From The IBC Exhibit Floor: Video Clarity

Ahead of IBC 2016, Video Clarity will launch a new color transfer function in the ClearView line of video quality analyzers. ClearView can apply Rec. 2020 appropriately to the different color formats and color conversion techniques being considered for high dynamic range (HDR) content today. In this way, content providers, broadcasters, and encoder manufacturers can compare the quality of HDR source content against its downstream encoded version no matter which color space or conversion technique is applied.

Another color format under consideration is ICtCp, a potential replacement for the YCbCr color space that could provide better encoding performance downstream when working with compression schemes such as HEVC. Facilities can use ClearView to ingest video, record it in either YCbCr or ICtCp, and compare it to encoded versions in either YCbCr or ICtCp for significant changes in quality. Users can activate the color transfer capabilities in ClearView and select among different color formats with simple button presses.

With these color transfer capabilities, which follow SMPTE ST 2084 and ITU-Rec. BT.2100, the ClearView system is taking another step toward accommodating every aspect of the wider color gamut in use with HDR content. The ICtCp addition will be available at IBC2016 in September. 

MultiPlayer — At IBC2016, Video Clarity will demonstrate MultiPlayer, an optional application for new and existing Video Clarity ClearView 4K systems. MultiPlayer is the only such product that can automatically and interactively select sequences for side by side playback in multiple video formats on up to eight screens at once. MultiPlayer can output up to four different HD or SD video playback sources from a ClearView Analyzer 4K or ClearView Player 4K system with a single quad HD-SDI interface.

In ClearView 4K systems with two quad HD-SDI interfaces, MultiPlayer can play up to eight HD sequences or one 4K sequence plus four HD or SD sequences, all with audio and in several combinations. Users can control each sequence playback individually or lock all sequences to one command. They can also apply a fixed side by side view to each output, which enables additional comparison between the source and encoded/decoded versions of video on all screens and outputs.

Program originators and product developers can use MultiPlayer to study the effect of different video resolutions and/or bit rates on video quality. They can also perform a visual study of 4K versus native HD playback or HD formats that are played on 4K monitors.

ClearView WFM Signal-Measurement Tool — Making its European debut at IBC2016, Video Clarity’s ClearView WFM is a new software option for ClearView Video Quality Analyzer and ClearView Player systems. To complement the color-space and HDR capabilities introduced in the latest ClearView update (ClearView 8.4), ClearView WFM actively reads and tests any imported or recorded video file to help users understand input or output signal parameters as generated by waveform, color vector, and chromaticity charts. ClearView WFM provides ClearView users an integrated, affordable, effective means of displaying signal parameters — upon either input or playback — as a graphical representation on the desktop, and it eliminates the need for external signal-measurement tools.

RTM 4K — Finally, IBC2016 visitors will see RTM 4K, a 4K-capable version of the company’s RTM real-time audio and video monitoring solutions. In a technological milestone for the industry, RTM 4K is the first quality-monitoring solution that can apply 4K video sources and compare them with encoded/decoded 4K video to test for video quality, audio quality, lip sync, and loudness. It is also the first to perform those tests in real-time, providing the full-reference MS-SSIM perceptual quality metric on the DMOS scale.

The 3-RU RTM 4K is built with a variety of applications in mind, such as testing new 4K HEVC encoders for audio and video performance over time, and testing the performance of origination channels and automatically recording and logging faults in video, audio, lip sync, and loudness. Content providers can also deploy RTM 4K — both in advance and during a broadcast — for long-haul performance testing of special large-audience live programming, or in any instance where 4K content quality monitoring and measurement are required.

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