AN2011-05 Transition From SD To HD Operation

GEP100 - HEP100
3Gb/s, HD, SD embedded domain Dolby E to PCM

decoder with audio shuffer
A

product

COPYRIGHT2011 AXON DIGITAL DESIGN B.V.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
NO PART OF THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF
AXON DIGITAL DESIGN B.V.
3Gb/s
Upgradable to
Embedded
Metadata
S2020
Quad speed
Transition from SD to HD operation
A discussion of considerations and approaches
towards changing a channel from SD to HD
A

application note

COPYRIGHT2011 AXON DIGITAL DESIGN B.V.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
NO PART OF THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF
AXON DIGITAL DESIGN B.V.
EMBEDDED AUDIO PROCESSING EMBEDDED AUDIO PROCESSING TRANSITION OF A CHANNEL FROM SD TO HD OPERATION
With the increasing affordability of large, wide-
screen displays and improved compression
technologies enabling more picture information to
be transmitted in less data bandwidth, coupled with
the need to keep up with the competition, the move
from Standard Defnition (SD) to High Defnition
transmission (HD) operation is now
under way in many parts of the
world. This brings with it challenges
and great opportunities.
Unless a channel is in its start-
up phase and is not intending to
use legacy material it will almost
certainly have to make provision
for both SD 4:3 and HD 16:9 media
and it will also need to maintain
transmissions to viewers who use SD
reception equipment, at least in the
medium term. Some territories have
further complications in that they
have produced wide-screen material
in standard defnition; however that
will not be covered in detail in this
application note.
Along with the move from SD to HD
pictures and the associated change
in aspect ratio the move to HD also
gives the broadcaster the opportunity to
enhance the viewers audio experience by
providing a surround sound mix to accompany the
pictures.
This Application Note sets out to put forward areas
for consideration by broadcasters and suggest
possible migration routes from SD to HD.
Introduction
Assumptions
The following points are assumptions that have been made in setting the framework for this document.
Transmissions need to be maintained for existing SD viewers.
HD transmission will be in 16:9 aspect ratio and will have both a stereo and an associated surround
sound mix.
SD transmissions will be in 4:3 aspect ratio and will have either a stereo or mono audio tracks with
no surround sound mix.
Material intended for transmission could originate in either 4:3 (legacy/SD) or 16:9 (HD) aspect
ratios.
Material intended for transmission may contain either a stereo (or dual mono) or surround-sound
mix, or it may contain both. The surround sound mix could be recorded as either discrete tracks or
as a Dolby-E bit stream.
The program material may contain ancillary data in either the VBI (SD) or VANC/HANC (HD);
however the handling of such data will not be covered.
Axon application note page 1/18
EMBEDDED AUDIO PROCESSING EMBEDDED AUDIO PROCESSING
Considerations
TRANSITION OF A CHANNEL FROM SD TO HD OPERATION
Which HD?
Initially broadcasters were faced with the choice
of how many display lines their HD signal should
contain 720 or 1080, however this choice has largely
been made for them by the display manufacturers
who produce the majority of new devices in a
native 1080 lines (Full HD) format. There are other
devices, normally the lower prices units or those
which have a display area smaller than 21 inches,
which accept 1080 line transmissions but display
this on a screen with 768 vertical pixels.
This document assumes that HD transmission
means a signal with 1080 lines that are transmitted
as two interlaced felds i.e. 1080i50 or 1080i60
(actually 1080i59.95)
SD Display Picture Shape
High Defnition (HD) video pictures will be
produced in a wide-screen format and are intended
to be displayed on a 16:9 aspect ratio screen. As
previously stated it is assumed that existing SD
viewers will have 4:3 shaped screens; a major
consideration in the migration to HD is how a wide-
screen picture should appear on a 4:3 screen.
The frst choice facing a broadcaster is whether it is
acceptable for black bars to appear at the top and
bottom of a 4:3 screen. If this not acceptable the
picture will, in effect, need to be zoomed-in and
approximately 14% of the wide-screen picture will
need to be cropped from the sides allow it to ft on
the narrower 4:3 screen. When this occurs it will be
necessary to ensure the major parts of the action
and any on-screen captions are contained within
the area that will be displayed. With newly produced
programming it should be possible to instruct the
director, camera and graphics operators to shoot
the program such that this occurs. However
with material that is already shot or where the
broadcaster has no control over how the program
is made, such as with brought in series and flms,
it may be necessary to pan the picture to place the
action the within the area to be displayed on the
4:3 screen.
Example 1:
4:3 Screen displaying a 16:9 picture
Black bars at the top and bottom of the screen
caused when all of the wide-screen 16:9 picture
is displayed on a 4:3 screen.
Example 2:
4:3 Screen displaying a 16:9 picture flling all of
the available ares
Edges of a 16:9 picture missing when it is
expanded to fll all of the 4:3 screen.
Example 3:
4:3 Screen displaying a 16:9 picture zoomed to
14:9
Black bars at the top and bottom of the screen
reduced in size compared to example 1, but
showing more of the original image than example
2.
