Sarnoff DTV/ MPEG -2 Software Encoder SARNOFF DTV / MPEG-2 ENCODER TECHNOLOGY * For TV and movie studios that need high-quality software encoders to compress source material for VBR and CBR digital storage media * For video-editing equipment companies that need a flexible software encoder to perform manual fine-tuning for high quality encoding SARNOFF ENCODER BENEFITS MAJOR APPLICATIONS * Reduces Cost and Increases Speed * DVD and VCD * Offers More Program Channels * Studio * Supports Multiple Profiles & Applications * Web Server * Facilitates Plug-in Capability * Personal Authoring HOW THE SARNOFF ENCODER WORKS Sarnoff Corporation has incorporated several proprietary tools into this encoder to enhance the coding efficiency and visual quality of its DTV / MPEG-2 video-encoding process. Sarnoff has over a dozen patents or patents pending behind these technologies. Below are the functions which enable the Sarnoff Software MPEG-2 Encoder to reach new heights in encoding performance: MOTION ESTIMATOR: A Binary Pyramid Motion Estimator provides over 2,000 times less search complexity for significant savings in memory, memory bandwidth, and computation. MODE DECISION: The new Mode Decision scheme uses joint optimization of both motion vector bits and residual variance, with negligible increase in implementation complexity. Compared with the MPEG-2 TM 5, Sarnoff's mode decision achieves more than 0.5 dB improvement in picture quality at 2 Mbps and 1 dB improvement at 1.1Mbps. NOISE REDUCTION FILTER: A non-linear interlaced Noise Reduction prefilter is applied to remove/ reduce random and impulse noise originating in the camera or studio. This yields more than one dB improvement in video quality in noisy images. RATE CONTROLLER: An improved Rate Control Scheme (RCS) allows more accurate target bit allocation and reduced Video Buffer Verifier (VBV) buffer fluctuation. Based on a more accurate model of encoding complexity, our RCS improves visual quality by more than 0.5 dB at around 2 Mbps, compared with TM5 implementations. 3:2 PULLDOWN: The new 3:2 Pulldown approach handles any combination of film and NTSC material adaptively and robustly. An improvement of more than one dB in noise sensitivity is achieved in sequences with significant motion. SCENE CHANGE DETECTOR: This preprocessing module detects scene changes based on luminance change, then notifies the rate control module for appropriate action. More than one dB of video quality improvement is achieved. FEATURES MULTIPLE ENCODING PROFILES SPEED AND QUALITY The Sarnoff DTV/MPEG-2 encoder can produce the following output profiles: Sarnoff DTV/MPEG-2 encoder technology produces an outstanding balance of speed, picture quality, and features. Other products that encode at comparable speed cannot match its picture quality. A parallel processor delivers substantial speed gains on certain platforms. Speeds on all platforms are expected to improve over present levels in future versions. n MPEG-1 n Standard Definition (SDTV): all common formats n MPEG-2: Main Profile @ Main Level (MP@ML) n High Definition (HDTV): All ATSC formats, Main Profile @ High Level (MP@HL) and 4:2:2@ML CHOICE OF INPUT FORMATS The encoder accepts digital video input in the form of: n AVI files n CCIR 601 n VGA and SVGA n Progressive scan: 24 or 30 fps n Interlaced scan: 60 Hz MEMORY REQUIREMENTS 16MB RAM is recommended for Standard Definition video. More RAM can boost processing speed, depending on platform. PLATFORMS M-Coder is available in versions for today's leading platforms such as Solaris (Sun), IRIX (Silicon Graphics), Windows NT and Windows 95. n Movie material n PPM MULTIPLE PLATFORMS n Constant or variable bit rates (CBR or VBR) The encoder is available in versions for the Solaris (Sun), IRIX (Silicon Graphics), Windows NT, and Windows 95. M-Coder can be interfaced with standard elementary stream codecs for audio. MODULAR AND EXTENSIBLE Modularity. The Sarnoff encoder's modular structure lets it grow to meet your needs. It is available at three levels of performance, each of which is upgradable to the next. RAM: 16 MB recommended for SD video. More RAM can boost processing speed, depending on platform. Processor Speed: 200 MHz or greater recommended Disk Space: Sufficient disk space for video storage. Encoder itself fits on a single 1.44 MB floppy. n Base Level: for Video Compact Disk or MPEG-1 encoding. n SD Level: Broadcaster and SDTV encoding, MP@ML n HD Level: High Definition, supports all 18 ATSC formats for HDTV Extensibility. The encoder's modular, partitioned structure permits easy performance enhancement by plugging in your own algorithms. For more information, contact: Sarnoff Corporation CN 5300, Princeton, NJ 08543 (609) 734-2553, Fax: (609) 734-2443 www.sarnoff.com Sarnoff Corporation reserves the right to change these specifications without notice. (c)Copyright 1998 Sarnoff Corporation. All Rights Reserved. LICENSING TERMS Sarnoff offers site licenses for each of the DTV/MPEG-2 encoder's three performance levels. Comprehensive service contracts and upgrade policies are also available. Contact Sarnoff for more details. Sarnoff will also develop arrangements for resellers and companies who wish to bundle the encoder with their products.