Avid Codec is Framework for HD Media Exchange in Broadcast and Post Production Environments

Avid Technology, Inc. today announced that Avid DNxHD(R), a high-quality, low bitrate
HD production codec, is the first codec compliant with the new SMPTE
(Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) VC-3 standards.
The Avid DNxHD codec was submitted to the SMPTE organization as the
framework for the VC-3 family of standards – and was approved after a
two year testing and validation process. VC-3 standards enable content
creators to facilitate efficient encoding and exchange of HD media,
and are the first SMPTE standards for intra-frame, 720/1080 raster,
8/10 bit and 4:2:2 HD post production.
With the approval of VC-3, the more than 30 Avid partners who have
licensed the Avid DNxHD codec will further drive the adoption of HD
workflows across film, TV and broadcast news by working with an
industry standard codec. Vendors who design products that are VC-3
complaint, will enable interoperability with other industry VC-3
products – allowing Avid(R) customers more choices when building
workflows. This compliance also delivers the availability of a new
standard for mapping VC-3 coding units into MXF – the professional
standard for file exchange and media workflow. And, because VC-3 is an
open standard, data in media archives can be accessed and used without
being locked into a proprietary vendor.

Mike Shore, senior manager, product and third party integrations
at EVS Broadcast Equipment SA, and a licensee of the Avid DNxHD codec
said, “Our support for the Avid DNxHD codec is driven by our
customers’ requests for a viable, interoperable and low-cost HD
workflow. With today’s announcement, Avid has demonstrated strong
leadership by contributing to VC-3 standardization. And, by making
their implementation available to third-party developers, EVS can
develop complimentary tools that ultimately help our mutual customers
design and sustain realistic workflows.”

About SMPTE VC-3

SMPTE VC-3 is the industry’s only 720/1080 raster, low-bitrate,
8/10 bit, intra-frame, 4:2:2 HD compression standard, optimized for
compositing, mastering, and multi-generational use. VC-3 is a family
of documents referenced as follows;

  • SMPTE 2019-1- VC-3 Picture Compression And Data Stream Format
  • SMPTE RP 2019-2 – VC-3 Decoder and Bitstream Conformance
  • SMPTE 2019-3 – VC-3 Type Data Stream Mapping over SDTI
  • SMPTE 2019-4 – Mapping VC-3 Coding Units into the MXF Generic Container
For more information, visit www.SMPTE.org