Vidcheck Adds Advanced Media Player and AS-0 File Handling to Vidchecker

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Vidcheck, a globally active producer of advanced applications to check and correct file-based video and audio content, will demonstrate the latest version of Vidchecker plus the opex-licence-based Vidchecker OnDemand at IBC2016.

Vidcheck has a wealth of experience in providing cost-effective and easy-to-deploy solutions that perform compliance for a wide range of delivery standards, comments Global Sales Manager Joe Newcombe. The latest version now incorporates a template for the AS-10 file format. Chosen by French broadcasters, AS-10 is designed for transmission of LongGOP MPEG-2 video and PCM audio. It is essentially the format used for XDCAMHD, carrying content in an OP-1A wrapper. Our support for AS-10 demonstrates Vidchecks sustained agility in responding both to evolving technology and specific national requirements.

Also at IBC2016 will be an entirely new version of the Vidcheck Advanced Media Player (Vamp). Vidchecker comes with its own player to show content that has been tested or corrected. Some environments require a more sophisticated view of the content. Vamp guides the user through any alerts raised as part of the automated quality control process. Alerts are displayed along a timeline representation of the content. The user can navigate to each alert in turn or randomly jump though scene by scene. Navigation is via standard industry transport controls. Adding a hardware graphics output card it is possible to take an HDMI or SDI output from a workstation to a second monitor. As well as playing out the video and audio, Vamp's main features include timeline display of video keyframes and all audio tracks; location and description details of all alerts from Vidchecker/Vidfixer auto QC; file metadata display and audio codec details for each track.

Other major additions to Vidchecker since IBC2015 include:

* Automatic video segment detection. This identifies and reports back as timecode the start and duration of any segments bordered by black positionals. These are routinely placed in media files to accommodate commercials relevant to specific viewer categories

* Advanced validation of Interoperable Master Format (IMF) metadata and essence. IMF files carry a relatively large amount of metadata to support multi-language, multi-reel, subtitles/closed-captions, video inserts and after-the-fact delivery of content with supplemental packages. IMF also includes metadata relating to audio and timed text essence formats, basic descriptive metadata, complex playlists, and delivery. A typical application will specify video codecs plus image characteristics and can specify additional descriptive metadata, for instance. Vidchecker V.7 is designed to check all this data and draw attention to any potential operational issues.

* Multi-lingual alerts. Vidcheck users can now access quality-control alerts in practically any language rather than being restricted to English. Languages can be assigned within quality-control templates.

* Peak attenuation. Adding to the loudness level normalisation of earlier Vidchecker iterations, Vidchecker now incorporates a new audio correction algorithm which provides transparent adjustment of abnormally high audio peaks.

Vidchecker now works faster than any previous version, taking advantage of the parallel processing architecture employed in modern digital microprocessors.

Most of the new Vidchecker features will also be available on Vidchecker-post. The key difference is that Vidchecker is the faster of the two applications, capable of testing and correcting multiple files simultaneously.

The automated error correction options being introduced to Vidchecker mean that detection and correction are combined in a single uniquely powerful application:

* Layout changes allowing automatic addition of bars and black to a file without interruption. These changes in layout are user-defined in a normal Vidchecker template.

* PSE correction (the ability to correct luminance flashes known to cause problems for people prone to photosensitive epilepsy). This feature allows users to correct content automatically for delivery to UK DPP broadcasters, ensuring conformance with OFCOM guidelines for luminance flashing which is the most common problem for PSE.

* Transcoding. Vidchecker users can now pre-define an in-house file format. Vidcheck can then automatically perform quality control as well as intelligent level correction and layout changes to a common file format regardless of input format.

Designed for checking file-based video, audio and related metadata before and after distribution, Vidchecker is also used by broadcasters for checking files received from post-production companies and content owners to ensure that file, video and audio parameters and levels are correct and ready for general transmission. Vidchecker provides a highly efficient server-based alternative to checking conformance by eye and hand. It can also automatically and intelligently correct video and audio levels. Sub-SD, SD, HD, UHD, 4K, 8K and mixed workflows are supported. The Vidchecker GUI is accessed through a web browser either on the local machine or remotely over a network.

Vidchecker-post is a full-featured version of Vidchecker designed for low-volume users such as post-production houses, content distributors and smaller broadcasters who do not have the file-testing throughput requirements of larger companies. Like Vidchecker, it is easy to install and use, performing thorough checks of video and audio parameters, and checking video and audio quality. It intelligently corrects video luma, chroma and RGB component, and conforms audio peak and audio loudness levels to ATSC/CALM and EBU requirements.

About Vidcheck

Vidcheck (www.vidcheck.com) is a major innovator in the design and production of software for automated quality control and automated correction of file-based

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