WO2004088990A2 - Commande de stockage de contenu multimedia - Google Patents

Commande de stockage de contenu multimedia Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2004088990A2
WO2004088990A2 PCT/GB2004/001506 GB2004001506W WO2004088990A2 WO 2004088990 A2 WO2004088990 A2 WO 2004088990A2 GB 2004001506 W GB2004001506 W GB 2004001506W WO 2004088990 A2 WO2004088990 A2 WO 2004088990A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
storage device
media storage
media
information
network
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2004/001506
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2004088990A3 (fr
Inventor
Stuart Murray
Neville Conway
Original Assignee
Bbc Technology Holdings Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Bbc Technology Holdings Limited filed Critical Bbc Technology Holdings Limited
Publication of WO2004088990A2 publication Critical patent/WO2004088990A2/fr
Publication of WO2004088990A3 publication Critical patent/WO2004088990A3/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/25—Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
    • H04N21/262—Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B27/00—Editing; Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Monitoring; Measuring tape travel
    • G11B27/02—Editing, e.g. varying the order of information signals recorded on, or reproduced from, record carriers
    • G11B27/031—Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B27/00—Editing; Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Monitoring; Measuring tape travel
    • G11B27/10—Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
    • G11B27/34—Indicating arrangements 
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04H—BROADCAST COMMUNICATION
    • H04H20/00—Arrangements for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast
    • H04H20/42—Arrangements for resource management
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04H—BROADCAST COMMUNICATION
    • H04H60/00—Arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linking to broadcast information or broadcast space-time; Broadcast-related systems
    • H04H60/02—Arrangements for generating broadcast information; Arrangements for generating broadcast-related information with a direct linking to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time; Arrangements for simultaneous generation of broadcast information and broadcast-related information
    • H04H60/06—Arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services

Definitions

  • This application relates generally to controlling media storage devices remotely and particularly, though not exclusively, to controlling of video tape recorders (VTRs) remotely across a networked media system.
  • VTRs video tape recorders
  • VTRs are widely used in many media applications. Even in a large non-linear media system with extensive on-line storage facilities, recording from and playing out to tape or removable media is an almost inevitable requirement, and is typically used for receiving media input and for archiving purposes. In such systems, operation of VTRs and other removable media devices presents particular control issues, compared to networked disc access.
  • a first aspect of the present invention provides: a network control apparatus for controlling via a first network a media storage device for storing media as a sequence of frames wherein stored timecode information is associated with frames, said apparatus comprising means for deriving from the stored timecode information sample timecode information comprising some but not all of the stored timecode information; means for outputting via the first network the sample timecode information such that not all stored timecode information produced is output via the network; and means for outputting via the first network an indication of the rate of change of said timecode information.
  • Means for deriving sample timecode information may comprise a sampler for example.
  • a network adaptor or output module may be used as means for outputting data via the first network.
  • the stored timecode information will usually be arranged in frames to correspond to the media frames, and may in fact be embedded within the media frames.
  • Some media formats may have timecode information eg. linear tape timecodes stored at intervals which do not correspond to frames, however there will still be an association.
  • sample timecode information and the indication of the rate of change of information are sent together as a timecode event, however they could equally be sent independently.
  • the sample timecode information which is derived is preferably output periodically. This can be achieved by reading the stored timecode information periodically and outputting all timecodes which are read, or by reading all timecodes and only selectively outputting information.
  • intervals at which stored timecode information is output are defined in real time. In this way, with faster or slower input or output media rates, the rate at which the stored timecode information is effectively sampled varies.
  • the real time accuracy and network traffic however, remain substantially constant.
  • the sampling interval may be defined by a number of stored timecode intervals.
  • sampling interval may be varied in dependence on the current status of the media storage device.
  • sampling interval can depend upon the current rate of media input or output of the media storage device, or depending on the current mode of the media storage device.
  • the media storage device is preferably adapted to operate at varying rates of media input and output, eg. normal play or record, at least one fast or slow mode or reverse mode.