An alternative approach is to zoom the picture
slightly less than would be required in Example 2
and to allow narrower black bars to be displayed at
the top and bottom of the screen. Example 3 below
shows a 16:9 picture displayed as 14:9, more of
the original picture is visible and there are smaller
black bars when compared with Example 1 and
Example 2.
HD Display Picture Shape with SD source
Standard Defnition (SD) pictures have an aspect
ratio of 4:3 therefore when displayed on a 16:9
(HD) screen areas of black appear to the left and
right of the picture.
In a similar manner to displaying HD material on
a 4:3 screen the SD picture can be expanded to
fll more of the screen area, as seen in Examples 4
and 5 below. Some broadcasters chose to replace
the black areas at the sides of the screen by either
static or moving colored images, commonly called
curtains.
It should be noted that, unlike showing HD on SD displays where the original media has more vertical
pixels than lines on the SD display, the original SD pictures will have less pixels than lines on a HD display
and will therefore produce an image with reduced resolution. If this image is zoomed the resolution will
be reduced further and the picture appears softer, although this will be offset to some extent by the
processing quality of the up-converter.
In a similar manner to losing action and captions when displaying a expended 16:9 picture on a 4:3
screen, if a 4:3 picture is expanded so that there is no black above and below the image care should be
taken to avoid the loss of action and caption information (which tend to be in the lower 1/3 of the screen).
Example 4:
16:9 Screen displaying a 4:3 picture
Black bars at the side of the screen when a 4:3
picture is displayed on a 16:9 screen.
Example 5:
4:3 Screen displaying a 16:9 picture flling all of
the available area
Top and bottom of a 4:3 picture missing when it
zoomed in to fll all of the 16:9 screen.
Example 6:
16:9 Screen displaying a 4:3 picture zoomed to
14:9
Black bars at the sides of the screen reduced in
size compared to Example 4, but showing more
of the original image than Example 5.
Again an alternative approach may be to zoom the
picture slightly less than would be required in the
Example 5 above and to allow narrower black bars
to be displayed at the sides of the screen. Example
6 shows a 4:3 picture displayed as 14:9, more of
the original picture is visible and there are small
black bars.
Audio
Many satellite and cable set-top-boxes (STB) and
integrated receivers provide the facility to decode
surround sound and feed this out to a number of
speaker through an AV style amplifer system.
Broadcasters can take advantage of this to enhance
the viewing experience by providing cinema
like surround sound mixes to accompany their
programming.
STB are may be capable of down-mixing the
surround sound to provide a stereo mix if only the
inbuilt TV speakers are available.
Broadcasters need to decide if they want to transmit
surround sound and, if a program does not have a surround sound mix, do they want to generate one
by up-mixing the stereo to produce the 5.1 surround channels. The surround sound mix is commonly
transmitted as an encoded data-stream using proprietary encoders such as Dolby Digital (also known as
AC3).
Broadcasters will also need to decide if they will transmit just the encoded audio, a possibility if they
control the supply of receivers, or do they also need to include a generically encoded audio track, e.g.
MPEG1 - Layer 3, for receivers which cannot process the encoded surround sound audio track.
Operational Practices: Video
Playout Methodologies
Unless a channel is only transmitting to HD 16:9
display equipment, and its entire media library is
HD, it will need to format its output for both HD
16:9 and SD 4:3 display devices and/or also be
capable of playing-out both HD and SD source
material.
There are a number of frequently adopted methods
of accommodating these requirements, the choice
is dependent on the broadcasters existing systems,
the mix of HD and SD material they intend to
playout and how long mixed format operations are
intended to continue.
The following is not an exhaustive description of all
of the possible methodologies; it is simply intended
to act as a guide to some of the possible solutions
that might be adopted.
Up-conversion of SD Output
The simplest method of providing transmissions in
two different resolutions and aspect ratios is to use
the existing SD program output as the only source
of material for a HD 16:9 transmission system.
The broadcaster simply installs the appropriate up-
converter and fxes the settings to give the desired
picture shape (refer to section HD Display Picture
Shape with SD material).
This method allows a quick launch of HD services
however the picture quality will probably not
match HD originated material and there will either
be a loss of picture information if the picture is
expanded and cropped to fll a 16:9 screen or
there will be black bars on the sides of the screen.
Schematic1 (following page) gives a visualisation
of this method.
Up-Converter
Playout Schedule
16:9 HD
Receiver
SD 4:3
Material
Ingest /
Media
Storage
SD Playout
Server
4:3 SD
Receiver
SD
Automation
HD
Transmission
SD
Transmission
Schematic 1: Up-conversion of SD output
Dual, Simultaneous Playout
A simple method of playing out both HD and SD
material is to run two independent playout chains
side by side. Each chain has all of the media in the
correct format and both receive the same schedule
(playlist). Whilst this provides a simple solution
it is probably both the most diffcult to manage
operationally and also possibly the most expensive
as all of the playout and transmission equipment
has to be duplicated.
This methodology would also require that all
existing SD 4:3 material be re-acquired as HD 16:9
and new HD material has to be down-converted to
SD prior to playout.
