Why Compression?
In today's increasingly complex and expensive production landscape, broadcasters are seeking efficient solutions. With soaring media rights costs and a growing demand for content, particularly in UHD and HDR formats, optimizing production workflows is crucial. Remote production, driven by ecological and health considerations, further necessitates flexible and scalable infrastructure. IP-based workflows, enabled by codecs like JPEG XS, are key to managing high-bandwidth video, especially UHD, over IP networks, supporting remote crews and adaptable setups.
Grass Valley's Commitment to Standards
Grass Valley champions a standardized 10-bit codec approach across the entire broadcast workflow, from camera to control room. This commitment to standards enhances flexibility, scalability, and reduces complexity, empowering broadcasters to maximize savings and foster creativity. The primary business benefit of compression is reduced network bandwidth, leading to increased production capabilities, improved delivery, cost reduction, and enhanced content monetization. While codecs can introduce quality or latency concerns, Grass Valley's implementation of the JPEG XS standard offers negligible latency and no discernible quality sacrifice at a fraction of the bandwidth. Their encoding and decoding latency is well below the human detection threshold.
The JPEG XS standard supports compression ratios from 6:1 to 36:1, allowing customization for visual quality and bandwidth efficiency. Encoding to SMPTE ST 2110-22 provides ultra-low latency transmission. Grass Valley offers a complete end-to-end standardized solution with negligible latency and no loss of quality, facilitating remote production and scalable networks.
The Grass Valley End-to-End Workflow Solution
Grass Valley's LDX 100 and LDX 150 cameras with NativeIP technology output JPEG XS encoded video over SMPTE ST 2110-22. This stream is decoded at the production center by the XIP-3901-JPEG-XS application, feeding production switchers and multiviewers with minimal delay. The output is then re-encoded and transmitted for remote display via the IPVU JPEG XS application, simplifying cabling and creating a more efficient workspace.
This high-quality compression and low latency enable remote production and simplify on-site equipment. The entire workflow can be quickly reconfigured for various production sizes and formats. Grass Valley's adherence to standardized technologies and NMOS compliance ensures interoperability within multivendor systems. Early implementations using non-standardized 8-bit codecs now face costly upgrades, highlighting the importance of Grass Valley's commitment to the current 10-bit JPEG XS standard for an open, interoperable ecosystem.
A New World
As content acquisition costs rise and revenue declines, broadcasters must innovate. Grass Valley's JPEG XS workflow provides the flexibility for remote production and maximizes infrastructure investments. This standardized IP-based compressed workflow allows for easy scaling, quick format switching, and improved content quality and quantity at reduced costs. Grass Valley's solution, launched in July 2021, empowers content creators and media organizations to produce brilliant content and build successful businesses.
