The annual industry event CCBN2024 kicked off in Beijing on April 24th. Sobey, under the theme of "Intelligent Ultra-HD, Presenting a Beautiful Future," showcased its AI-powered audiovisual intelligent cloud, AI-native video program production tools adapted to media processes with AI technology as the core driving force, a large-scale media process native model and application cases driving new productivity, a full-domain Ultra-HD solution supporting the national Ultra-HD industry upgrade and fully meeting the requirements of information technology innovation, and a new approach to studio construction based on the audiovisual platform, presenting a new future for audiovisual media.
On the morning of the 24th, Wang Wei, Executive President and CTO of Sobey, and Chen Jinsu, Senior Vice President, accompanied visiting leaders to gain a deeper understanding of Sobey's innovative practices in cloud and AI fields to help cultivate new productivity in the industry, target cutting-edge technologies, and strive to open up new spaces for the development of the audiovisual industry. The visiting leaders highly recognized Sobey's innovative achievements and affirmed Sobey's important role in promoting the digital transformation of the broadcasting and audiovisual industry.
Cloud and AI: Unlocking New Productivity for the Audiovisual Experience
Audiovisual Intelligent Cloud: An Innovative Practice of Combining AI and Audiovisual Experience
At this exhibition, Sobey launched its Audiovisual Intelligent Cloud, which combines AI and video. It can meet the audiovisual scenarios of the intelligent era, including model development pipelines, audiovisual development pipelines, and provides audiovisual services and intelligent-related capabilities and services to the outside world through intelligent collaboration gateways and audiovisual application gateways. It also has the following characteristics:
- The combination of AI and video can support AI Native and Cloud Native audiovisual applications;
- Supports diverse and heterogeneous basic resources, supports various deployment forms such as distributed and integrated machines, and can meet the needs of various scenarios;
- Based on the introduction of audiovisual infrastructure, it can meet the audiovisual task requirements of LIVE/FILE;
- Through CRD and Operator, AI resources and audiovisual resources are integrated into the K8S framework to achieve native orchestration.
Intelligent Content Production: Covering the Entire Audiovisual Production Process
Sobey launches a video program production tool driven by AI technology, natively adapted to media processes: It uses story scripts as its core, employing a "declarative" language to enable user-controllable video program generation; furthermore, based on generative AI technology, it enables the creation of program elements such as scripts, video clips, images, and voice-overs, achieving automated editing, automatic voice-over, and automatic lyric generation, greatly simplifying the program production process and improving production efficiency.
With the iterative upgrade of AI large-scale model technology, the new productivity of AI has brought new opportunities to the audiovisual industry. Sobey's intelligent content production platform, based on its self-developed Mingmou language model, builds upon existing intelligent assistants for topic planning, manuscript systems, and multimedia manuscript production, applying AI technology to every stage of audiovisual content production. This achieves automated generation of news content and intelligent video creation, ensuring both content quality and accuracy while improving the efficiency and intelligence of content production.
Smart Media Convergence, Borderless Broadcasting
NVI Network Video Interface Hardware and Software
The NVI network video interface is a broadcast-grade ultra-low latency transmission protocol developed by Sobey for cross-domain and cross-platform applications. It provides low-latency, high-quality video transmission for professional production, live events, and broadcast television, simplifying the video production process and greatly reducing equipment and infrastructure costs. Sobey has also developed related NVI peripheral hardware, enabling full NVI production from camera to encoding/decoding to production to broadcasting.
Creating a New Approach to Studio Construction
As media convergence continues to deepen, the internet and social media have become important channels for content supply, and traditional television studios alone can no longer meet the needs of diverse businesses. Sobey, adapting to the times, showcased a new solution for studio construction combining XR, virtual technology, and cloud-native audiovisual applications at the exhibition. The converged media studio showcased at this event:
- Based on cloud-native technology and audiovisual platforms, it provides resource sharing and flexible construction of rendering nodes, switching and other audio and video processing capabilities;
- Employs Sobey's self-developed NVI network video interface and provides supporting hardware products, enabling TV stations to build cost-effective converged media studios within the context of information technology innovation;
- Integrates the Internet, social media and digital technologies, and supports simultaneous broadcasting of TV, online live streaming, social media interaction and other forms of dissemination.