However this method does have the advantage
that if the broadcasters goal is to operate with
only HD material and deliver their signal to only HD
receivers the existing SD infrastructure can remain
untouched and simply be decommissioned after
the transition period has been completed.
Schematic2 gives a visualisation of the dual,
simultaneous playout method.
Playout Schedule
HD 16:9
Material
Ingest/Media
Storage
HD Playout
Server
16:9 HD
Receiver
SD 4:3
Material
Ingest /
Media
Storage
SD Playout
Server
4:3 SD
Receiver
HD
Automation
SD
Automation
HD
Transmission
SD
Transmission
Schematic 2: Dual, Simultaneous Playout
Mixed Format Playout with SD and HD
Opt-In
An advancement to the SD Playout with HD Opt-
In method would be to also down-convert the HD
assets to SD in real-time and switch the SD output
to be fed with these at the appropriate tine. This
would however mean that there was not a complete
set of assets in either HD or SD format and accurate
information would need to be maintained about all
assets in order that the system would run smoothly.
Schematic 3 gives a visualisation of this playout
method.
Up-Converter
Playout Schedule
16:9 HD
Receiver
SD 4:3
Material
Ingest /
Media
Storage
SD Playout
Server
4:3 SD
Receiver
Automation
HD
Transmission
SD
Transmission
2x1Switch
HD 16:9
Material
Ingest/Media
Storage
HD Playout
Server
2x1Switch
Down-
Converter
Schematic 3: Mixed format playout with SD and HD Opt-In
HD Playout with Automatic Up-conversion
of SD Assets
This method of playout uses an in-built facility,
available with some video servers, to automatically
detect the video standard and switch an up-
converter into the output if required. This ensures
that all material being output from the Playout sever
is HD 16:9, achieved without user intervention.
Assets are Ingested and stored in their native video
standard and all are played out from the same
server.
If this facility is not available a similar arrangement
can be put in place using the automation to switch
an up-converter into the circuit if required.
The SD transmission output uses the HD output
as the source of its material; it is simply a down-
converted feed of the HD output.
This methodology does not require the re-ingesting
of existing material and still allows program makers
to supply in SD if they cannot provide HD at this
point in time.
Careful consideration needs to be given to the
way native 4:3 material is handled through the
system so as to avoid incorrectly shaped pictures
being shown on the SD service. Another potential
drawback of this method of operation is that if
anything should go wrong with the up-conversion
process there is no time to correct the fault before
the material is played to air.
This practice is particularly suited to operations
where the transition to HD operation is planned to
take place over a long period the management of
multiple versions (SD and HD) of the same material
would cause excessive additional workload and
may lead to confusion.
Up-Converter
Playout Schedule
16:9 HD
Receiver
SD 4:3
Material
4:3 SD
Receiver
HD
Automation
HD
Transmission
SD
Transmission
HD 16:9
Material
Ingest/Media
Storage
SD/ HD
Playout
Server
Down-
Converter
Ingest/Media
Storage
Schematic 4: HD playout with automatic up-conversion of SD Assets
HD Playout with SD material, up-converted
during Ingest
All material for playout is either delivered as HD or
converted before it is loaded on to the HD Playout
Server. This ensures that all material is conformed
correctly and can be checked as being correct
before playout. This also simplifes the workfow at
the time of playout as all media will come from the
same storage location.
Format conversion as part of the Ingest process
does not necessarily require additional staffng
resources, technology exists to automatically detect
the format of the source material and convert it to
the required HD broadcast format without manual
intervention.
As with the HD Playout with Automatic Up-
conversion of SD Assets method, previously
described, consideration needs to be given to the
way 4:3 material is handled through the system to
avoid incorrectly shaped pictures being shown on
the SD service, such as a small 4:3 in the center of
the frame, the so-called postage stamp effect.
Schematic 5 gives a visualisation of this playout
method.
Up-Converter
Playout Schedule
16:9 HD
Receiver
SD 4:3
Material
4:3 SD
Receiver
HD
Automation
HD
Transmission
SD
Transmission
HD 16:9
Material
Ingest/Media
Storage
HD Playout
Server
Down-
Converter
Schematic 5: HD Playout with SD material, up-converted during Ingest
Control of Picture Aspect Ratio
Many broadcasters who transmit in high defnition
16:9 wide-screen will also need to make provision
for the transmission of existing, and also possibly
newly acquired, 4:3 material. There will also be
viewers who continue to view on 4:3 screens.
As discussed in Standard Defnition (SD) Display
Picture and High Defnition (HD) Display Picture
Shape with SD material there are various picture
shape formatting options open to a broadcaster
however care needs to be taken to avoid poorly
formatted pictures.
This is an important consideration if all material is
converted to 16:9 HD as part of the playout process
as would be the case in the last two examples
shown previously.
Many broadcasters adopt a 4:3 picture format that
introduces bars at the top and bottom of the screen
as part of the down-conversion process, if the
original SD picture has had bars added at the sides
as part of the up-conversion process the result may
be a 4:3 picture surrounded by a black boarder.
