End-to-end MPEG. These editing companies are using DVx chips.............................................
tvbeurope.com
"There are beginning to be MPEG broadcast-quality video cameras (likeBetacam SX) that produce good images," says Michael Sporer, Avid's vicepresident of engineering and advanced development.
Divergent Technology
Although Avid uses M-JPEG as its compression method, and is about toship DV-based systems, it has now started to extend its OMFI file format toaccommodate MPEG as well.
Meanwhile, "FAST is well down the road developing MPEG-2 for editingpurposes (4:2:2P (I), 'Editing MPEG'). The native digital editor, blue.,due to ship later this year, already incorporates this technology," saysHeckel.
However, he adds that "still, around 80% of all productions worldwide aredone with analogue equipment, and there has been a lot of investment madein both M-JPEG and DV compression systems. MPEG has the technologicalpossibility to replace every other video format, but people do not throwaway their equipment from one day to the other.
"I am always surprised when I see that most TV stations still work mainlywith linear editing equipment. MPEG-2 will make inroads, but will notreplace everything immediately."
Bob Pank, technical communications manager, Quantel, believes MPEG maydevelop the same way as PAL. It started as a compressed distributionstandard, which then proved unable to cope with the demands of postproduction, which is why post went component.
He believes the idea of a universal solution for production went with theQuad format 20 years ago and isn't likely to come back again. "The historyof technology is that it is divergent. This means that people can do whatsuits their purposes best."
There is a 4:2:2@high level format for HDTV, which might be suitable forhigh end use, but Al Kovalick, principal architect, video communicationsdivision, Hewlett-Packard, says no one has made the necessary chips and hedoubts that it will take off. Indeed, he doubts there will ever be auniversal format. "There are always so many reasons to have variations."Chris Daubney, senior director, Panasonic Broadcast Europe, believes thereis no need for a single end-to-end format, but "if you are going to try tohave a front-to-back system, where everything is the same from scene toscreen, MPEG is a way of doing it. If the legislators said there must beonly one standard, then the only current way, in principle, would be MPEG.DVCPRO, because it is a more complicated process, would not be able todeliver a low cost decoder." |