In addition to the converged media studio attracting significant industry attention, Sobey also comprehensively showcased its converged media OB van on-site. The OB van, equipped with an NVI network video interface, prioritizes streaming media capabilities, meeting the needs of live and recorded television programs. It possesses capabilities for new media live streaming, short video production, real-time interaction, and cross-regional program production, and can adapt to different scenarios for live streaming and transmission using 5G transmission technologies.
Furthermore, Sobey's Lingjing XR interactive studio system, through 3D virtual technology, modular modeling, and refined rendering, brilliantly presented an immersive scene performance combined with the ancient Shu civilization of Sanxingdui; this solution eliminates the need for high frame rate LEDs and high frame rate cameras, and solves the multi-camera pre-monitoring problem primarily through intelligent processing.
Full-Domain Ultra-HD: Core Driver of Industry Upgrade
SUVC Hardware and Software Ecosystem
The advent of the Ultra-HD era has brought cost challenges and transformation pressures to the audiovisual industry due to technological changes. The nationwide Ultra-HD video shallow compression layered encoding technology SUVC software and hardware products showcased by Sobey can support the same production and broadcasting of high-definition and Ultra-HD programs, and cover the entire production process of signal domain and file domain business processes. It can achieve smooth upgrade of Ultra-HD on the basis of compatibility with high-definition formats, significantly reducing the difficulty of technology migration and Ultra-HD construction costs.
SUVC has now become a reliable technical practice solution for the State Administration of Radio and Television's independently controllable industry standard "Video Shallow Compression Coding and Decoding". Its supporting hardware and industry chain ecosystem will continue to promote the vigorous development of China's Ultra-HD industry.
Domestic Production and Broadcasting System
Sobey showcased its new domestic IT innovation editing system, MetaClip Pro, which integrates professional editing, film-grade color grading, multi-channel mixing, rich subtitle packaging, powerful file rendering and compositing, and AI intelligent toolset capabilities. It can support the efficient production and intelligent production of various Ultra-HD content such as news, sports, variety shows, and new media, as well as a converged scheduling and broadcasting system that meets the requirements of domestic IT innovation.
Focusing on Digital and Intelligent Audiovisual, Presenting a Better Future
In recent years, with the vigorous development of the audiovisual industry, new technologies and concepts have driven new scenarios and new business models, resulting in numerous innovative applications that have propelled the industry's development to new heights. At this year's CCBN, Sobey showcased a series of innovative products that contribute to the beautiful presentation of large-scale audiovisual content:
- Sobey AI Digital Human: Based on natural language processing, graphics and image processing, speech conversion and other technologies, virtual digital human videos can be generated with one click through simple operations such as inputting text content and choreographing actions. It can be widely used in media, exhibition halls, e-commerce, government affairs, cultural tourism and other scenarios;
- Meta.Lux Immersive Virtual Live Streaming Platform: Integrating multiple functions such as scene templates, real-time keying, 3D graphics, and animation effects, it provides a vast library of virtual scene templates, including 3D virtual scenes, 360-degree panoramic videos, and macro videos. This effectively solves problems such as high costs, system complexity, and limited effects associated with real-world shooting, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for shooting and live streaming, and providing viewers with an immersive audiovisual experience.
- Large-screen packaging system: Features video processing, splicing, color correction, synchronization, transition effects, and windowing functions. A single unit supports a maximum resolution of 8K, and clusters can support even higher resolutions. It adopts a hardware + software model, ensuring stability and reliability, and can flexibly handle various scenarios;
- Domestic intelligent media asset products: can help users provide professional media asset management capabilities on the basis of meeting the requirements of information technology innovation.
In the current era of rapid industry development, Sobey's appearance at CCBN2024 demonstrates its strong technological innovation and industry insight in the broadcasting and audiovisual industry. In the future, Sobey will continue to inject new vitality into the industry through technological and product innovation and in-depth cooperation with customers, helping to realize infinite possibilities.
