New world MAMs

Posted: 08/02/2018

There is a new worldview of Media Asset Management (MAM) technology. Once perceived as an integrated storage system linked to a platform facilitating distribution, it is now understood as an integral layer in the framework along with Production Asset Management, and Digital Asset Management. Today MAM technology is recognised as a critical part of the media supply chain and media companies are utilizing these frameworks to connect production and distribution to control the flow of media through its lifespan.

With all the challenges of MAM requirements, including vertical integration with non-MAM processes which range from traffic, scheduling and airtime, to horizontal alliances with content production and distribution functionalities – the discussion surrounding the efficiency of content visibility through proxy browse technology gets ‘lost in translation’.

For the feature/function of proxy browse, the media industry generally utilizes the H.264 codec. As commonplace as the H.264 codec is, there are some issues which need to be considered:

• H.264 known profiles – careful considerations need to be made and adhered to upfront, in order to “lock into” the correct profile(s) for your entire supply chain requirements, since H.264 has a minimum of 22 known profiles.
• General purpose CPUs – software implementations that run on general-purpose CPUs are typically less power efficient and below the horsepower required to process smoothly.
• Bandwidth dependant – A good, non-buffering, client-side playback of a pre-created proxy is bandwidth dependent. Working “off-premise” can lead to unpredictability for the client side user experience and this can range from ‘great’ to ‘terrible’.

For a proxy feature/function, H.264 is a solution for the wrong problem, being forced on to a MAM when no other alternative solution was known or available…until now.

Blackbird is the most responsive cloud video platform available. It is surrounded by media services and can be accessed at any time and from any location. Blackbird has the potential to fit into various levels of your media supply chain layers and works alongside your current proxy browse workflow.

What is the Blackbird codec?

Blackbird is designed to perform video manipulation tasks that are impossible to achieve with the H.264 codec.

• A software frame accurate codec designed to exceed in navigation and manipulation, with graceful operation on slower connections.
• It uses Intraframe and multiple Interframe temporal resolutions to allow efficient access at multiple frame rates and playback speeds (reverse and forward).
• It uses blocks and motion compensation but avoids DCT which is slow and introduces unnatural visual artefacts.
• It updates its codewords 10,000 times per second to adjust to changing content.
• It allows media manipulation and fast random access for navigation.
• As a software solution, it can be easily upgraded, increasing quality while decreasing bandwidth requirements.

Creating a Blackbird layer is simply a matter of monitoring and scanning mounted volumes in a variety of methods that are part of your asset management integration. The creation process works independently but integrates neatly into your workflow. Blackbird can also sit neatly as a “slip-in” or “bolt-on” without disruption to current integrations.

See how Blackbird can improve your proxy view requirements, take a test drive below: