BBC RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT2011/12 at a glance

01

01/INTRODUCTION

08/WHITESPACES

12/YOUVIEW

10/IP STUDIOS

14/BBC R&D ACHIEVEMENTS OVER THE YEARS

16/MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP TEAMS

04/HIGHLIGHTS

06/SPATIAL AUDIO

INTRODUCTION

2012 has long been anticipated as a

signifi cant year for the UK and

consequently for the BBC. Events of

national and international signifi cant are

occurring, such as the Queen’s Diamond

Jubilee celebrations and the London

Olympics, and in the world of broadcasting

specifi cally, the completion of the

switchover from analogue to digital

terrestrial television.

In terms of research, the preparation work

for events such of these has been building

over a long period, with 2011-12 seeing

many strands of activity that have been

worked on over a number of years

coming to fruition.

In common with many other countries, the

UK has been undertaking a process of

switching its analogue television services

off and replacing them with digital services.

BBC R&D expertise has been fundamental

to the development and implementation

of digital terrestrial television in the UK,

including the planning for switchover,

which was originally announced in 2005.

Matthew Postgate, Controller, Research & Development

0302

Some examples of the key challenges we are

addressing with our academic partners are

as follows:

Could spatial audio be the next major •

advance for our audiences? We will work

with our partners to study the options for

true 3D sound – that can envelop the

listener from above and below as well as

all sides.

Can arrangements of many speakers be •

made practical in a typical living room?

Could 3D audio realistically be delivered •

via headphones?

Can we develop ways of separating (or •

‘un-mixing’) audio signals that work in

practical situations, allowing us to eliminate

microphone cross-talk in recording, or

listeners to re-mix a programme to

improve the audibility of dialogue?

With the forthcoming London 2012 Olympics,

a lot of work within BBC R&D has been

targeted at enhancing the corporation’s

coverage of the Games. The Games provide

an opportunity to take the accumulated

outputs of research work and to bring them

to the screen and loudspeaker. In the run up

to 2012, a number of experiments and trials

were undertaken to test the services being

proposed. Prominent among these was a trial

of Super Hi-Vision (SHV) services with the

room and user experience laboratory. The

location of the lab in the centre of the BBC’s

Salford Quays site is already leading to closer

working relationships with other BBC

departments now on site, and the benefi ts

of internal and external collaboration

opportunities are becoming evident and

leading to many exciting initiatives.

The opening of BBC R&D’s new lab at

MediaCityUK provided a particular impetus

for growing our audio R&D activities, through

a long-term, strategic relationship with some

of the UK’s leading universities in the fi eld of

audio and acoustics. In July 2011 the BBC’s

Director of Audio and Music, Tim Davie,

formally launched the BBC Audio Research

Partnership in front of an audience of

invitees from industry and academia. This

collaboration will bring signifi cant research

effort to bear on some key challenges,

producing solutions that the BBC can

turn into services or industry can turn

into products.

We will be working with fi ve world-leading

university partners, selected for their relevance

to BBC R&D’s current audio ambitions; our

primary partners are Surrey University for

audio-visual research and Salford University

for acoustics research. We are also working

closely with Southampton, Queen Mary,

University of London, and York. The BBC has

committed to this partnership for at least

fi ve years.

Japanese national broadcaster, NHK, whose

system provides for 22.2 audio as well as

video with 16 times the number of pixels as

today’s high defi nition service. The plan for

the Olympics is to take live pictures and

edited highlights packages, and using a range

of research and commercial networks, to

backhaul them for production and then

distribution to viewing venues across the

world. The trial demonstrated this concept

at IBC 2011 in Amsterdam, with live pictures

from London, and gave a successful test of the

issues involved in very high bitrate time-critical

delivery over IP networks, in preparation for

the following year.

In July 2011, Peter Brightwell and Graham

Thomas had the honour of representing

BBC R&D at an evening reception at

Buckingham Palace for winners of the 2011

Queen’s Award. We were there following the

announcement that BBC R&D had won an

award for the Piero sports graphics system.

These are highly prestigious awards given for

outstanding achievement by UK businesses;

to win an award in the Innovation category

we had to demonstrate that Piero was both

highly technically innovative and had been a

signifi cant commercial success. We won the

award jointly with our partner, Red Bee Media.

Piero is in use worldwide and frequently seen

on screen providing leading edge graphics

capability that enhances sports coverage and

helps presenters and experts to explain

events in an informative and compelling way.

“ WE HAVE LAUNCHED A LONG-TERM STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP WITH SOME OF THE UK’S LEADING UNIVERSITIES IN THE FIELD OF AUDIO AND ACOUSTICS.”

“2011-2012 HAS SEEN MANY STRANDS OF ACTIVITY THAT HAVE BEEN WORKED ON OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS COMING TO FRUITION.”

Over the last few years, BBC R&D has worked

with colleagues across the BBC and the UK

industry towards implementation of switch-

over, and the movement of services and

multiplexes to make best use of the spectrum

available for television broadcasting.

Switchover has also provided the opportunity

for new types of services to be launched, in

particular a terrestrial high defi nition service

utilising DVB-T2 technology in whose

development BBC R&D was a key player.

In 2011, R&D helped the BBC use some of

its HD capacity for a trial transmission of the

popular Strictly Come Dancing show in

stereoscopic 3D, also shown in cinemas.

It provided an opportunity not only to

understand the audience’s opinion, but also

to try the technology of the system end-to-

end and explore the production issues

involved in providing a live light entertainment

show in 3D.

In the spring and summer of 2011, the BBC

started to vacate its premises in Oxford Road,

Manchester and move to a new site in

MediaCityUK, Salford Quays. R&D was one

of the earlier departments to make this move

and benefi t from the world class facilities the

new site has to offer, having specifi ed our

requirements for our new laboratory from

an early stage in the design. As well as

working areas and general laboratories

capable of accommodating around 50 staff,

the facilities include a purpose built listening

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Queen’s Award BBC R&D won The ‘Queen’s Award for

Enterprise: Innovation 2011’ jointly with

Red Bee Media, for their collaborative work

in developing Piero, the TV graphics system

that has transformed sports broadcasting.

Piero gives sports presenters and pundits

another way to view and analyse crucial

incidents in the games, and explain them

more effectively to the audience.

R&D North LabBBC R&D North Lab is now fully up and

running with new facilities that include an

audio listening room. The Queen offi cially

opened the MediaCity site in Salford on

23rd March, and Matthew Postgate

presented some of our work to her.

SnippetsSnippets is a prototype research tool

designed to help BBC staff fi nd, snip and

share TV programmes. They can fi nd any

show from the last four years, fi nd half-

remembered scenes by searching subtitles

and scripts for keywords mentioned in the

programme, and snip and share video

effortlessly. We launched this in beta this

year and it already has 3000 users within

the BBC.

R&D Labs We launched a site that gathers all of BBC

R&D’s internet-based prototypes and APIs

into one place so that you can try them out;

www.bbc.co.uk/rd/labs.

VenueVuWe carried out a live on-air trial of the

VenueVu system at Wimbledon. The system

was used to generate virtual ‘fl ights’

between cameras on different courts,

allowing viewers to get a feeling for the

layout of the area.

Audio Research PartnershipWe launched the BBC Audio Research

Partnership, a strategic collaboration

between the BBC and fi ve leading UK

universities in the fi elds of audio-visual and

acoustics research. This new approach to

engaging with academia will allow us to

focus a large amount of effort on

developing next-generation audio systems.

Binaural ReproductionWe worked with colleagues in Audio &

Music to mount an on-line trial of binaural

reproduction over the Christmas period,

using an excerpt from Carols from Kings. This

allowed us to test the audience reaction to

this approach for delivering surround sound

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR

via headphones, by simulating the effects of

different head and ear shapes on sound

coming from different directions.

HD ArchiveWe have produced an HD version of the

Archive Ingex system capable of digitising

and coding content using AVC-Intra. This

allows the release of HDCAM-SR tapes

back to production in response to the

worldwide shortage due to the Tsunami

in Japan.

Archive RestorationWe demonstrated the restoration of old

archive content (from the 1970’s, for

example Dr Who) correcting the telecine

phase to produce a restored version which

can now be re-broadcast or distributed via

the internet. This work combines a number

of video analysis techniques that have been

developed during the year.

High-Speed LinksVery high-speed (350 Mbit/s) IP links have

been established between BBC TVC Centre

and three sites in the UK (Glasgow, Bradford

and BH London) with the help of Janet, Atos

and BT in preparation for public showings of

the London 2012 Olympic Games using

NHK’s 8k Super Hi-Vision system with

22.2 multichannel sound.

Collaborative CentresWe worked extensively with UK’s

Technology Strategy Board to investigate

the appetite and potential within the UK’s

Creative Industries sector for a new

technology innovation centre covering this

area – this contributed to the positive

decision to establish a Catapult Centre for

the Connected Digital Economy, which will

include media and the creative industries.

TV WhitespaceWe launched of the TV Whitespace

Technology Trial in Cambridge at the end of

June/beginning of July. A number of major

companies including Microsoft have formed

a consortium to run this trial, with R&D

representing the BBC’s interests.

Green ButtonGreen Button services were launched and

are working successfully on BBC HD, BBC

One HD on Freesat.

3D ShowsWe supported the broadcasting of the live

Strictly Come Dancing fi nal in 3D.

Stagebox We developed ‘Production Stagebox’ to

introduce IP as a core studio

transport technology.

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The audio research team at BBC R&D investigates applications and challenges relating to various audio topics. Their research spans the whole broadcast chain from production through to the delivery of new audio experiences for the audience. A fi eld of special interest for BBC R&D is spatial audio technology. Spatial audio (sometimes also called 3D audio) aims to deliver a step change in audio experience to listeners at home or on the move. This ranges from a new immersive experience of ‘being there’ while watching sport events or concerts up to personalised reproduction to enhance listener experience and accessibility. It spans all the way from multiple loudspeakers to just a pair of headphones used for reproduction. In order for spatial audio to be a practical proposition for broadcasters, some key research questions need to be addressed:

In the last year we have also been conducting some experiments in collaboration with our colleagues in BBC production areas to investigate different kinds of spatial audio technology. In October 2011 we collaborated with BBC Radio 2 to record a concert by Elbow in Manchester Cathedral in order to experiment with different loudspeaker based spatial audio reproduction techniques in our listening room. In December we produced several binaural versions of Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and invited listeners to fi nd out which worked best for them at home. We followed this with an experiment in February using a radio drama, Private Peaceful. We also investigated a novel approach for allowing a producer to position sound sources in 3D using a gesture-based interface rather than more conventional panning controls.

Many approaches have been postulated for • high quality multi-loudspeaker and headphone reproduction. Whilst the physical processes in the sound fi eld are reasonably well understood, fundamental questions of signal processing and perceptual response have to be resolved, especially in the challenging environments of domestic living rooms and mobile devices.

During the last year the launch of the BBC Audio Research Partnership has initiated a new model for collaboration between the BBC and universities in the UK. The research questions given above form one important area for the partnership. In the fi eld of spatial audio four PhD candidates are currently working towards new insights and new applications for our audiences together with our academic partners in Salford, Surrey, Southampton, Queen Mary University London and York.

The creative exploitation of these • technologies requires intuitive tools for producers to use (whether professionals or amateurs). Fundamental studies are required to ensure new audio rendering techniques have high perceptual quality and are coherent with visual cues on different devices to allow maximum fl exibility for our listeners.

Perceptual coding (mp3) has revolutionised • the music industry, but is not yet optimized for spatial audio. A better fundamental understanding of how we hear complex sound fi elds is essential. This requires exploitation of psychoacoustic models to formulate signal processing across delivery platforms and networks.

08 09

White space devices could make use of spectrum unused in small regions of the country to provide additional low power services, such as additional WiFi-like services, or for providing broadband connectivity in hard to reach rural areas. The UK’s telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has identifi ed the TV spectrum as a candidate band for deploying such devices over the next couple of years. The TV bands are suitable for this approach as high power transmitters using the same frequencies are separated by relatively large distances to prevent mutual interference to TV receivers from the different transmitters. These frequencies could then be re-used by lower power white space devices in between the TV transmitters without causing interference to TV reception.

The approach currently proposed would be to make devices license-exempt, provided that they have built-in mechanisms to regularly consult an Ofcom-approved database, called a geolocation database, which will tell the devices which TV channels they can use and the maximum power they are allowed to radiate. Since the TV bands are also used for secondary services (PMSE – programme making and special events e.g. radio microphones), the database would need to be updated regularly with the details of radio microphone deployments at events such as outside broadcasts.

BBC R&D has been studying this technology for several years now, both to understand the algorithms that are needed to calculate the

power allocated to white space devices, which will ensure that television transmissions and radio microphones are not interfered with and at the same time to understand the advantages and applications of the technology. Working with BBC Distribution, we have used this work to generate an initial geolocation database and a web front-end which allows the white space availability to be inspected at any location.

We have also conducted numerous laboratory tests to help determine the protection ratios that need to be used as part of the algorithm for calculating the white space availability. We also lead the DTG’s RF sub-group, which is aiming to set appropriate RF performance targets for TV receivers in the presence of white space signals.

BBC R&D participates in two industry-wide trials of white space technology, which are working to verify and demonstrate white space technology. One of these, the Cambridge TV White Spaces Trial, recently reported its key fi ndings at a summit in Cambridge, and these results are freely available from the Cambridge Wireless website (www.cambridgewireless.co.uk).

