Bruce Devlin
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View article: Workflow
Workflow Open
I cannot open my email without being bombarded with adverts and marketing for workflow tools. Nowadays, it seems that every product is growing a workflow tool. It used to be that the asset management system was also the workflow control…
View article: Cloud
Cloud Open
The combination of Cloud and COVID-19 continues to have a massive impact on workflows and working practices around the world. Back in 2018, Cloud was becoming popular for distribution, file centralization, offline processes, and limited…
View article: Introduction to the 2021 Progress Report
Introduction to the 2021 Progress Report Open
Welcome to the SMPTE 2021 Progress Report. What a year it has been. The emergence of vaccines against COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of documented, organized ways that large groups can work together toward a common goal. The va…
View article: HDR
HDR Open
Ultrahigh-definition (UHD) and high-dynamic range (HDR) seem to be ubiquitous. We can now generate UHD HDR content from the phones in our pockets just like the professional media industry creates using programming. Therefore, the techno…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President
Update from the Standards Vice President Open
Is my IP network working? Although this seems to be a simple question, it is really difficult to define what working actually means. One approach is to build a model for a working system and then make measurements on the real system to …
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President
Update from the Standards Vice President Open
Since my August 2020 writeup on Compression, there has been a lot of activity in this area. The founder of the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), Leonardo Chiarglioni, has publicly written his displeasure with the International Organi…
View article: AI and ML
AI and ML Open
SMPTE and the Enter-tainment Technology Center [(ETC) etcenter.org] have a long history of working together. One major success is the Intero perable Mastering Format (IMF) and another project that we hope will bear similar success is th…
View article: Update from the Standards VP: NextGen TV
Update from the Standards VP: NextGen TV Open
Next-generation TV is a big phrase and is most often used in conjunction with ATSC 3.0. Those who have recently viewed a screen are well aware that Internet Protocol (IP) streaming makes up the majority of our viewing habits, and the ve…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President
Update from the Standards Vice President Open
We are Now Cloud-First was the opening phrase from my last Journal piece. This is particularly important when considering workflows and security. The security industry has been changing its methodologies. Techniques such as firewalls, p…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Cloud
Update from the Standards Vice President: Cloud Open
“We are now cloud first” is a phrase I started hearing in late 2019, and now it is becoming increasingly common. It means different things to different people. Some organizations have chosen a specific cloud provider and that is the clo…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Immersive Media
Update from the Standards Vice President: Immersive Media Open
The quest for a truly immersive media experience is almost the history of media technology. We have sought to create an experience just like being there from the earliest days of recorded sound, right up to the present day. Curiously, t…
View article: Reports from the SMPTE Technology Committees
Reports from the SMPTE Technology Committees Open
The year 2019–2020 has been dynamic for the Standards Community. We have been introducing more software tools and trialing methodologies for making the SMPTE Standards process more agile and more relevant to today’s software-rich, cloud-fi…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Compression
Update from the Standards Vice President: Compression Open
Compression (noun) is the act of making a computer file use less space when it is stored, using special software. i I started my career in compression with some of my technology ending up in the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-2 sta…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Audio
Update from the Standards Vice President: Audio Open
“Don’t forget about the audio!” was the mantra embedded in my brain since I was a young graduate trying to figure out how lip-sync was even possible, let alone reliable. The mantra is still true. Great audio makes pictures look better. …
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President
Update from the Standards Vice President Open
This month’s Journal focuses on IP-based systems, where IP stands for Internet protocol and not intellectual property. The move to IP is motivated by the need for business flexibility in making programs. The days of big, permanent infra…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Streaming
Update from the Standards Vice President: Streaming Open
The term “streaming” has become so common to us that it now covers a variety of different business areas, technologies, and end-user experiences. I remember the legendary Roderick Snell explaining to me that no new media format has real…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: AI and ML
Update from the Standards Vice President: AI and ML Open
I have a problem with the phrase artificial intelligence (AI). It's a kind of catch-all term used to not only explain how Facebook's algorithms work (which no one seems to understand, not even Facebook) all the way to a dystopian future…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President
Update from the Standards Vice President Open
Welcome to 2020, the second decade of the new millennium. I’m writing this editorial after the successful completion of the SMPTE Annual Technical Conference in October 2019, and it strikes me that this new year holds many reasons to be…
View article: Introduction to the SMPTE Technology Committee Reports
Introduction to the SMPTE Technology Committee Reports Open
Looking back on my first 18 months as standards vice president, I’m pleased to say that the Society is looking healthy, the standards pillar has a rich diversity of active projects, and the environment in which we operate continues to chan…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Media Workflows
Update from the Standards Vice President: Media Workflows Open
The toughest thing about being the Standards Vice President (SVP) is that everyone expects standards to be the most important thing. This month’s Journal is all about media workflows, and I’ve yet to find any production workflow that is…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Evolving Distribution
Update from the Standards Vice President: Evolving Distribution Open
According to Cisco, 1 internet traffic is currently about 150 Exabytes per month. Despite how full my inbox always seems, around 75% of this traffic is a video of one kind or another and not just e-mail. To put it into perspective, if y…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Immersive Media
Update from the Standards Vice President: Immersive Media Open
Whether it’s 360° video, augmented reality, virtual reality, immersive sound, or object-based audio, you’ve probably had some experience with Immersive Media (the technology, not the company) in the past 12 months. The most common exper…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Over the Top
Update from the Standards Vice President: Over the Top Open
“O see you’re watching the Simpsons OTT again,” I said to my daughter. “What on earth is OTT?” she replied. “Over the Top, of course,” I said to her confused look. “Over the top … of what?” she scowled, annoyed that I’d interrupted her …
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: UHD/HDR
Update from the Standards Vice President: UHD/HDR Open
We are at the beginning of the ultrahigh-definition (UHD)/high-dynamic- range (HDR) journey. It is a curiously different journey than the introduction of HD and likely to be a faster one. With UHD, the screens, cameras, lenses, and even us…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Next-Generation Imaging
Update from the Standards Vice President: Next-Generation Imaging Open
More pixels, better pixels, metadata for pixels, repeat every few years and you end up with a history of TV and cinema over the decades. From low-resolution black-and-white cinema and TV, we improved resolution, added colors, improved r…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: Why Has AI Suddenly Become Interesting?
Update from the Standards Vice President: Why Has AI Suddenly Become Interesting? Open
I have a curious relationship with technology. I have been working with it all my life, and I see topics come and go over the years. This is the third time that I have seen artificial intelligence (AI) becoming trendy, and, this time, I…
View article: Update from the Standards Vice President: New Technologies
Update from the Standards Vice President: New Technologies Open
When is a technology truly new? I have been involved in failed technology deployments that were a decade ahead of their time. These were new technologies a decade later, because that is when they became popular. The advent of cheap, pow…
View article: Introduction to the SMPTE Technology Committee Reports
Introduction to the SMPTE Technology Committee Reports Open
The breadth and depth of work carried out by the SMPTE Technical Committees always amazes me. Each time I think I am smart, I only have to read the latest reports and draft documents being created, and I realize that the collective brain p…