  • rate of output of sample information can be allowed to vary according to the rate of input or output of media from the storage device. For example, if every fifth stored timecode is output, the output rate will increase when the media device increases the media speed from, say, play to fastforward for example.
  • the rate of output sample information can be actively controlled according to the rate of input or output of media.
  • the sample information could be output at a first rate, which rate could be decreased to a second, lower rate for a fast mode. In this way an even greater reduction in information sent over the network can be achieved, during operation where less accurate information would be required by a client device receiving such information.
  • the media device is preferably adapted to operate in one a plurality of modes, each mode having a substantially predefined rate of media input or output.
  • Operating modes will usually include play, stop, forward wind, rewind, jog/step and shuttle and record. Jog refers to the media being advance one frame at a time, and shuttle allows a user to control the rate of play of the media through a plurality of preset speeds.
  • the rate of change of timecode information may therefore simply comprise a mode of operation of the storage device, from which an actual numerical rate, in frames per second for example, can be derived or looked up. Alternatively a numerical rate may be output.
  • operating modes include, playing, still, forward wind, rewind, break and random.
  • timecodes are preferably sent on changes to tens of second values.
  • timecodes are preferably sent on changes to units of second changes.
  • timecodes are preferably sent on every change of timecode, since it is difficult to determine a required level of accuracy.
  • a Still context is preferably sent if the timecode has not changed for a number of samples.
  • a break context is a special case, and is preferably sent to indicate a timecode break at times when the deck is playing/recording in sync lock and it can be expected that the timecodes will be contiguous.
  • the rate of change of timecode information is usefully output following a change of rate of input or output of media of the media storage device. This information may be output only following each change in rate of media input or output. It can also be useful that the timecode information is also only output following a change of timecode. This reduces the amount of information output while ensuring that a device receiving the information will have the correct information based on the last rate received. However, the playback mode/rate may be periodically refreshed, not necessarily with every sample timecode.
  • the media storage device comprises a video tape recorder (VTR), and the stored timecode information is indicative of the position of the tape in the VTR.
  • VTR video tape recorder
  • Timecode information is preferably embedded in the video itself as VITC (vertical interval time code) contained in a non picture portion of the signal. This can be extracted from the video on reading at the VTR.
  • VITC vertical interval time code
  • a tape may have a dedicated timecode track or LTC (liner time code), frequently stored along the edge of a tape, which can be read by the VTR
  • the network control apparatus also comprises means for receiving media storage device control commands via said first network and optionally means for outputting via said fist network a current operation status of said media storage device.
  • a network control apparatus for remotely monitoring a first network media storage device for storing media as a sequence of frames wherein stored timecode information is associated with frames, said apparatus comprising means for receiving sample timecode information from said media storage device via said first network; means for storing a rate of change of said timecode information; and means for deriving reconstructed timecode information based on said received information and the stored rate of change of said information, such that said reconstructed timecode information includes more timecode information that the received sample timecode information.
  • Means for receiving sample timecode information preferably comprises a network interface.
  • Means for storing information preferably comprises a memory, and means for deriving reconstructed timecode information preferably comprises a timecode processor.
  • timecode information can be derived at greater temporal resolution than the sample timecode information sent over the network, while maintaining reduced network traffic.
  • the stored rate of change of timecode information may be derived from the sample timecode information received. This is desirable in certain applications since this information need not pass across the network and is constructed at the receiving device. This requires a minimum of two timecodes received a known time interval apart, however more complex algorithms can be adopted as more information is received in order to derive more accurate rate of change information. In this way timecode information at intervals between the sample information can effectively be interpolated.
  • the rate of change of timecode information it will be preferable for the rate of change of timecode information to be received via the network from said media storage device. Given a current rate of change, this method then only requires a single sample timecode to extrapolate timecodes for other temporal values
  • the apparatus preferably derives reconstructed timecodes based on the expected rate al which updates will be received, and the actual rate they are received. Reconstructed timecodes are preferably always replaced with actual timecodes received.
  • this information will usually be expressed as a speed measurement such as a number of frames per second, however a simple rate identifier could equally be sent, corresponding to a pre-determined rale which can be determined from a look up table.