The results of the BBC’s work in this area are being contributed to an Ofcom Technical Working Group which will enable Ofcom to undertake the regulatory processes needed to allow the use of TV White Space devices in the UK. We are also actively contributing to several European groups working in this area.

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The IP Studio is a concept for the future production environment, where the potential of seamless high-speed IP networking is realised to provide:

faster, more immediate and more • collaborative production experiences;

richer capture of production data to speed • data-driven audience experiences on multiple screens; and

simpler provision and rigging of infrastructure • across distributed locations.

Teams across R&D are working to build the main elements of a working IP Studio, which we can use as a test-bed with real productions and to help transfer this technology.

From a production viewpoint, the main features are: access to any content, from anywhere and at any time, with a particular focus on accessing live feeds; the means to annotate, assemble and visualise production content; and systematic gathering and sharing of metadata throughout the lifetime of a production.

The project is developing technology for studio-quality IP streaming (mapping onto

industry-standard fi les), automated analysis of content, encoding and distribution of studio data events, system timing and synchronisation over IP, confi guration of system resources and a web-based API. This work will inform future standardisation in this area, helping the production and broadcast industry to move into the cloud.

One of the fi rst outputs of the IP Studio project is the Stagebox device (pictured), which is a bidirectional bridge between conventional HD-SDI video, audio and timecode signals and equivalent IP streams. The compact unit is suitable for use on the studio fl oor and on

location, and can reduce costs by simplifying rigging and providing feeds and camera control and tally information directly on a single IP network cable. In addition, the unit includes built-in talkback over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for viewing live on a tablet. Stagebox can also be displayed and recorded directly on a laptop computer. Stagebox was demonstrated at IBC and NAB where it won an ‘InTech’ award from InBroadcast. Stagebox technology has been licensed and is being developed by our industry partners into a commercial product.

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This year saw the launch of the new YouView connected television platform which combines DTT broadcast channels with catch-up services delivered over the Internet.

One of YouView’s main aims is to make connected television easy to use, even by those who are less technically literate. It achieves this by seamlessly integrating video-on-demand (VOD) programmes delivered using services like BBC iPlayer with the traditional electronic programme guide (EPG) that viewers are used to.

YouView began as a small BBC project around four years ago. BBC R&D was involved from day one and played a pivotal role in developing solid technical foundations for the platform as well as building relationships with technology partners.

Previous digital television platforms have typically been defi ned by specifi cation documents

covering the requirements for interoperability. This approach has some disadvantages: the performance and usability of set-top box and television devices would vary considerably and even with a great deal of device testing, it has been hard and sometimes impossible to create content and services that work correctly on devices from a range of manufacturers. It has also been diffi cult to add new features because development work is required for each separate product.

To address some of these challenges, BBC R&D developed fi rst-hand skills in set-top box hardware, graphics and media delivery and created specifi cations that defi ne the functions and interfaces within the receiving device as well as those between the device and the content provider. Through a combination of hardware performance requirements, standardised open source components and the

ability to perform ‘white box’ testing, YouView devices can deliver a much more consistent user experience and greater interoperability. Separation of the user interface elements from the core software makes YouView extensible. New features can be added over time by YouView without always requiring changes to the manufacturer-specifi c elements. Hopefully, by designing the device to be upgraded in this way, it will have an increased life before the hardware becomes redundant, reducing environmental impacts.

Applying its expertise in data modelling and technical interfaces, BBC R&D was also able to design the blueprint for a centralised platform metadata repository. This enables the viewer to browse and search for on-demand content from all content providers on the YouView platform in a unifi ed platform user experience. It also provides an enhanced EPG with links to

on-demand content from the linear schedule, both past and future.

Whilst working on YouView, BBC R&D has also been contributing to standards groups such as the UK Digital Television Group (DTG) and the Open IPTV Forum (OIPF), helping to achieve common standards for media delivery in connected television platforms beyond just YouView.

BBC R&D continues to support YouView with technical expertise in critical areas including media delivery, content protection and metadata and is now helping to pave the way for new features to be added in future. These could include ‘second screen’ services, improved accessibility, the MPEG DASH format for adaptive bitrate media delivery and new application formats with the potential to unleash the 3D graphics capabilities of the hardware.

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Upgrades and enhancements across the board:

2000 R&D’s handheld digital radio camera used for live broadcasts

2001 Speech recognition used as an aid to provide subtitles

2002 Freeview launched

2006 World’s fi rst end-to-end MIMO broadcast system tested

2008 Freesat service launched. Dirac Pro used by BBC to deliver Beijing Olympics in HD

2009 Freeview HD service launched using DVB-T2 transmission standard

2010 Live delivery of Super-Hi Vision via the internet from our studio to NHK in Japan.

Decade of debate: stick with analogue systems, wait for digital, or a hybrid?

