International Telecommunication Union The SMPTE 421 M VC-1

International Telecommunication Union The SMPTE 421 M "VC-1" Standardization Project Mark Jeffrey Microsoft Corporation markjeff@microsoft. com ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

VC-1 & Windows Media ITU-T o Microsoft submitted WMV 9 syntax for standardization to SMPTE in Summer 2003 • SMPTE C 24 standardizing WMV 9 into open standard • Includes Simple, Main and Advanced Profiles • Will be known as SMPTE 421 M / VC-1 when standard is published dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

VC-1 & Windows Media ITU-T o WMV 9 and VC-1 are identical codec technologies • WMV 9 is Microsoft’s implementation of the VC-1 standard • WMV 9 decoder = VC-1 decoder o Transport independence • VC-1 elementary stream can be delivered over ASF, RTP, MPEG-2 Systems • Improved system-layer design in Advanced Profile • • dates Start codes User data Entry Point header Display metadata ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

SMPTE Standardization Process o SMPTE is producing 3 documents ITU-T • VC-1 specification – SMPTE 421 M • VC-1 conformance – SMPTE RP 228 • VC-1 transport – SMPTE RP 227 o Over 60 companies working on VC-1 in SMPTE • Participants represent broad segments of the digital video industry (Content providers; CE, Chip, Encoder, Test equipment manufacturers; DTV Operators) • Standard is quality-driven dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

SMPTE Standardization Process September 2003 ITU-T WD 1 WD 4 March 2004 CD 1 r 5 November 2004 CD ballot CD 2 r 3 April 2005 CD ballot FCD 1 FCD ballot DS dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

Towards Draft Standard… ITU-T dates o All 3 documents recently achieved FCD status o FCD status means VC-1 specification is technically stable and opens the gates to DS (Draft Standard) balloting o Reference decoder implementation and conformance bit streams available to SMPTE members ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

Other Standards and Consortia ITU-T DVD Forum: Group mandated MPEG-2, VC-1 and H. 264 for next gen HD DVD players Group mandated MPEG-2, VC-1 and H. 264 as formats for next gen BD players FVD: Group mandated only VC-1 Other: VC-1 optional in DLNA, becoming part of DVB spec set, under ATSC consideration, … Benefit: dates Blu-ray: Rapidly growing ecosystem support for VC-1 ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

Chips and DSPs ITU-T dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

Professional Video Products ITU-T dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

VC-1 vs. H. 264 - Features ITU-T • 8 x 8, 4 x 8, 8 x 4, 4 x 4 adaptive block size • 8 x 8 and 4 x 4 adaptive block size • Frequency-dependent dequantization matrix Block motion • Frequency-independent dequantization scaling • CABAC or VLC 16 -bit integer transforms • Long filters for MC Bit-exact spec • 4 tap bicubic filters for MC • Complex loop filter Fading prediction • Relatively-simple loop filter • Spatial intra prediction • Multi-picture arbitrary-order referencing Loop filter • VLC-based entropy coding • Overlap intra filtering • Range reduction/expansion • Resolution red. /exp. • Intra PCM H. 264 dates VC-1 ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

VC-1 vs. H. 264 - Quality ITU-T o Both codecs approximately • 2 -3 x better than MPEG-2 • 2 x better than MPEG-4 o VC-1 achieved best quality in independent studies • 2 rounds of DVD Forum tests for HD, Oct-Dec 02 • C’T Magazine codec evaluation, May 03 • DV Magazine evaluation for HD codecs, Oct 03 • C’T Magazine HD codec evaluation, May 05 o Most consistent quality in EBU tests, Oct 04 dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

VC-1 vs. H. 264 - Complexity ITU-T o VC-1 decoding is > 2 x faster than H. 264 decoding • H. 264 ~ 3 -4 x slower than MPEG-2 MP / MPEG-4 SP • Based on H. 264’s own studies • VC-1 ~ 1. 5 x slower than MPEG-2 MP / MPEG -4 SP • Based on empirical data, e. g. , testing VC-1 (WMV-9) vs. MPEG-4 SP in PCs • 1080 p VC-1 software decoding possible on today’s PCs • DVD companion discs with 720/1080 p dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

Microsoft Tools ITU-T dates o Windows Media Encoder • 5 speed settings: super real-time to best quality • Free download o VC-1 Porting Kit RTM • Fully aligned with latest SMPTE VC-1 specification • Comes with set of conformance test vectors • Encoder and Decoder Porting Kit o MPEG-2 Utility Package beta • ASF MPEG-2 Transport conversion utilities • Encoder utility with direct encapsulation into MPEG-2 Transport • RTM scheduled for mid-2005 ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

Conformance Testing Program o Program available for licensees ITU-T • New tools to facilitate initial selfconformance • Microsoft validates the submissions o VC-1 Elementary Stream analyzer tool will be available soon dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

VC-1 Platform Support ITU-T dates Windows Media platform includes VC-1 and enables integration of all A/V devices in networked home ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

Why VC-1? o Requires less computational power and can be ITU-T decoded at full 1080 i/p resolution on today’s offthe-shelf PC o Advanced Profile delivers compression efficiencies far superior to MPEG-2 o Delivers HD content at bit rates as low as 6 -8 Mbps o Better visual quality demonstrated in independent tests dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

Why VC-1? o SMPTE VC-1 is nearing standardization and ITU-T widespread adoption is underway through the implementation of WMV 9 o VC-1 is fueling the coming wave of HD content everywhere – from next generation DVDs, set top boxes, PCs and more o VC-1 is being adopted by industry leaders in the broadcast, content and wireless industries for new and innovative backend solutions and delivery services dates ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva

International Telecommunication Union Backup Slides ITU-T VICA Workshop 22 -23 July 2005, ITU Headquarter, Geneva