As presented by Hirokazu Arai at the FIAT/IFTA Media Management Seminar in Stockholm, 23-24 May 2019.

1. 1
To Establish Sophisticated 4K and 8K Workflow :
Through the Cases of NHK
Hirokazu Arai
arai.h-ca@nhk.or.jp

2. 2
Agenda
• Overview of NHK's 4K and 8K broadcasting
• Difference of 4K and 8K production and editing
workflow between that of 2K
• Requirements of 4K and 8K preservation for NHK
• How to preserve and provide 4K and 8K

3. 3
Overview of NHK's 4K and 8K Broadcasting
Started practical broadcasting in Dec. 2018
BS4K 18 hrs. from 6 AM to 12 PM
BS8K 12 hrs. from 10 AM to 10 PM
Consist of 90% 4K native & 60% 8K native
30-minute live news program once a week

4. 4
2K workflow
Same media & same format

5. 5
4K and 8K Workflow (Shooting and recording)
RAW
Log
Higher Res.
SSD
(8K) LTO LTO
(4K) HDD
(8K)
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 100M
P2
HDD
(4K)
XAVC 600M
(8K)
AVC-I 1800M
(4K)
XAVC 600M
RAW / Log / Hi-Res. file Compressed video file
RAW
Log
Higher Res.
Backup Backup
RecorderProcessor
irreversible
“Develop”
Playout files are not high enough quality for editing

6. 6
Why we need RAW and Log files?
Rec. 709
Rec. 2020
0.5
0
1
1 12
Luminance
6
VideoSignal
Color Gamut Gamma Curve
SDR
HDR
(Hybrid Log Gamma)
4K and 8K are much more expressive than 2K.

7. 7
Conversion and Interchangeability
LUT (Look Up Table)
It's possible to convert images from Rec. 2020 or HDR to 2K using
LUTs, but it may not be possible to maintain the producer's intent.
Rec.2020 Rec.709
HDR × ×
SDR × ✔
4K & 8K compatibility with 2K in various standards
4K NEWS

8. 8
Current Editing Workflow in 4K
HDD
XAVC 600M
Higher Res.
Log
RAW
HDD XAVC 600M
HDD
XAVC 600M
Log
RAW
Higher Res.
LTO
Online Editor
We usually keep XAVC 600M for any
higher resolution files to improve
convenience of handling in the archives.
Many editors support 4K online editing.

9. 9
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 100M
P2LTO
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 100M
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 100M
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 100M
EDLOffline Online
RAWSSD
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 100M
Processor P2 Recorder
P2 Recorder
Restoration from LTO
Development from camera format
Offline / Online Editing in 8K
We need to use different media in 8k editing due to technical restrictions.
Current Editing Workflow in 8K
“Develop”

10. 10
Semiconductor memory
Expensive, not suitable for storage
RAW
Log
Higher Res.
Essential for advanced editing
Large file size
Not universal
AVC-I 1800M
8K playout format
Not suitable for advanced editing
XAVC 600M
4K playout format
Not suitable for advanced editing
AVC-I 100M
Proxy file
2K preservation format
Used for archives and offline editor
Which media and format should be preserved?

11. 11
Requirements of 4K and 8K preservation for NHK
･ If possible, preserve them online.
･ Must preserve playout and “clean” files
･ Preserve unedited materials if needed
･ Also need to preserve higher quality files for re-editing
･ Provide them without taking too much time
･ Ability to provide downconverted 2K files
･ Watch 8K contents with proxy video
･ Manage metadata same as 2K

12. 12
LTO
XAVC 600M
RAW
Log
Higher Res.
HDD
or
Shelf
MAM
Manage same as 2K
Replicate
Copy to HDDTranscode Facility
XAVC 600M
XAVC 600M
AVC-I 100M
TranscodeXAVC 600M
RAW
Log
Higher Res.
XAVC 600M
AVC-I 100M
AVC-I 100M
or
Replicate
XAVC 600M
RAW
Log
Higher Res.
or or
Transcode Facility
or
HDDCopy
Copy
Pick up
Store
Ingest
Preservation of 4K files
Provision of 4K files
Proxy video
Program sheet
Proxy video
Program sheet

13. 13
Preservation of 8K files
LTO
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 100M
P2 LTO
or
HDD
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 100M
AVC-I 100M
Shelf
MAM
AVC-I 1800M
AVC-I 100M
AVC-I 100M
Proxy video
Program sheet
Still too big for MAM!
Replicate
Copy to HDD
Replicate
Transcode Facility
Transcode Facility
Provision of 8K files
For offline editing
or
Ingest
store
Pick up
Copy
Proxy video
Program sheet
Manage same as 2K

14. 14
4K and 8K supports 30P, 60P, and 120P(8K).

15. 15
IMF (Interoperable Mastering Format)
Video
Audio (English ver.)
Video
Audio (Spanish ver.)
Video
Audio (French ver.)
…
…
CPL
(Composition Play List)
Video
Audio (English ver.)
Audio (Spanish ver.)
Audio (French ver.)
…
Replacement
Replacement
IMF Master PackageVarious versions of files
Standardized to efficiently exchange and store multiple versions of content
Should we also preserve files in IMF?
Should we have ability to exchange in IMF?

16. 16
Conclusion
• The production style is quite different between 4K, 8K and 2K.
• Due to differences in expressiveness as well as current
technical limitations.
• Need to use different media in workflow
• Requires higher resolution video files for advanced editing
• But it's unclear if some of them will be available in the future.
• Consider interchangeability with 2K
• As 4K and 8K is in a transitional period, it is necessary to pay
close attention to future trends.