1982 BBC Microcomputer, from Acorn, released

1982 HDTV studies commence in earnest

1984 Video watermarking – electronically labelling television pictures – devised

1985 LF Radio Teleswitching service commences enables the Electricity Supply Industry to optimise power distribution at peak demand times

1986 BBC’s NICAM 728 system for digital stereo sound accepted as British Standard

1987 Join Eureka 147 collaborative group, which developed the DAB standard.

BBC R&D ACHIEVEMENTS OVER THE YEARS

Latest integrated circuits used for signal processing:

1970 Digital line-store standards converter work commences

1972 Teletext experiments begin

1974 BBC R&D demonstrates world’s fi rst digital television recorder

1975 Successful transmission of digital television signals

1976 First transmissions of digital television over INTELSAT satellite; CARFAX road traffi c information service principle demonstrated

1978 First digital stereophonic sound broadcast experiments – leading to NICAM stereo sound.

Start of digital radio and television broadcasting, and launch of BBC Online. Virtual production techniques evolving to provide powerful production tools:

1990 First DAB trials

1995 The new Digital Radio service started in September

1996 First fully compliant test of the new DVB transmission standard

1997 BBC internet services start

1998 BBC launches digital satellite and terrestrial television services

1999 Digital Text service (replacement for analogue Teletext) successfully launched on DTT.

1970s 1980s 1990s

Research mainly concerned with short-wave broadcasting, studio developments, developing the Simultaneous Broadcast system, and television:

1930 BBC Research Department formed in April

1936 First regular high defi nition television service launches

1937 First close-talking noise-cancelling ribbon microphone giving broadcast speech, the L1.

The start of work on stereo radio; fi rst transatlantic signals (and so need for standards conversion); transistors being used in commercial equipment:

1953 Suppressed-frame telerecording equipment designed, and used at Coronation

1958 VERA (Vision Electronic Recording Apparatus), fi rst video tape machine used by the BBC

1959 First transatlantic television transmission by R&D’s ‘Cablefi lm’; stereophonic tests using EMI-Percival system; investigations into TV picture storage begin.

The start of FM radio; colour television started to look viable; and new magnetic recording techniques started coming into operation:

1945 First VHF/FM transmission tests from Alexandra Palace; Type D disk recorder brought into service

1947 Early measurements on the magnetic properties of recording tape

1949 Work starts on smaller, light, higher sensitivity commentator’s microphone, the L2, to replace the L1. Simple colour channel set up.

Satellite communications used for the fi rst time in broadcasting; digital techniques transform sound and picture communication:

1962 First transatlantic colour TV link by satellite, using BBC R&D’s slide scanner

1963 NTSC, SECAM and PAL colour demonstrations to EBU and OIRT

1964 First studies into digital techniques for television

1967 BBC Two transmits fi rst regular colour television service in Europe.

1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s

2000s

SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF BBC R&D’SINNOVATION OVER THE YEARS

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16 17

Top row, from left to right:

Graham Thomas Production Magic

Phil Tudor Automated Production

& Media Management

John Zubrzycki Archives Research

Tristram Biggs YouView Launch Manager

Chris Nokes Distribution Core Technologies

Phil Layton Digital Service Development

Michael Evans User Experience & Accessibility

Nick Wells Research Fellow

Lindsay Cornell Principal Technologist

Matthew Postgate Controller, Research & Developmnent

LEADERSHIP TEAM

MANAGEMENT TEAM

From left to right:

Stephen Baily General Manager

Brandon Butterworth Chief Scientist

Daniel Pike Head of Technology Transfer

Conrad Franklin Head of Business & Operations

Adrian Woolard Project Director, R&D North Lab

George Wright Head of Prototyping, R&D Central Labs

Caroline Green Business Manager

Second row, from left to right:

Justin Mitchell Lead Technologist

Andrew McParland Audience Experience

Andy Bower Head of External Relations

Jeff Hunter Distribution Application Layer

Judy Parnall Knowledge Management

& Communications

Samantha Chadwick Strategic Partnerships Executive

Chris Chambers Media Network Integration Lab

Justin King Head of Research Platforms

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CONTACT DETAILS

For more information about BBC R&D, who we are and what we do – including regular updates on our current projects – please check out our website at www.bbc.co.uk/rd

For media enquiries please contact BBC Press Offi ce on 020 8576 1865 or email at press.offi ce@bbc.co.uk