Example 7: Postage Stamp picture following SD to HD and HD to SD conversions
SD 4:3 picture 4:3 picture up-converted to
16:9 HD with black bars
16:9 HD material down-
converted to 4:3 with
the addition of bars at
the top and bottom of
the screen
SD to HD
up-conversion
HD to SD
down-
conversion
Another example of a poorly formatted picture can
occur if the SD to HD conversion is confgured so
that the 4:3 picture is expended to fll the whole
width of the screen, with the top and bottom being
cropped. If the HD to SD conversion then crops the
left and right edges of a 16:9 picture to fll a 4:3
display a considerable amount of the original 4:3
picture information would be lost.
Example 8: Cropped (zoomed-in) SD picture following two conversion processes
SD 4:3 picture 4:3 picture up-converted to
16:9 HD with top and bottom
cropped
16:9 HD material down-
converted to 4:3 SD, material
outside of the blue box would
not be displayed and the
picture appears zoomed-in
when compared to the original
SD to HD
up-conversion
HD to SD
down-
conversion
The use of AFD to ensure correct picture
shape formatting
The Society of Motion Picture and Television
Engineers (SMPTE) defne AFD (Active Format
Description as follows:
image formatting information describing certain
spatial characteristics of a high defnition or standard
defnition video image. It may be generated and
carried through all or some of the video production,
distribution, and emission (transmission) chain.
The image formatting metadata types are Active
Format Description (AFD), Bar Data, and Pan-Scan
information.
AFD and Bar Data are intended to be broadcast
with the video signal that they describe. AFD
information is intended to guide DTV receivers
and/or intermediate professional video equipment
regarding the display of video of one aspect ratio
on a display of another aspect ratio.
AFD codes embedded within the video provide a
reference from which video processing equipment
can determine how to process the picture shape.
The AFD is a 4-bit code with another bit signifying
the aspect ratio (AR) of the coded frame; this
produces a naming convention of AR_AFD e.g.
4:3_1 being a full-frame picture in a 4:3 shaped
frame.
Within some territories and organizations the
AR element is sometimes dropped and pictures
described using just AFD with assumptions about
the aspect ratio. It should be noted that the
example below shows what is common practice in
one country, other countries and organizations may
adopt different interpretations of AFD or insist on
only using AFD in combination with AR information.
Examples of AFD values:
AFD 0 = As coded frame, this is used if some material may still have AR information
AFD 1 = 4:3 Full-Frame in a 4:3 Frame
AFD 2 = 16:9 Full-Frame in a 16:9 Frame
AFD 3 = 14:9 Image with bars top and bottom
AFD 4 = Reserved
AFD 5 = 4:3 Full-Frame with may be cropped to 14:9 for wide-screen display
OR
AFD 5 = 4:3 Image with bars to either side
AFD 6 = 16:9 Full-Frame with may be cropped to 14:9 for display on a 4:3 screen
AFD 7 = 16:9 Full-Frame with may be cropped to 4:3 for display on a 4:3 screen
Devices such as up/down-converters and aspect
ratio converters (ARCs) can be confgured to detect
the AFD and convert the picture shape to match
that required for the intended display shape. SMPTE
standard, SMPTE 2016-1 Format for Active Format
Description and Bar Data defnes the origination
and carriage of AFD.
Example 9: HD material intended for viewing on a 4:3 screen processed differently depending on the
source of the original material
SD to HD Up-conversion with AFD = 16:9_7 HD to SD Down-conversion with
AFD = 4:3_1
Original 16:9 HD picture with AFD = 16:9_2 HD to SD Down-conversion with AFD
= 4:3_3
Example 9 shows how the AFD code embedded with
the picture is used by the down-converter in the SD
transmission chain to adjust the aspect ratio of the
SD picture depending on the source of the original
HD material.
By detecting that the HD material was originated
from an SD source the down-converter could adjust
the output to remove the black bars or if it was
native HD it can produce a 14:9 image.
The AFD codes can be carried in different manners
within the video, traditionally in SD systems the
AFD is carried as a modifed WSS (extended
WSS) signal which is a luminance signal on the
frst half of SD line 23 (625 line systems). Some
transmission devices such as MPEG encoders do not
recognize WSS and therefore the same information
is carried as Video Index on low-signifcance bits
in the chrominance information during the vertical
blanking, commonly on Line 11.
WSS has the advantage that the information can
be carried on both digital and analogue system and
because it is part of the frst active video line it will
pass through a wide range of broadcast equipment.
However because of the signals close proximity to
active picture with only a minor downward shift
of the picture this high level luminance signal will
become visible especially on LCD and Plasma TVs
which do not over-scan the picture.
In HD it is possible to map the AFD information into
a data packet following SMPTE Standard 2016-3-
2007, this data is carried in the ancillary data space
(ANC) alongside the video information.
Operational Practices: Audio
Surround Sound Audio
Along with the improved picture quality HD
transmission also offers the possibility of having
more than just mono or stereo sound. HD receivers
often have a processor that can produce 6 or 8 audio
outputs allowing the position of a sound source to
be localized both in front of and behind the listener.
