparent concatenation of MPEG compression N. Wells (279 KB)
	The techniques described here allow the MPEG compression standard to be used in a consistent and efficient manner throughout the broadcast chain. By using a so-called “MOLE” which is buried within the decoded programme material, it is possible to concatenate (i.e. cascade) many MPEG encoders and decoders throughout the broadcast chain – without any loss of audio or video quality. The described techniques have been developed in the ATLANTIC Project which is a European collaborative project within the ACTS framework.
271	Concatenation of compression codecs: the need for objective evaluations C.J. Dalton (63 KB)
	In this article the Author considers, firstly, a hypothetical broadcast network in which compression equipments have replaced several existing functions – resulting in multiple-cascading. Secondly, he describes a similar network that has been optimized for compression technology. Picture-quality assessment methods – both conventional and new, subjective and objective – are discussed with the aim of providing background information. Some proposals are put forward for objective evaluation together with initial observations when concatenating (cascading) codecs of similar and different types.
266	MPEG video – A simple introduction S.R. Ely (89 KB)
	The core element of all DVB systems is the MPEG-2 vision coding standard, which is based upon a flexible toolkit of techniques for bit-rate reduction. The MPEG-2 specification only defines the bit-stream syntax and decoding process. The coding process is not specified, which means that compatible improvements in the picture quality will continue to be possible. In this article, the author provides a simple introduction to the technicalities of the MPEG-2 video coding standard.
MPEG-4
279	MPEG-4 — opening new frontiers to broadcast services F. Pereira and R. Koenen (299 KB)
	The recently finalized MPEG-4 standard follows an object-based audio-visual representation model, with integrated hyperlinking and interaction capabilities. It offers support for both natural and computer-generated content. This article discusses the new possibilities that MPEG-4 technology could offer to broadcast services, and addresses the consequences in terms of new and enhanced applications. MPEG-4 is not designed to replace MPEG-2. On the contrary, MPEG is actively working on a solid integration of MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 technology, which will allow new and attractive services within existing digital broadcasting environments.
Multimedia
270	Multimedia – A progress report A. d'Aboville (44 KB)
	In this article, the Author proffers his assessment of how far multimedia services have progressed during 1996, and gives a personal insight into how the market may develop in the next year or two.
Multimedia (mobile)
285	Mobility and Interactivity – the saviour of digital terrestrial broadcasting? K. Engström (335 KB)
	The Internet and mobile phone networks are throwing down great challenges to traditional broadcasters. This article offers a gleam of hope to beleaguered broadcasters who are impatient for DAB and DVB-T to really excite the marketplace, in the same way that the WWW, DVDs and WAP-enabled telephones have.
281	Multimedia on the move — overview of relevant ACTS projects W. Carter and H. Stewart (568 KB)
	The demand for information and entertainment on the move has grown spectacularly in recent years. The ubiquitous mobile phone meets some of these needs, but in a very limited way. Mobile multimedia services would meet our needs much more effectively. Multimedia services are bandwidth-hungry and require much more downstream capacity than upstream capacity. A cost-effective approach to delivering such services can be offered by combining digital broadcasting technology, for the high-capacity downstream links, with relatively low-speed mobile telecoms technology for the upstream links. The EU’s ACTS programme has made major contributions to enhancing the technology, and to providing visions of the mobile interactive broadband services that could be offered to customers during the next decade. This article offers an overview of those achievements.
281	Interactive mobile streaming services — the convergence of broadcast and mobile communication U. Horn, R. Keller and N. Niebert (285 KB)
	In this article, the authors discuss some of the challenges and opportunities resulting from the convergence of broadcast and mobile communication services. Starting with an overview of DAB, DVB and the emerging third-generation mobile communication networks – with a special focus on UMTS – the advantages that result from a combination of UMTS with data broadcast facilities, as provided by DAB and DVB, are discussed. This allows us to provide mobile users with interactive mobile IP streaming services, thereby opening the door for a lot of interesting mobile applications. The enabling of new services is not enough, however, if we take into account the limited spectrum allocation for mobile communication systems. Hence the article discusses the possibilities for efficient and flexible spectrum utilization. Mechanisms for dynamic spectrum and service allocation are introduced, which can be seen as a prerequisite, not only for efficient spectrum utilization, but also as an enabling technology towards more flexible communication services than we have today.
Multimedia Home Platform (MHP)
291	How to establish an MHP application development environment Olav Frølich (232 KB)
	Danmarks Radio (DR) has carried out an analysis on how to establish an MHP application development environment. In this article, some of the conclusions and considerations are presented. Different areas of relevance are discussed: the technical changes in the transmission chain, the establishment of the application development environment and some aspects of the play-out system.
284	Report on IBC 2000 A. Smith (166 KB)
	This article reports on the launch of the DVB Multimedia Home Platform at IBC 2000 in Amsterdam during September 2000.
282	First outing for MHP at IFA 99 S. Heimbecher (112 KB)
	The IRT – together with a group of representatives from DVB, the EBU, public and private broadcasters, research institutes as well as the software, computer and consumer electronics industries – staged the first public demonstrations of the Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) at IFA 99 in Berlin, during late August/early September 1999. The demonstrations were considered a great success as outlined in this report.
275	The Multimedia Home Platform — an overview J.-P. Evain (207 KB)
	The Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) encompasses the peripherals and the interconnection of multimedia equipment via the in-home digital network. The MHP solution covers the whole set of technologies that are necessary to implement digital interactive multimedia in the home – including protocols, common API languages, interfaces and recommendations. This article offers an introduction to the design and harmonization of MHP receivers, starting with a reference model which has been derived from the DVB and UNITEL reference models.
News Acquisition
2004-Q1	Streaming audio contributions over IP — a new EBU standard
	Lars Jonsson and Mathias Coinchon (537 kB)
	Audio-over-IP end units are increasingly being used in radio operations for the streaming of radio programmes over IP networks, from remote sites or local offices into main studio centres. The IP networks used can be well-managed private networks with controlled Quality of Service. However, the open Internet is increasingly being used also for various types of radio contribution, especially over longer distances. Radio correspondents will have the choice in their equipment to use either ISDN, the Internet via ADSL or other available IP networks to deliver their reports. ISDN services used in broadcasting will be closed down in some countries. The EBU has created a standard for interoperability in a project group, N/ACIP (Audio Contribution over IP). This standard, which has been jointly developed by members of the EBU group and manufacturers, is published as EBU Tech 3326-2007. The standard has quickly been implemented by the manufacturers. A “plug test” between nine manufacturers, held in February 2008, proved that earlier incompatible units can now connect according to the new standard.
281	Newsgathering — and future technology Richard Sambrook (248 KB)
	The Head of BBC Newsgathering considers the lessons of Kosovo and looks at future technical requirements for newsgathering, issuing a challenge for equipment manufacturers and developers.
272	Testing the new television tape formats for news and sport Richard Chalmers (100 KB)
	Last year, two new digital tape recording formats were launched, aimed at the news, current affairs and sports sectors of television production: Sony Betacam SX and Panasonic DVCPRO. In co-operation with the manufacturers, EBU Group P/DTR carried out extensive tests on these new formats and their reports on the tests became available in April of this year. These will be made available only to EBU Members. In this article, the Author presents a synopsis of the EBU reports on these two new tape formats.

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