Report on the Workshop of Advanced Digital Video in the National
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NAT L INST. OF STAND & TECH R.LC. .is^ 5T3D71 NISTIR 5457 Report on the Workshop on Advanced Digital Video in the National Information Infrastructure May 10-11, 1994 Georgetown University Conference Center Washington, DC July 1994 WORKSHOP SPONSORS • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Technology Policy Working Group Information Infrastructure Task Force Committee on Applications and Technology • Electronics Industries Association • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - USA • Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers • Advanced Television Systems Committee • Cross-Industry Working Team U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Technology Administration Nisr National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899 QC 100 .U56 NO. 5457 1994 I. NISTIR 5457 Report on the Workshop on Advanced Digital Video in the National Information Infrastructure May 10-11, 1994 Georgetown University Conference Center Washington, DC Prepared by the Workshop Program Committee: Charles Fenimore, Bruce Field, Howard Frank, Elden Georg, Michael Papillo, Glenn Reitmeier, Will Stackhouse, and Craig Van Degrift July 1994 WORKSHOP SPONSORS • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Technology Policy Working Group information Infrastructure Task Force Committee on Applications and Technology • Electronics Industries Association • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers -USA • Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers • Advanced Television Systems Committee • Cross-Industry Working Team U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Ronald H. Brown, Secretary Technology Administration Mary L. Good, Undersecretary for Technology National Institute of Standards and Technology Arati Prabhakar, Director Certain commercial equipment, instruments, materials, ^sterns, and trade names are identified in this paper in order to specify or identify technologies adequately. Such identification is not intented to imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technolo^, nor is it intended to imply that the systems or products identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose. 11 Workshop on Advanced Digital Video in the National Information Infrastructure TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary Report by the Program Committee 1 Introduction 1 Key Concepts 2 Breakout Group Summaries 5 Recommendations 7 Acknowledgments 8 Workshop Agenda 9 Breakout Group Reports 11 Architecture 11 Display Performance 18 Image Capture and Display Requirements 21 Advanced Digital Delivery Services 25 Standards Panels: Old Game, New Rules?? 28 APPENDIX Presentation Materials, Transcripts of Selected Talks, and Additional Submissions Visions and Services of the National Information Infrastructure A-1 Robert E. Kahn, Corporation for National Research Initiatives Production and Distribution of Entertainment in the Nil A-23 Kenneth P. Davies, Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers Medical Applications A-33 Bijoy Khandheria, Mayo Foundation Putting Advanced Digital Video on the Technology Curve A-45 David Tennenhouse, MIT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS, Continued National Information Infrastructure: An Administration Perspective A-53 Michael Nelson, Ojfice of Science and Technology Policy Interoperability Aspects of the Grand Alliance HDTV System A-73 Glenn A. Reitmeier, David Sarnoff Research Center Video Compression Technology A-87 Chong Lee, Qualcomm Advanced Digital Video over ATM Networks A-93 Jules A. Bellisio, Bellcore Digital Video in the Internet: Status, Technology, and Issues A-99 John Wroclawski, MIT Standards Panel: Old Game, New Rules?? A-107 Rex Buddenberg, Naval Postgraduate School Karen Higginbottom, Apple Computer Julius Szakolczay, Mitsubishi USA Advancing the National Interactive Communications Systems A-111 D. Joseph Donahue, Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. The National Information Infrastructure and the Grand Alliance ATV System: A Commentary on Some Aspects of Interoperation A-119 Peter D. Symes, Grass Valley Group A Commentary on Requirements for the Interoperation of Advanced Television with the National Information Infrastructure A-127 Craig J. Birkmaier, PCUBED Arguments in Support of Embedded Multiresolution Signaling Strategies for HD Video Transmission A-139 J. W. Modestino and J. W. Woods, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute List of Participants A-141 IV Summary Report on the Workshop on Advanced Digital Video in the National Information Infrastructure By the Workshop Program Committee: Charles Fenimore, Natioml Institute of Standards and Technolog}/ Bruce Field, National Institute of Standards and Technology Howard Frank, Advanced Research Projects Agency Elden Georg, Sipace Applications Corporation Michael Papillo, Houston Associates , Inc. Glenn Reitmeier, David Samoff Research Center Will Stackhouse, Consultant Craig Van Degrift, National Institute of Standards and Technology INTRODUCTION A workshop was held May 10-11, 1994, in Washington DC, to highlight technical issues for industry and government decision makers with respect to Advanced Digital Video (ADV) in the National Information Infrastructure (Nil). The purpose of the workshop was to: (1) define a vision of the role of digital video within the Nil, (2) identify the architectural, scaling, and performance issues in realizing this vision, and (3) recommend the research, experiments, and steps to be taken to resolve these issues. The workshop was attended by approximately 180 people from industry, government, and academia and consisted of talli and discussions by experts in information services, broadcasting, computing, consumer electronics, and government policy. Robert Kahn of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, Michael Nelson from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and D. Joseph Donahue, Senior Vice President for Technology and Business Development, Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. were among the many speakers at the Workshop. The discussions were facilitated by participants forming four breakout groups to focus on architectural considerations, modular decomposition and interoperability; display performance; image capture and display requirements; and digital delivery services. In addition, there were three demonstrations of new video technology. The Grand Alliance demonstrated three of the proponent high-definition television systems (HDTV) that have been incorporated into the Grand Alliance proposal to the Federal Communications Commission for adoption as the U.S. broadcast standard. Nippon Television (NTV) demonstrated a 525-line, 16:9 widescreen, progressive-scan television camera which offers improved picture resolution compared to today's television standards. And, NIST demonstrated the Mosaic/World Wide Web information retrieval system on the Internet, a possible model for advanced information retrieval within the NIL This summary by the Program Committee reports on some of the important ideas expressed by the speakers and the conclusions reached by the breakout groups. Discussion of an item in the KEY CONCEPTS section does not imply that the view was 1 universally accepted by the workshop participants, rather that it was expressed by one or more of the speakers. The Recommendations are based on the plenary discussions including two straw polls. The Breakout Group summaries (starting on p. 5) are a synthesis by the Program Committee of the reports from each group. The Breakout Group reports (starting on p. 11) appear without editing by the Program Committee. Speakers' slides and other contributions from the participants appear as an appendix. KEY CONCEPTS Definition of the National Information Infrastructure system to deliver to all Americans the Information they need when they want It and where they want It - at an affordable price, ” —Michael Nelson, OSTP The Nil will be an amalgam of information networks, appliances, and services. It will consist of thousands of interconnected, interoperable communication networks, including terrestrial and satellite broadcasting, cable television networks, wired and wireless telephone systems, commercial computer network services, and the Internet and its successor. Computer systems, televisions, telephones, and other devices will all converge to serve as "information appliances" on the Nil. Digital libraries, information services, and databases will be needed to provide the Nil information content; users will buy content, not technology. Content and useful applications will attract the usage necessary for Nil success. The cultural industries, particularly motion pictures and television, can thus be seen as an essential part of the NIL It is critical that intellectual property rights associated with cultural items be protected by audit and control mechanisms at all service levels. Furthermore, the Nil should be open to all information suppliers on an equitable basis. Nil applications will include distribution of entertainment programming, educational information, government data, manufacturing information, and access to health care. The production and distribution of entertainment programming today is a $37 billion information industry in the United States. Digital program delivery over interactive networks will permit additional cost-effective services such as video-on-demand and shopping at home. Electronic distribution of educational material will expose all students, even those in remote locations, to a high-quality education. Government, in part, is a vast information gathering and disbursing system. Electronic availability will facilitate access