  • Reconstructed timecodes may be derived to different accuracy or resolution where desired.
  • the resolution or accuracy may depend on the status of the media storage device.
  • the apparatus may simulate the frames between updates.
  • the apparatus may simulate the seconds and frames between updates.
  • a display for displaying said reconstructed timecode information.
  • means for receiving a media signal from said media storage device via a second network and means for displaying that media signal.
  • the second network may be physically separate to the first network, or may share the same architecture but comprise different routing.
  • the separate routing of status and control information from media streams is useful in applications where a slight delay between these two types of information is tolerable, and usefully allows the signals to be processed independently. In certain cases this is preferable to routing the two types of signal through the same path.
  • control commands for the media storage device can be sent across the network in a similar fashion to the timecode information.
  • the invention comprises:
  • a method for controlling a media storage device remotely comprising receiving media storage device commands at a remote workstation; routing said commands via a first network path to said media storage device; operating said media storage device according to said commands; sending status information from said media storage device to said remote workstation via said first network path; and sending media information corresponding to the operation of the media storage device from said media storage device to said remote workstation via a second network path different from said first path.
  • control commands and optionally the status information also, are preferably routed via a dedicated client on the network. This can reduce network load and increase resilience to failure.
  • the media information typically occupies high bandwidth, and it is therefore advisable to process such information using dedicated media processing apparatus.
  • the media information is preferably encoded so as to reduce occupied bandwidth.
  • the media is advantageously routed via a post processor (which is desirably a centralised processing unit for the whole network) to produce a low resolution proxy of the media, preferably MPEG1. This proxy can then be routed from the post processor across the network to a workstation, where the encoded signal is decoded and displayed.
  • the media information can be routed via the second network path to a local broadcast monitor, capable of displaying the media at its native resolution.
  • a network control apparatus for remotely controlling a plurality of media storage devices, said apparatus comprising at least one control station client adapted to control at least one media storage device; at least one network workstation client adapted to receive control commands for a selected media storage device from a user; wherein the workstation client is adapted to cause execution of a procedure on a selected control station client to effect operation of the selected media storage device in response to said user control commands.
  • One control station can advantageously be used to control a plurality of media storage devices allowing the total load on the network to be reduced and the routing of commands to be simplified.
  • Preferably a plurality of control station clients are provided, each controlling one or more media storage devices, in order to increase resilience to failure.
  • a network control apparatus for remotely controlling a plurality of media storage devices, said apparatus comprising: a plurality of media storage devices, at least one media storage device being connected to each of a plurality of control stations; storage means (eg. a memory) for storing a table of available media storage devices and a corresponding control station identifier; and a workstation client, wherein the workstation client, in response to selection of a media storage device, queries said storage means to return an identifier for the associated control station for the selected media storage device.
  • storage means eg. a memory
  • the workstation can then publish commands to be distributed across the network to be received by the identified control station, which in turn implements a procedure to operate the appropriate media storage device accordingly.
  • the media storage device will preferably pass input and output media signals to the network via one of a plurality of network media ports.
  • the media port associated with the selected media storage device will advantageously be managed by the control apparatus and media input or output from the media storage device can be routed through the network according to commands received at said network workstation, for example to said workstation or to a nearby monitor.
  • the network control apparatus can advantageously manage resource scheduling; that is to say the provision and availability of physical resources such a VTRs media ports and workstation interfaces. In this way specific permissions may be granted to particular users, particular workstations, and particular resources.
  • Preferably scheduling involves assigning users to user groups, and resources to resource groups and workstations to workstation groups, and by allocating attributes to the various groups.
  • a user can request access to a resource
  • the network control apparatus can determine an access permission for that user for that resource based on the attributes of the user group of that user and of the resource group of the resource.
  • the invention also provides a computer program and a computer program product for carrying out any of the methods described herein and/or for embodying any of the apparatus features described herein, and a computer readable medium having stored thereon a program for carrying out any of the methods described herein and/or for embodying any of the apparatus features described herein.