The surround sound is transmitted to the viewer
as an encoded data stream using a compression
technology like Dolby Digital Plus.
Not all HD viewers will have surround sound speaker
setups in their home and SD reception technology
may not be capable of handling surround sound
transmissions therefore a broadcaster may need
to maintain a mono/stereo audio output alongside
any surround sound operations.
Within a broadcast facility the operator has
a choice of how the surround sound audio is
handled, originally a large proportion of broadcast
equipment could not record or process more than
4 audio tracks, to overcome this Dolby developed
a system whereby up to 8 audio tracks could be
lightly compressed and carried in the data space
of 1 AES pair, this is known as Dolby-E. It should
be noted that Dolby-E is not an audio signal but a
compressed multi-channel audio data-stream that
can be carried through AES or SDI infrastructure.
To monitor or process audio in the Dolby-E bit-
stream the stream has to be decoded.
Many broadcast devices now have 8 or more audio
tracks and so it is now possible to handle surround
sound audio as discrete tracks without the need to
combined then all into one data-stream, although
doing so has the advantage that all of the audio that
goes to make up the surround mix is kept together.
Another advantage is that by compressing the
audio tracks a transmission system can carry up to
8 separate surround sound mixes, each mixed in a
different language.
Each Dolby-E encode or decode stage takes at least
the same time period as 1 video frame and therefore
each processing stage has to be accompanied
with a suitable delay in the video signal to ensure
continued synchronization between picture and
sound.
Not all program material will have a surround
sound mix, however advanced audio processors are
available which can detect the absence of surround
audio and provide an up-mix based on analysis of
the stereo audio.
Control of Audio Loudness
Broadcasters specify the nominal audio operating
level to which a program should be mixed, e.g.
-18dBfs, and also the absolute maximum audio
level which a program may not exceed e.g. -10dBfs,
however this does not prevent a viewer experiencing
differences in perceived audio level between the
various pieces of material being transmitted on the
same channel. The perceived audio variation can
be caused by a number of factors such as the type
of material (speech/music/sport) being transmitted
and how heavily the audio has been processed by
devices such as compressors, limiters etc.
This perceived audio level is termed loudness and
in some territories broadcasters are mandated to
ensure that the variation in measured loudness
between all of the material on a channel is keep
within strict limits an example of this being the
Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation
(CALM) Act in the USA.
Audio processors can be used to adjust the level
of the audio using pre-defned algorithms, these
are commonly installed in the media reception
and Ingest area to ensure all stored material is
corrected before transmission. However material
could be delivered as complete fles or the channel
might carry live broadcasts both of which may need
adjustment as part of the playout process.
If the broadcaster is using Dolby Digital as the
method of delivering surround sound to the viewer
they will be required to produce metadata defning
the audio tracks that are being carried in the data
stream. As part of this metadata a broadcaster
has to specify a value for Dialog Normalization
(Dialnorm) which is used by the receivers decoder
to change the audio output level depending on the
value. A broadcaster would set the Dialnorm for
an action movie to be lower than that for a speech
program, when these are received the equipment
adjusts the output level to produce a consistent
volume for the viewer. Many automation systems
provide the facility to control the metadata values
inserted into the output Dolby Digital data-stream
on a program by program basis allow broadcasters
to easily manage their audio output levels.
Access Services (Closed Captioning and
Audio Description)
In additional to the audio and video associated with
the program a channel may also wish to provide
facilities for viewers with poor hearing or limited eye-
sight. Close captions are a textual representation
of a programs dialog and sound effects; they
are normally produced off-line and played out in
synchronicity with the program. In an HD systems
they are normally carried within the VANC following
OP47; defned as part of the specifcation for Free
TV Australia but widely adopted in countries with
PAL SD standards or they transmitted using the
EIA708 standard used mainly in North America and
other countries that previously used NTSC.
Audio Description adds a narrative to the program
audio to provide additional detail about the on-
screen action for people with limited eye-sight. It
is an additional pair of audio tracks, one carrying
a description of the on-screen action and a second
to indicate to the reception equipment when to dip
the program sound and output the description.
Axon Solutions
Synapse
Axon produce a wide-range of modular interfacing
products which have been, and are being, deployed
by a large number of broadcasters and playout
facility providers as part of their transition from SD
to HD operation.
Axons Synapse range provides problem solvers in
all the major functional groups including; signal
distribution, synchronization, up/down-conversion,
surround sound processing, audio loudness
adjustment, video legalization and data-bridging.
Ingest
The frst example shows a possible Ingest
processing confguration which corrects illegal
colors (HDL200) and also adjusts the audio level to
give a consistent loudness (DLA44) as the material
is being Ingested. Also shown is an up-converter
which will automatically detect SD and up-convert
to the desired standard and a Dolby-E decoder
which detects Dolby-E and decodes to discrete
channels. If there is no Dolby-E it routes the normal
PCM stereo audio through the card.
The DLA44 has an upmix function which can be
programmed to generate a surround sound mix
from the stereo PCM if it does not detect a audio on
the surround sound input.
Schematic 6 gived a visualisation of the described
setup, with a HSU05 up converter and DBD18
Dolby E decoder.
