IBC Printed Guide - September 2014 - 36

www.inbroadcast.com PRODUCT GUIDE | Sept 12 - 16, 2014

Digimetrics Aurora 5 For All Your
File-Based Quality Control
Requirements
You may need a cost-effective file-based QC product
just for a fast and automatic check that your files meet
a particular distribution standard or you may have more
advanced audio-visual testing requirements. In either
case, Aurora 5 from Digimetrics offers you the most
powerful, flexible and cost-effective solution...

36

Fast, Scalable & Consistent
QC Speed
Aurora 5 is something completely
different,
performance-wise.
Where the rest of the automated
QC industry is stuck with a
maximum of four processes per
test unit, Aurora 5 has the ability
to create hundreds of processes
in each VU (Verification test Unit),
that allows controlled use of
between one and 16 cores per
VU, in addition to continuing to
offer the industry's only available
GPU acceleration. This vast
improvement in scalability allows
not only dramatic performance
improvements over competitive
systems, but it also provides
flexibility in rollout, allowing for
deployments on premise, virtually
and in the cloud.
In addition to unrivalled speed,
this unique Aurora 5 architecture
also provides consistent QC
performance no matter how many
concurrent QC tests are being
performed. As CPU and GPU
resources do not change for each
VU as more VUs are activated,
so the time to test a file remains
constant with the same file always
taking the same time to test
whether they are the only file being
tested, or if they are one of many
files being tested at the same
time. Multiple QC task queues can
be deployed for different speed
processing - so you can implement
one queue say for high priority or

large files with eight CPU cores per
VU, and another for everyday files
with four CPU cores per VU.
Aurora is licensed based on
the maximum number of cores
needed, and upgrading from one
Aurora 5 flavour to another is
simple, as is scaling up the number
of VUs in an Aurora 5 system, so
the system can easily be adapted
to changing throughput needs.
Functionality & Capability
As a result of Digimetrics market
leading activities as an editor or
chair within EBU QC and FIMS,
as well as participation in AMWA,
SMPTE and regional initiatives,
Aurora 5 consistently supports
the leading edge codecs and
wrappers being used in the media
industry. For example, Aurora 5
supports IMF - the new wrapper
being adopted by the major
pictures houses in Hollywood with the ability to QC and play
back complex CPLs and testing
4K in any container or codec,
including JPEG 2000, DPX, HEVC,
and H.264.
Aurora 5 is also
capable of both testing and playing
back HLS/HSS/HDS/DASH and
CableLabs
intermediate
ABR
playlist file sets. This includes tests
specifically designed to catch the
most common causes of adaptive
bit rate streaming problems.
Aurora 5 offers a frame accurate
player that uses the same
demux and decode as the QC

Aurora 5 also easily integrates with third party systems
via the Aurora 5 SOAP API or watch folders.

Digimetric's Aurora 5 can create
hundreds of processes in each
verification test unit.

analysis, with smooth playback of
the file even up to 4K. This ensures
that when the operator clicks on
a QC instance in the Aurora QC
Report they can be sure to see the
exact frame of the artefact every
time. A unique set of features in
the player deliver a manual review
workflow up to eight times faster
than traditional linear manual
review. This includes the new QC
artefact overlay functionality in
which an operator can toggle a
semi-transparent graphic overlay
to identify where in the image the
reported artefact occurs.
Other tools include the Review
Bar to enter notes and make
QC decisions, and the ability to
visualise audio, captions/subtitles/
text in video, and metadata on the
same player.
Aurora 5 has an optional QC
Analytics plug-in to enable the
comparison of multiple QC
Reports to identify QC artefact
trends. This enables broadcasters
and content aggregators to easily
identify a record of issues from
specific content sources and
providers and take corrective
action at a business level.
Systems Integration
& Workflow Flexibility
Aurora 5 can be installed on
servers, a modern virtualised or
a blade environment from
leading IT manufacturers.
It is suitable and proven
for both on-premise and
cloud installations, and is
available on both Amazon
Web Services and Microsoft
Azure platforms.
For standalone operation
Aurora 5 is supplied as
standard
with
integral
automated
workflow

capabilities. The Aurora 5 Smart
Test Plan functionality enables the
automatic application of different
QC Test Plans to incoming files
according their file attributes. The
Aurora 5 Decision Engine supports
automated actions based on
the QC test results, from simple
movement of files to automated
file
correction
(say,
audio
normalisation correction using our
AutoFix product).
Aurora 5 also easily integrates
with third party systems with light
integration using watch folders
or a far closer native integration
using the Aurora 5 SOAP API.
Digimetrics operates a Technology
Partner Program that assists
suppliers to integrate Digimetrics
products, including Aurora 5, into
their solutions.
Currently over 50 manufacturers
are actively engaged in this
program, with many already
offering Aurora 5 file-based QC
integrated within their workflows.
This includes Ingest, MAM &
Workflow, Archive & Storage, Post
Production, Station Management
and Test & Measurement Solutions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Aurora 5 QC offers
you a cost-effective solution with
the performance, capability and
flexibility to meet your current and
future file-based QC needs.
See Aurora 5 file-based QC,
Hydra Player and AutoFix Audio
Normalisation at the IBC booth or
contact sales@digi-metrics.com to
arrange a free 30-day evaluation of
these products.
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IBC Printed Guide - September 2014

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