  • the invention also provides a signal embodying a computer program for carrying out any of the methods described herein and/or for embodying any of the apparatus features described herein, a method of transmitting such a signal, and a computer product having an operating system which supports a computer program for carrying out any of the methods described herein and/or for embodying any of the apparatus features described herein.
  • the methods and apparatus described herein may be implemented in conjunction with media input, editing and transmission systems, aspects of which are described in the applicant's co-pending patent applications.
  • aspects of a system for managing data for transmission are described in the applicant's co-pending patent application entitled “System and Method for Media Management”, Attorney Reference No. IK/26522WO, filed on 5 April 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
  • aspects of a system and method for media data storage and retrieval are described in the applicant's co-pending patent application entitled “Data Storage and Retrieval System and Method", Attorney Reference No. IK/26523WO, filed on 5 April 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
  • a resource allocation system which may be implemented as part of a media editing system is described in the applicant's co-pending patent application entitled "A Method and Apparatus for Dynamically Controlling a Broadcast Media Production System", Attorney Reference No. IK/26271 WO, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
  • Aspects of a media editing system, in particular the control of media and related metadata in a non-linear media editing system, are further discussed in the applicant's co-pending patent application entitled “System and Method for Media Management", Attorney Reference No. IK/26521 WO, filed on 5 April 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a media management system
  • Figure 2 shows VTRs being controlled remotely by PCs in a media management system
  • Figure 3 illustrates ingest and playout connections between a VTR and media store in a media management system
  • Figure 4 illustrates relationships between application server elements and client element of VTR control.
  • a melacore 100 is at the centre of the system, and comprises a metadata store 101 and a media store 102.
  • Media intake for example from satellite feeds, tape feeds, agencies, newsgathering teams etc. can be received via an edit matrix 106 which is controlled by a network control system 108.
  • metadata values which are stored in the metadata store.
  • Media intake can also be received from viewing and editing services 110 and Archive service 112.
  • the metadata values may be imported with the incoming media, may be assigned values by a system operator or may be assigned default values.
  • the associated media is then stored in the media store 102.
  • Users of the system can use viewing and editing services 110 to view and edit media managed by the system, and can search the system by metadata attributes to find relevant media.
  • These services are preferably supported by client workstations linked to the system network, and can be physically separated from other system components and/or each other as would be expected. System users will be able to use any, or at least a large subset of such workstations at a range of locations to gain access to the system and perform user tasks.
  • the system can retrieve the associated media from the media store (if it exists there) for use by the user. Users can edit existing media to create new media items, to be input into the metacore.
  • the media store is an online store, and media held within it can be accessed and manipulated directly via devices networked to the metacore.
  • the practical constraints of media storage dictate that only a certain volume of media can be maintained online in this way, and as new media is constantly fed into the system, existing media must be removed. This is particularly true of the media essence, and less so of the metadata. If it is determined that the media is important and cannot simply be deleted, it must be stored offline, or archived.
  • An archive service 112 is therefore linked to the metacore.
  • the archive service is in turn linked to one or more VTRs 114.
  • the archive service identifies media, via its metadata, to be taken from the media store and recorded to tape (offline).
  • the archive service can also act to re-ingest into the (online) media store tape based media.
  • the metacore is connected to transmission servers 116. These transmission servers can accept media items which are ready to be broadcast on transmission system 118.
  • the system supports media in many formats from transmission quality video to web quality for example.
  • a media post processor 120 is included in the system.
  • the output from the post processor is typically stored in the media store or proxy store, or in certain instances may be passed directly for output, eg. to a web hosting 122.
  • VTRs are employed. These include dedicated VTRs for archive and ingest purposes, and additional VTRs provided for miscellaneous user services. These VTRs can preferably be controlled remotely by a GUI on an enabled PC within the system, as will be explained with reference to Figure 2.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates the control of VTR devices remotely by PCs within a media system such as that described with respect to Figure 1.
  • a media store 202, and two PCs 204 and 206 are connected to the system mid-tier 200 via IP links.
  • PC 204 is a workstation PC and may be directly connected to one or more VTRs 208 to exchange control instructions. However, since it is a workstation PC it may have no direct connection to a VTR.