Schematic 6: Ingest processing with video legalising and loudness control
Up
Converter
Dolby-E
Decoder
Video
Legalization
Audio
Loudness
Correction
SOURCE
VTR
INGEST
SERVER
SD or HD Video with
embedded audio (and
Dolby-E)
Legalizer de-
embeds the audio
and passes this to
the Audio
Loudness
Corrector (via
Dolby-E decoder if
required)
Dolby-E Decoder to
convert to discrete audio
channels if required
Loudness Corrector also can
produce 5.1 surround mix
from stereo source material
HSU05 HDL200
DBD18
DLA44
The second example shows a similar system with
the addition of a DBE08 Dolby-E encoder should the
broadcaster chose to carry surround sound mixes
through the playout operation in an encoded form
to reduce audio channels or to ensure that all of the
audio elements are handled together.
It is important that the Dolby-E data packets
are time aligned with the video frames there are
embedded in and do not over-lap into adjacent
frames. If this situation occurs when the signal is
switched in a router or Presentation Mixer audio
disturbances would be detected. Axon produce an
alignment tool HES20 which de-embeds Dolby-E
packets, automatically aligns these with the video
frames and accurately re-embeds to ensure the
correct timing relationship between video and
Dolby-E packets is maintained.
Up
Converter
Dolby-E
Decoder
Video Legalization
Audio
Loudness
Correction
SOURCE
VTR
INGEST
SERVER
SD or HD Video with
embedded audio (and
Dolby-E)
Legalizer de-embeds the audio and
passes this to the Audio Loudness
Corrector (via Dolby-E decoder if
requireed)
Dolby-E Decoder to
convert to discrete audio
channels if required
Loudness Corrector also can
produce 5.1 surround mix
from stereo source material
HSU05 HDL200
DBD18
DLA44
Dolby-E
Alinger
HSE20
Dolby-E
Encoder
DBE08
Dolby-E Encoder to
convert discrete audio
channels to Dolby-E
stream
Video/Dolby-E data
alignment tool
Schematic 7: Ingest processing with video legalising, Dolby-E encoding and loudness control
Contribution Circuits (IncomingLines)
In SD operations most incoming circuits where
stereo and simply required synchronization to align
the signal to the station timing. In HD operations
there is still a requirement for synchronization
but the incoming signal may be SD requiring up-
conversion and the circuits may have a limited
number of audio tracks necessitating the use of
Dolby-E encoding to carry a surround sound mix
from the remote location to the broadcast station.
It should be noted that synchronization may not
just be limited to aligning the incoming pictures
with the station reference point but also correcting
any audio/video timing (lip-sync) errors that might
have occurred along the contribution path.
Axon produces a range of both up-converters and
frame synchronizers. The HSU05 is a low latency
cost-effective up-converter which monitors the
input video standard and automatically adjusts it
for the correct standard at the same frame rate.
If the incoming signal might be originated in any
world TV standard an advanced cross-converter
would be required such as the HXH110 which would
also provide the frame synchronization function.
The HEP100 automatically detects the presence of
Dolby-E and decodes it to discrete audio channels.
HFS110 is one of a range of frame synchronizers;
it has audio shuffing and embedding functionality
and can independently delay the video or the audio
to correct for A/V timing issues.
The Synapse rack mount frame has a patented
internal bus structure (Synapse Bus) which allows
Synapse Add-On audio I/O cards to be placed
alongside Master modules, in this example the
HFS100 frame synchronizer, to provide connectivity
and additional processing (such as audio sample
rate conversion). The Master modules have the
embedding (or de-embedding) functionality to
utilize the audio signals from the Add-On cards. By
adding 2 x DIO48 cards to a HFS110 it is possible
to embed a total of 8 AES pairs, 16 audio tracks,
in total.
DIO48
DIO48
Dolby-E
Decoder
Up-Conversion
Input SDI or HD-
SDI
HSU05 HEP100
House Router
Studio 2 Router
Pres Router
Frame
Sync etc.
HFS110
AES
Presentation (Playout)
Presentation, or the playout out, of a channel is,
by necessity, tailored to the requirements of the
channel and therefore it is diffcult to propose an
off-the shelf solution however the Synapse range
of modules provides a comprehensive array of the
building blocks required for a successful system.
They have been tested over many years and are in
use in a wide range of channels watched by 10s of
millions of viewers daily.
The schematic below shows a typical automated
playout system and brief details of each of the
modules is given below. It should be noted all
audio processing is accomplished in the embedded
domain.
