DVD Encoding Info from Zapex

Unlike other encoding boards, the Zapex encoders are designed utilizing several Zapex offices throughout the world, which includes our own chips and boards. This way the technology is owned internally and easy to update. Other encoders are dependent upon third-party chip manufacturers for quality and compatibility. Using DSP chips allows Zapex to provide firmware upgrades and additional features via downloadable files. Bottom line, the power and capability of the Zapex designed encoder is superior in both quality and performance to any other encoder available today. You gotta see and hear it to believe!

Variable Bit Rate (VBR) is a way to adjust or tweak the content as it is being encoded to achieve bit savings.

With high quality as the determinate, coupled with multiple encoding algorithms, the enhanced on-the-fly VBR is determined by the Zapex encoder board, in real-time. This saves time for the encoding engineer and preserves the original quality desired. Plus, the bit savings is maximized automatically.

The term "real-time encoding" can be deceiving. For Zapex, this means that 20 minutes of content equals 20 minutes of encoding – what you see is what you get! The power of the Zapex encoder is demonstrated in its ability to encode on-the-fly and preserve the quality at low bit rates. In a head-to-head match up, the Zapex encoder will out perform any encoder on the market. By offering real-time encoding the user can encode from a live source.

Off-line transcoding (converting one video format into another video format) permits existing digital content to be used for DVD.

When it comes to encoding, saving the vast amount of high-quality video and audio associated with today’s content, onto a DVD format can be a monumental challenge. With one encoding algorithm formula, the encoder may not find the best solution (lowest bit rate at the highest quality level). Doing this on-the-fly or in real-time makes this challenge even greater. For some encoders, the single algorithm misses detailed pixel information and tosses them out in order to save bits. Although this may save bits and "seem" unnoticeable in the output, Zapex feels that quality is the most important factor for Digital Video/Audio Professionals and takes a different approach. Zapex utilizes multiple patented algorithms that examine the content material on-the-fly and achieves tremendous bit savings at little or no sacrifice to quality. In fact, customers tell us that the MPEG output quality rivals the content material.

Also, since Zapex designs and owns the algorithms, improving the architecture and making modifications, to meet the demands of the market, are an easy operation.

Our powerful and state-of-the-art technology is the only encoder available today that provides this level of unprecedented perfection. In order to provide bit savings, frames in the encoder are compared to each other then the original baseline frame data is saved with the delta data. Other encoders provide a random search on the pixels of each macroblock seeking out the delta data. The gross search process will miss subtle details from frame to frame resulting in block artifacts in the output stream. This is called partial PEL

Zapex designed its own VLSI motion estimation chip that can fully utilize its patented motion estimation algorithms running at well over 250 giga-operations per second. The Zapex encoder employs two very complex schemes:

Some forms of digital video have hard edges. The Zapex solution provides options for controlling the softness filter with ranges from zero to maximum – again, these are selectable from within the GUI. Other encoders include a softness filter, which cannot be adjusted, resulting in fuzzy video at low bit rates.

The Zapex encoding solution is easy to use. The VTR deck control within the Zapex Graphical User Interface (GUI) provides quick response and direct control over most professional VTRs including JOG and SHUTTLE functions.

The drag & drop capability of Zapex provides easy transfer of the VTR time codes for frame accurate encoding.

As mentioned earlier, Zapex designs and builds its own MPEG encoders. As market demands and technology changes, users want to upgrade their systems without having to remove the hardware and exchange it for new hardware. By designing and building all the technology Zapex can provide easy downloadable upgrades, via the internet, or a disk.

A Group Of Pictures (GOP) in the MPEG signal is established via a sequence of ‘I’ frames, ‘B’ frames, and ‘P’ frames. These contain compressed information, that together make up the entire picture – an entire GOP must be decoded to see the picture.

The Zapex encoder allows for a manual insertion of entry points providing for user interaction during the authoring process.

Zapex provides MP @ ML (Main Profile @ Main Level) MPEG-2, which is the compliant video profile for DVD specifications. Please note that 422P @ ML, while it is used for creating editable MPEG streams, is not DVD compliant.

The beauty of the Zapex encoder is its ability to achieve 6 Mbps quality video at a bit rate of 4 or 5 Mbps, or less! The bit savings alone is superior to competitive encoders, but the quality of the signal at those bit rates is phenomenal.

The Zapex encoder supports the video outputs of full (720x480), half D1 (352x480), and SIF (352x240) resolutions.

The different resolution outputs are a factor of the user requirements and the Zapex encoder delivers high quality MPEG output in all formats.

By using only one slot in a PC, the Zapex encoder gives the user access to valuable PCI slots.

The Zapex encoder though, is a full-length card with a daughter card attached and requires a separate power source from the PC power supply (usually provided by a spare power connector off the internal power supply).

Using the Zapex GUI, the user can transcode AVI and WAVE files in the off-line mode.

Real-time encoding is provided accurately, and flawlessly across several video inputs. The capability of receiving D1 Serial (also known as Serial Digital Interface – SDI), Component, or S-Video input is required by the various customers using the Zapex encoders. This flexibility provides a broad range of support and across multiple video platforms.

The new feature allows users to utilize either NTSC or PAL video inputs (on one baord) and encode the MPEG stream accordingly. This feature expands the Zapex market support to Europe and countries using PAL video formats.

The Software Development Kit (SDK) will allow other third-party companies to integrate the Zapex technology software into a seamless GUI that is easy for the end user. Without the SDK, integration would require separate dialog screens and programs to run at the same time.

Additionally, the SDK allows the Zapex encoder to be integrated into alternative applications outside the DVD arena.

Program Stream (PS) is necessary for users requiring MPEG encoding in multimedia, archiving, and store & forward network video applications. Zapex feels this market opportunity will continue to expand in the future and the addition of PS expands the capability of Zapex to meet this demand.

This bundled option is an external device, which provides high quality unbalanced to balanced audio signals. Some user environments require either balanced or unbalanced audio signals. Zapex is meeting the demands of the market space by providing this bundled feature on its encoder cards.

This feature provides users with the capability to sequentially real-time encode a collection of job files. The encoding sequence and order can be managed within the Zapex software.

Within the Zapex software GUI is an option, for off-line encoding, to select which audio sampling rates are desired. This allows users to convert either AVI or WAVE file sampled at low rates (such as 22.05, 32, or 44.1 KHz) to the DVD standard rate of 48 KHz. This is a user enhancement.

User selectable (manual) entry point insertions can be time consuming. Often, subtleties within the picture frames are difficult to separate and determine if a scene change took place.

The advanced technology of the Zapex algorithms can verify the difference between frames and detect automatically where a new GOP (‘I’ frame) could be inserted. The end result saves time in the entire DVD creation process and improves video quality.