  • PC 206 is a dedicated VTR control PC and is directly connected to at least one VTR 210 to exchange control instructions. Direct connections are made viaRS422 ports on the VTRs.
  • a Standard PC has RS232 connectors, but no RS422 connector.
  • Direct connection to a VTR RS422 port can be made by inserting an additional 422 card, by using an IP to 422 converter, or by using a 232 to 422 cross-over cable.
  • IP converter By using an IP converter, commands can be routed via the standard network allowing greater physical separation.
  • Each VTR PC therefore includes a 422 driver, a COM port and a VTR control subsystem as shown.
  • Workstation PC 204 additionally includes a workstation client.
  • the VTRs are connected to a number of ports on the media store 202 by a media store/VTR connectivity matrix 212.
  • This matrix is variable and configurable providing flexible connectivity.
  • PCs can exchange high level commands via IP through the system mid-tier.
  • Many workstation PCs will not be connected directly to a VTR, but can in this way still operate a VTR remotely by communication to the PC which is connected directly to that VTR, be it a dedicated VTR control PC or another workstation PC.
  • the system mid-tier can itself send commands to a VTR control PC without any user intervention. It should be noted that there is no video pathway through the VTR control PCs. All video passing to or from the VTRs must go through media store/VTR matrix, and to the media store, which is also controlled through the mid-tier by IP link.
  • the system contains a Java component responsible for maintaining a list of decks available for use throughout the system.
  • the list will contain the host names of each PC on the network that will be used for remote deck control
  • Embodiments of the present invention can advantageously manage timecode information for media items passing to and from VTRs.
  • LTC Linear timecode
  • Some VTRs write the audio and timecode tracks along the edge of the tape, recording longitudinally as the tape passes-by a static head. The video is written by a fast-rotating drum, scanning across the remainder of the tape.
  • Other simply rely on a signal running linearly along the edge of the tape to provide pulses to a tape counter as the tape moved forwards or backwards. This is the way most domestic VHS decks provide a tape counter.
  • VITC Vertical interval timecode
  • Timecodes can be:
  • Time of day a value representing the current time eg. when a media clip was recorded or ingested to the media system.
  • REC RUN means that the generator only runs when a recording is in progress. This is typically a setting on the VTR internal timecode generator module. This has the advantage that recorded tapes should have a continuous timecode, which is less likely to confuse editing machines.
  • FREE RUN When the timecode generator is set to FREE RUN, it runs continuously in both play and record modes.
  • VTRs There are two main types or remote control for VTRs.
  • the first is manual operation to allow a user to 'browse' a tape loaded into a VTR at a remote location.
  • the controls usually found on the front panel of the VTR are simulated on a GUI on the PC screen, allowing remote control of the deck transport functions, as well as providing a current timecode display and cue to timecode functionality.
  • a viewing window showing the video being recorded or played out is additionally displayed.
  • Use of the GUI front panel is an interactive process.
  • Controls provided by the GUI include:
  • Jogging and shuttling on VTR decks is done by way of a physical knob that is switched between jog and shuttle mode.
  • jog mode turning the knob, causes the deck to move along the frames one by one at a rate relative to how fast the knob is being turned.
  • shuttle mode as the knob is turned the rate at which the deck plays frames increases, as the knob is turned further from the start point.
  • the PC desktop equivalent of the jog/shuttle is to have a slider which provides jog/shuttle functionality dependant of the position of the slider.
  • the deck could be instructed to jog, increasing rate in a linear fashion, reaching normal play speed as the slider hits the first third point. As the slider moves past this point the shuttle rate can be increased on a steeper slope as the slider position increases.
  • the second type of operation is automated operation, which allows the system to control VTR decks to perform automated record and playout functions such as archive ingest and playout.
  • the fully automated deck control would involve the system issuing a command to the deck control module, which would start a sequence of automated deck operations. User intervention should not be required.
  • Direct front panel control is also supported.
  • Table 1 analyses the options available with number of deck control PCs and controlled decks:
  • the one to one scenario would mainly apply to a workstation PC with a nearby deck, dedicated to that PC, doing GUI remote control.