Mixer/
Keyer
Logo Store
Key/Fill 1
Key/Fill 2
Program
Preset
External Audio
Preview
Monitoring
Emergency
Router
Pres Router Tie Lines
Pres Router
Channel
Branding
V/O Mixer Databridge
Output
Encoders (HD)
HLI20
HVO10 HSI10
HDK150
TX Down
Converter &
Redundancy
Switch
HXT12
Signal
Checking &
Redundancy
Switch
2HX10
Dolby-Digital
Encoder
HPD100
GXP880 Signal
Checking
2HX10
HD
SD Output
Encoders (SD)
Subtitle
System
External Audio
HDK150: The Mixer/Keyer module is the heart of the presentation system. Many situation do not require
a full featured presentation mixer, although manual control can be achieve by use of a custom soft
control panel on the Axon Cortex control and monitoring system (requires PV option) or by the recently
shown hardware panel. The HDK150 takes 4 video feeds from a central router and provides the ability
to mix between sources, key 1 or 2 sources over others and mix the audio from all sources and external
inputs together the majority of the functionality required in a Presentation mixer, all contained on a
single module. If a video squeeze-back option is required the HDK200 module can provide this in addition
to all of the other functionality describer here.
HLI20: Channel branding module, it has two separate logo keyers, each using CF storage. Logos can be
static or moving animations, one of the logos can be substituted by an in-vision clock if required. When
used in combination with the HDK150 or HDK200 a preset based presentation system can be assembled
in just two modules.
GPX880: Axon has recently introduced a module HD router, based on the standard Synapse module
form-facture, each card provides 8-inputs and 8-outputs, within the space of 5 modules it is possible to
construct a 40 x 40 routing system. In the this example a combination of GPX880 modules have been
used to make-up a local emergency router to be used if the main routing system fails or the system
requires re-confguration. The modular nature of the Synapse routing solution means that a system can
start off small and be added to when the need arises.
2HX10: Very few modern playout systems are staffed on a 1 to 1 basis, Presntation personnel are
required to operate and monitor a number of channel simultaneously and therefore provision needs to be
made to alert operators to developing issues with signal quality, picture freeze, audio loss etc. The use
of a 2HX10 module provides two import functions within one card; a 2x1 switch to allow a back-up feed
to be taken to air in an emergency and it also has two channels of advanced monitoring providing error
detection and alarms for operators in a multi-channel environment.
HVO10: This module provides an embedded audio mixer with 4 AES inputs allow the operators to add
external audio to the normal program sound; for instance to provide announcements or play music over
static images.
HSI10: Modular databridge able to insert data, such as subtitles, into the VANC
HXT12: This multi-functional card is a good example of the way Axon has combined functionality typically
requiring many cards on to a single module. The card has a 2x1 switch which, in the example, is being
used to bypass various other modules should work be required on the transmission path, it also has a
high quality down-converter, with ARC, and separate HD and SD frame synchronizers allowing individual
adjustments of output timing. The module also has separate HD and SD audio embedders should it be
necessary to add audio to the program streams at this stage.
HPD100: Embedded Dolby Digital Encoder, this module extracts the discrete audio tracks that will used
to form a Dolby Digital transmission stream and encodes them back into the HD-SDI program. The
module als0 has 16 tracks of audio shuffing.
Alternative Modules
Axon Synapse encompasses a wide-range of
modular interfacing products, previous chapters
have included suggested modules which provide
the functionality required for various processes
in the Ingest to Playout workfow. Axon recognize
that one size does not ft all and, as a result,
produce a range of modules each offering different
connectivity, additional features and increased
performance. The range covers modules providing
straight-forward cost effcient functionality, through
modules with independent, dual channel operation
to those having a feature set traditionally requiring
several cards.
Synlite - Basic building blocks, reducing
expenditure where some of the more advanced
processing functions are not required.
Twins - Two independent channels of advanced
processing on one module reducing cost, power
consumption and the rack space required to house
the modules.
Advanced Performance Modules harnessing
all of the processing power of modern advanced or
specialized integrated circuits.
Multi-process - Combining functionality normally
requiring 2 or 3 modules into a single slot card
reduces cost, saves space and power, and reduces
installation complexity.
Set out below are a selection of the alternative
Synapse solutions for some of the functional
elements described in this document.
Up-Conversion
2GU100 Twins card with two independent SDI or HD-SDI to 3G Up-converters
HSU05 Synlite card providing a straight forward SDI to HD-SDI up-conversion
GSU010 SDI or HD-SDI to 3G up-conversion
GSU100 CVBS, SDI or HD-SDI to 3G up-conversion with advanced audio processing
GSU150 CVBS, SDI or HD-SDI to 3G up-conversion with advanced audio processing and video
in-fll (side curtains) insertion
HSU20/21 High performance up-converter utilizing a Teranex 2 Trillion instructions per second
processor
HSU30/31 High performance up-converter with advanced noise reduction utilizing a Teranex
processor
Down-Conversion
2HS10/11 Twins card with two independent HD-SDI to SDI down-converters
2GS110 Twins card with two independent 3G to HD-SDI or SDI down-converters
HDS05 Synlite card providing a straight forward HD-SDI down conversion
GDS010 3G to HD-SDI or SDI down-converter
GDS100 3G to HD-SDI or SDI down-converter with advanced audio processing
HDS20 High performance down-converter utilizing a Teranex processor
HXT10/12 Targeted at playout operations these cards provide HD-SDI to SDI and CVBS conversion
with individual confguration and advanced audio processing
Frame Synchronization
2GF100 Twins card providing two independent 3G frame synchronizers each with off-set delays,
color correction and audio de-embedding and embedding
HFS05 Synlite card providing a straight forward HD-SDI frame synchronization, depending on
exact module the HFS05 also provides audio de-embeddding, audio embedding or smart
audio handling of embedded signals
GFS010 3G frame synchronizer with color correction
GFS100 3G frame synchronizer with color correction, off-set delay and advanced audio processing
Example 10: 2 screen SynView system, comprising 6 x GQW220 modules. Larger systems can be
constructed by simply adding more modules.
