Content Production Technologies

Preface

Recently, the main concern with technology development seems to be shifting away from network infrastructure provision to multimedia content distribution. This may well be caused by the popularity of the Internet and the diversity of networks, such as xDSL, and mobile phones. Broadband networks, like that at 100 Mbps, even reach homes, and the Internet is becoming more popular and a more effective communication tool. It is not just text data or still-image data that are distributed through the Internet, but audio data and movie data are as well. For broadband users, high-quality video can be served up without difficulty, and for narrowband users, such as users of mobile phones, shrunken movie pictures can be delivered. Clearly, distribution services depend on the network infrastructure. The mobile phone is entering the third generation of mobile communications, in which global services and broadband communication will be available.

In these circumstances the demand for high-quality video is strongly growing as original sources for distribution at various levels of quality through various networks. However, the production of video content is not so easy because of the cost, the need for on-location filming, and so forth. If stored archive material could be used, then the situation would take a turn for the better: there is a vast quantity of video material and broadcast content in archives that could be shared among users. In such an environment, content production will ...