  • One to many, and many to many cases would mainly apply to dedicated deck control PC's used for fully automated archiving operations.
  • all scenarios should be able to cater for both GUI remote control and fully automated remote control.
  • Deck control commands generated from various workstations are routed to the required deck. Commands would be processed in sequential order.
  • Responsiveness will decrease as more decks are simultaneously controlled, or if the data traffic becomes particularly high.
  • decks under fully automated control take priority during time critical sections of the automated procedure. Users driving decks by remote control may experience moments of poor responsiveness.
  • a VTR control PC 302 is shown having a timecode card which is in turn connected to a sync reference 304 via a timecode generator 306.
  • a sync reference 304 and timecode generator 306 are additionally provided to Media store 310.
  • a sync reference 304 is also connected to VTR 308.
  • the sync reference provides a black and burst sync frame, from which timecode generators (where present) generate a synchronised black and burst sync frame with embedded VITC TOD timecode.
  • System services 312 (including further workstation PCs and mid-tier application servers) are illustrated schematically, and are connected to the media store 310 via a common object request broker architecture (CORBA) link. Services 312 are also connected to PC 302 over an IP link. PC 302 controls VTR 308 over an RS422 link as explained above.
  • CORBA object request broker architecture
  • Ingest ports to the media store take the form of a single video connector and do not typically have separate audio and LTC connectors. Video must therefore contain any necessary audio and timecode information embedded.
  • Box 320 shows handling of SDI with embedded audio.
  • VITC In order to play out to the media store, VITC is embedded in the SDI. No intermediate processing is required recording to tape.
  • Box 322 shows handling of SDI without audio.
  • analog audio When playing to the media store, analog audio is now also embedded in the SDI signal. When recording to tape, such an analog audio signal must be de-embedded.
  • box 324 shows alternative handling of SDI without audio.
  • VITC is embedded in the SDI which then passes through an SDI edit matrix. Analog audio is digitised and passed through a MADI edit matrix before being converted back to analog and embedded with the output of the SDI matrix. A corresponding reverse process is shown for transfer of media to tape.
  • a VTR is selected from a list of known VTRs, and an IP connection established from the system services to the appropriate control PC for the selected VTR. Also, a connection to a media store port is arranged according to available routing/switching resources and permissions. Automatic playout and ingest are required to be frame accurate, and so the VTR and media port need to be synchronised. Synchronisation in this way allows the first frame of media to be positioned accurately on the tape. This is achieved by the sync input to the VTR, and the synchronised TOD VITC into the media store.
  • the media store receives TOD VITC timecodes and the VTR(s) receives only tape timecodes.
  • the VTR control PC(s) receive both tape and VITC TOD timecodes, and therefore all three devices can be synchronised to the same timing signal.
  • the VTR control PC will signal to the application server within the system.
  • the use of preroll results in items on a tape being separated by short 'handles'.
  • the application server will then perform any necessary steps to ensure the media store is ready, before signalling the control PC to commence the automatic deck control function.
  • the Media store should start its frame accurate playout at the precise moment the VTR gets to the in point frame and drops the deck into record mode.
  • a similar technique is used for ingest back in to the media store.
  • the most common type of playout to tape will be to archive tapes which are required to have a particular format.
  • Such clips played out for archive should contain video sequences, wrapped by black and burst video handles. Both the video sequences and handles must contain VITC ie a timecode embedded in each video frame.
  • a lookup table stores the mapping between the VITC timecode al the beginning and end of each clip and a linear time code (LTC) contained on a separate track on the tape, which defines in points and out points.
  • LTC linear time code
  • the VITC timecode should be contiguous throughout the clip and start at the LTC control track In Point. For the first clip being layed down this will be 10:00:00:00 and for subsequent clips the In Point will correspond to the look up table out point (including the handle) for the previous clip.
  • Video clip is not presented to the tape at exactly the right moment, a constant error with exist throughout this lookup table with regard to the LTC and VITC mapping (this error can be updated in the look up table during subsequent ingest operations). This error is acceptable (up to a limit) provided that each clip has contiguous VITC timecode, allowing subsequent post process ingest operations.