Monitoring and Control
Monitoring in a multi-channel, and possibly
multi-standard, environment can be challenging,
operators need access too easy to comprehend
information, presented to them at the correct time
and free from un-necessary alerts.
Typically a playout operator can be expected
to manage in excess of 12 channels and be
responsible for the correct loading and operation
of the playlists, the availability of media and issue
escalation; they no longer have the luxury of being
able to constantly watch the channels output. They
need to be quickly alerted to developing faults and
rapidly be able to select alternative material or
signal routing to overcome the issue.
It is no longer practicable to have 1 source on 1
screen, multi-viewers are now common place
whether they are simple quad-splits or larger 16
or 24 image displays. These should also provide
information about the signals status and accept data
inputs from the automation and other monitoring
system to create a comprehensive dashboard for
the operators.
Synview: multi-image processing
Within the Synapse system are a range of modules
which can provide quad-splits or be combined
together to form larger systems. This modular
approach means that as requirements change,
hardware does not become obsolete; if 8-inputs
are no longer suffcient to provide the number of
displays required on a multi-viewer, simply add
more modules to the system. Modules are also
available which have inputs for VGA and DVI signals
taking data feeds from the automation, Cortex and
other non-video sources.
Example 10 below shows a typical SynView system
where 6 modules have been confgured to feed 2
large screen displays, the frst with 16 pictures and
the second with 8, each having audio metering,
Under Monitor Displays (UMD) and tallies.
G.P.I. I/O
REF. 1 REF. 1 LOOP
R
R
C
/S
0
8
ETHERNET
REF. 2 REF. 2 LOOP
RESET BOOT
FUSE
R
R
C
/S
0
4
FUSE
DVI OUTPUT 2
TALLY/UMD
SDI INPUTS
SCREEN 2
SDI INPUTS
SCREEN 1
DVI OUTPUT 1
Example 11: Cortex: control and monitoring application. Primary screen.
Cortex: control and monitoring application
All Synapse modules have a level of signal integrity
checking, even a simple HD distribution amplifer
(HDR07) is able to report signal loss, the video
signals frame rate and line standard and SDI data
rates.
Specialist monitoring modules, such as the 2HX10,
can detect signal defects including; picture freeze,
black output, audio silence and audio clipping. This
information can be used to trigger alarms via GPIs
or shown in a graphical manner as part of a facility
monitoring system.
Cortex, Axons freely available advanced control and
monitoring application provides confguration and
engineering monitoring tools for all of the Synapse
products across a facility or wider area. It also can
form the basis of a comprehensive monitoring and
control system.
By adding the Panel View (-PV) option an operator
can design and deploy their own customized
screens, Example 13 and Example 14 illustrate how
this can be used to show a transmission chain and
provide a user interface for a Presentation Mixer.
These screens not only give a visual indication of
faults they also allow the operators to control the
relevant pieces of equipment to recover from an
emergency situation.
Other options allow operators to directly control
routers (-RC) with route selection being part of
a graphical display. The -SP option allows the
operator to view information from any device that
conforms to the SNMP protocol e.g. broadcast
equipment, IT systems, air-conditioning plant etc.
in a graphical or tabulated form.
In its basic form Cortex provides an advanced
graphically rich user interface presenting the
confguration screens for complex modules in a
straight-forward, easy to understand, manner.
Example 11 shows the main navigation and
confguration screen.
Cortex also provides detailed monitoring views
showing a modules current status and also the 10
most recent log enteries for that specifc module. As
can be seen on a 2HX10 module, shown in Example
12, color coding of the Status History Log display
brings important error messages quickly to the
attention of the operator. These error message are
refected on the Status screens and are represented
by different colored LEDs.
List of devices and cards Module information Graphical module
confguration screen
Example 13: Cortex customized display showing a graphical presentation of a transmission chain
The display has a combination of status displays showing signal presence and aspect ratio status
and control interfaces where the operator can select an alternative route via the 2x1 switches or
change the aspect ratio.
Example 12: Cortex status screen showing signal status on 2IX10 module
Status history log Red log-entries and LEDs
showing error conditions
Example 14: Cortex customized interface to provide a virtual control panel for the Pres and Logo
Inserter, shown in the Presentation section.
The virtual interface provides control over a number of different devices. At the top is router control,
selecting the inputs to the HDK150 mixer card. The central row of buttons controls the HDK150 and
allows an operator to preview the next transition. At the bottom are controls for the down-stream
HLI20 Logo inserter.
The screen is completely customizable and could also contain controls for the mixing of a voice into
the audio and also for selecting back-up sources.

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3Gb/s, HD, SD embedded domain Dolby E to PCM

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