System for Advanced Multimedia Broadcast and Information Technology Services

Start date:2000-01-01

End date:2002-04-30

Project Acronym:SAMBITS

Project status:Completed

Coordinator

Description

Objective: SAMBITS will bring MPEG-4 and MPEG-7 technology to the broadcast industry and the related internet services. The project will be able to provide multimedia services to a terminal that can display any type of general interest integrated broadcast/internet services with local and remote interactivity. This is a cost effective solution that is of immediate commercial interest because it is using the technological Internet and DVB broadcast infrastructure already in place. SAMBITS will develop a multimedia studio system and demonstrate integrated (Internet and DVB Broadcast) services using consumer-type terminal demonstrator. The technological basis for the system will be MPEG-2/-4/-7 where contributions will be made to the standards. Standardised systems are recognised to be advantageous for horizontal markets (e.g. increased competition). SAMBITS will develop methods for service providers to integrate MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and MPEG-7 data.

Objectives:
SAMBITS provides DVB broadcast with complementary Internet services and vice versa. The linkage will enable the consumer a personalized and easier access to multi media applications like E-commerce, training, information and broadcast retrieval.

The project targets to develop: studio technology (offline and real-time) for interactive multimedia services based on MPEG-4 and MPEG-7, including synchronising broadcast and Internet content, terminal technology for integrated interactive broadcast/Internet exception (successfully compose different types of multimedia content), service examples for tests with a user panel for customer acceptance. SAMBITS provides Europe with a lead in creating these services and will act as the major European contributor to the MPEG-7 standard (as well as DVB) for human interaction in combined broadcast and Internet applications.

Work description:
The multimedia broadcasting and IT service provision consists of three clearly defined sub-systems. On the producer side programme production is dealt with in a multimedia studio before being sent to an online broadcast and Internet server.
This server broadcasts the programme to the consumer's online multimedia terminal.
Consumer interaction can, for example, be fed back via the Internet thus allowing the server to react to Internet requests and to tailor the broadcast accordingly.

Following the scenario, the technical work of SAMBITS is organised in:
WP1 Broadcast and Internet Services: Advanced services market survey and deployment strategies; service requirements; demonstrator scenario; SAMBITS service demonstration and evaluation. WP 1 includes the Overall System Integration for the final demonstration.
WP2 Studio and Server System: Application benchmark; audio-visual content; subsystems automatic real-time pre-production, interactive programme production, multiplexing and life content integration; integration of into high-performance studio systems; performance.
WP3 Terminal System: System specification, integration/test; MPEG de-multiplexors and extractors; optimisation of MPEG-4 decoder (speed and delay); development of MPEG-7 decoder and engine; user interface; compositor; control and synchronisation.
WP4 Contribution to Standards: MPEG-7 XM: Core Experiments, Experimentation Model and draft version design.
MPEG-4/-7 studio and broadcast applications: definition of application-oriented.
MPEG-7 description schemes for the integrated broadcast/Internet services, set-up of links between MPEG-4 scene description/composition/interaction and MPEG-7.
DVB, SMPTE, EBU: compatibility between MPEG-7 and other standards (DVB-SI).

Milestones:
1st Phase: Market survey on integrated broadcast/Internet multimedia services (MPEG-4/- 7), system and service requirements, demonstration scenario, multimedia studio and terminal systems, software MPEG-7 XM, performance analysis for time critical components using COTS processors 2nd Phase: Real-time studio system selectively enhanced to create an online broadcast service; demonstration how integrated broadcast/Internet services can be using the iterative creative process.

Achievements:

General information:

Project Details

Start date:2000-01-01

End date:2002-04-30

Duration:28 months

Project Reference:IST-1999-12605

Project cost:4880266 EURO

Project Funding:2599921 EURO

Programme Acronym: IST

Programme type:Fifth Framework Programme

Subprogramme Area:Large scale shared virtual and augmented environments

Contract type:Cost-sharing contracts

URL:http://www.irt.de/sambits/

Subject index:Information Processing, Information Systems, Innovation, Technology Transfer

Other Indexes:

Other participants

Record control number:55091