  • Ingest of media from tape is performed using corresponding automated functional steps.
  • the tape can be automatically cued to the desired point to begin ingest based on LTC which can be read from the lookup table for a particular frame of media.
  • the default mode of operation will be to perform a 'post process' capture, this involves capturing outside of the required media, and then performing a post process on that captured material in order to trim off the handles.
  • the VTR and media port should be synchronised to frame accuracy, however this additional step allows the frame accuracy to be verified and any inaccuracies to be handled. It would make sense to update the look up table with inaccuracies discovered during the post process operation.
  • the post process operation would search through the VITC in the captured frames for known in and out points, and extract the media between them.
  • the media should be surrounded by black and burst handles which can then be removed.
  • Automated control is less well suited to reading from or writing to tapes which have not been formatted in a regulated manner, and manual control of VTRs is preferred. It is possible for deck control to be via the front panel, but will more likely be using remote control of the deck via a desktop GUI.
  • a user at a workstation PC will provide VTR commands through the GUI as described above.
  • the appropriate VTR control PC is identified for the relevant VTR, and the commands are passed, via IP, to that control PC, which in turn operates the VTR accordingly.
  • timecodes are sent back from the VTR through the control PC to the workstation, across the IP link. Such timecodes are not sent continuously but are only sent at fixed periods, typically each second.
  • the workstation therefore receives timecode value updates at intervals, and uses these to provide a timecode display. When each timecode is received, the display is changed to the newly received timecode.
  • the workstation can derive reconstructed timecodes based on a rate of change of timecode information, which can also be sent over the network periodically.
  • the media to be displayed at the workstation is not sent via the same path as the timecode information. Instead the media is derived from the media store, where the video is being either played out to or received from. It is passed over the CORBA interface to the system services and then passed over the IP link to the appropriate workstation.
  • the media store Rather than sending broadcast quality media to the workstation it is preferable to transcode the media in, or arriving at, the media store to desktop resolution, typically MPEG1. This lower resolution proxy is then fed over the IP link to the workstation, for display. It will be understood that since the media provided to the workstation takes a different path than the timecodes, and may include coding and decoding, there will often be a lag between timecodes and media arriving at and being displayed at the workstation. Since manual remote control is generally not required to be frame accurate, a small lag can be tolerated.
  • the first timecode update from the VTR sent after the stop will be precise. If there is any lag in the media path to the workstation the media will continue to update for the duration of the lag, but after a short time, the frame at which the video has been stopped will be displayed along with an accurate timecode at the workstation. The user can then use jog controls to move one frame at a time, and if the rate of advance is such that each frame is held for a sufficient length of time for a timecode update to be received, then again accurate timecode information will be displayed.
  • timecode updates will continue to be sent at intervals as before, in this case the real time elapsed between intervals will correspond to a greater time between timecodes. Thus the derivation of reconstructed timecodes performed at the workstation will be subject to greater error.
  • the timecode to be displayed remotely at the workstation can be VITC embedded timecode, Tape LTC (if different from VITC) or a frame offset (measured from the beginning of a media clip)
  • FIG. 4 shows the VTR control architecture according to an embodiment of one aspect of the invention.
  • a VTR control PC 400 is shown communicating with a system application server 404, and also with a system client 406, which will in most cases be a workstation PC.
  • the VTR control node 402 will use a mixture of both Java and native C++ code, deployed as COM components.
  • the Jupclient dll 410 provides the bridge between Java and C++.
  • the Jupclient will create an instance of the Java virtual machine (JVM) 412 and provide a C++ (API) interface allowing methods on Enterprise Java Beans to be called in the system application server 404, and provide an connection point with events from JMS messages published from a system client JMS publisher 407.
  • the topic on which messages will be sent will be obtained from system services by the client.
  • system application server will make Java remote method invocation (RMI) calls to respective Java VTR Manager components on each deck control PC.
  • RMI Java remote method invocation
  • the core VTR control functionality is implemented by the VTRControl 414 in process dll (dynamic link library).
  • This dll can be used standalone (on a PC with a COM port connection to a deck) with a client in order to provide tape deck player, recorder and editor functionality.
  • VTRControl dll provides automated frame accurate control of the VTR. In this way the VTR Manager will be responsible for routing of commands to the decks under control on that PC, and policing of the commands based on whether the commands are time critical or not.
  • the ExtTCReader and AutoVTRHandler components are in process dlls.
  • the VTR Manager component is an executable and can be registered as a Local server or a Win2K Service.
  • Jupiter services will communicate with deck control modules by sending a Java message service (JMS) message of a particular topic with the required operation.
  • JMS Java message service
  • GUI Components will obtain a pointer to the VTR Manager object via distributed component object model (DCOM) and query for the required deck control interface.
  • DCOM distributed component object model

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Television Signal Processing For Recording (AREA)
  • Management Or Editing Of Information On Record Carriers (AREA)
  • Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)
  • Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
  • Small-Scale Networks (AREA)
  • Multi Processors (AREA)
  • Selective Calling Equipment (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention a trait à un appareil de commande par réseau, destiné à commander, par l'intermédiaire d'un premier réseau, un dispositif de stockage de contenu multimédia, et à un appareil de commande par réseau destiné à contrôler à distance un tel dispositif. Des données de code temporel issues du dispositif de stockage de contenu multimédia sont échantillonnées et émises par l'intermédiaire du réseau, de façon que la totalité des données de code temporel stockées produites ne soit pas émise. Une indication de la vitesse de changement de code temporel est également produite. L'appareil de contrôle distant reçoit les données de code temporel et les données de vitesse de changement, et dérive des données de code temporel reconstruites. L'invention peut être appliquée au fonctionnement à distance d'un ou plusieurs magnétoscopes dans un réseau, par exemple pour l'archivage dans une application de production de contenu multimédia.
PCT/GB2004/001506 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Commande de stockage de contenu multimedia WO2004088990A2 (fr)

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US60/460,649 2003-04-04

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PCT/GB2004/001493 WO2004088664A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Systeme et procede de gestion de multimedia
PCT/GB2004/001506 WO2004088990A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Commande de stockage de contenu multimedia
PCT/GB2004/001468 WO2004088663A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Processeur de media
PCT/GB2004/001492 WO2004088984A1 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Systeme et procede de stockage et de recherche de donnees video avec conversion de la resolution
PCT/US2004/010766 WO2004090677A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Systeme et procede de traitement de contenu multimedia
PCT/GB2004/001505 WO2004088553A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Procede et appareil permettant de commander dynamiquement un systeme de production de contenu multimedia diffuse
PCT/GB2004/001481 WO2004088887A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Systeme et procede de gestion multimedia

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PCT/GB2004/001468 WO2004088663A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Processeur de media
PCT/GB2004/001492 WO2004088984A1 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Systeme et procede de stockage et de recherche de donnees video avec conversion de la resolution
PCT/US2004/010766 WO2004090677A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Systeme et procede de traitement de contenu multimedia
PCT/GB2004/001505 WO2004088553A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Procede et appareil permettant de commander dynamiquement un systeme de production de contenu multimedia diffuse
PCT/GB2004/001481 WO2004088887A2 (fr) 2003-04-04 2004-04-05 Systeme et procede de gestion multimedia

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WO2004088887A3 (fr) 2005-06-30
WO2004090677A2 (fr) 2004-10-21
WO2004088553A2 (fr) 2004-10-14
WO2004088664A3 (fr) 2005-03-17
WO2004088663A3 (fr) 2004-12-02
WO2004088663A2 (fr) 2004-10-14
WO2004088553A3 (fr) 2004-12-09
WO2004088984A1 (fr) 2004-10-14
WO2004088664A2 (fr) 2004-10-14
WO2004088887A2 (fr) 2004-10-14
WO2004090677A9 (fr) 2005-03-31
WO2004088990A3 (fr) 2004-11-18
WO2004090677A3 (fr) 2007-05-10

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