The Reca project creates a pioneer platform for video analysis

Financed with European funds, the Real-Time Content Analysis and Processing (Reca) project has created a pioneering platform for the analysis of audiovisual content that is automatic, flexible, adaptable scale and affordable cost in order to improve work flows with audiovisual content and the quality of the files.

The recent proliferation of audiovisual platforms, and especially mobile devices such as tablets and phones, added to the growing ubiquity of Internet access, has led to a greater demand for content transmitted at will. Consequently, the audiovisual production industry around the world has had to adapt quickly to live up to the requirements. This has forced to develop profitable processes of audiovisual content transmission that were fast, adaptable and valid for various source files and reproduction media. This avalanche of new content calls into question the validity of traditional quality guarantee practices (Media Asset Management, or audiovisual resources management), which depend on the abundance of metadata and the integrity of the data.

The management tools of these contents, for costs, complexity of application and intellectual property, are usually out of reach for smaller audiovisual media companies, being restricted, by norm, the largest public and private companies of production and issuance of content. With the task of amending that imbalance, the Real-Time Content Analysis and Processing for Agile Media Production project was launched (RECAP). For this, their architects are taking advantage of recent research dedicated to automatic real -time content analysis and processing, with a view to marketing a new commercial computer program that is open, adjustable, comprehensive and affordable cost scale.

The Reca team recently exhibited a functional prototype on the occasion of NAB 2017, the largest exhibition in the world dedicated to the issuance of content. That exhibition served to show how to manage analytical workflows using the Tools on air oncore software. The results could be visualized in a user interface in web format. Neil Anderson, general director of NMR, one of the members of the consortium, summarized as follows the advantages: "Those clients who have workflows with live video, or videos already archived, will never have time to see, analyze and decide on all their contents." The interface facilitates the analytical process.

INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPT TEST

The Reca software platform works with modules that contain algorithms, which can be integrated into real -time audiovisual analysis workflows. These algorithms are designed to automatically extract descriptive and technical metadata and can be connected to MAM programs, thus allowing content producers to analyze in real time contained from video with live transmission quality. This same technique also allows the processing due to batches of existing content in the files and is versatile, being able to be implemented in situ, in data processing centers or as a cloud service.

The final Reca product will provide transmission quality, with real -time metadata flows, being available for instant review within a web browser program. It will fulfill additional analysis and processing functions in MAM commercial systems, orchestration tools for workflows and transcoding software through API (application programming interfaces) open and documented. The descriptive analysis of audiovisual content will include objects, faces and logos detection, and also duplication of content.

Also, to facilitate quality control, technical metadata will automatically detect deficiencies such as intermittences in photograms, being possible to make improvements when quality decreases, for example for loss of sharpness or presence of noise. Apart from using the file system, other functions that are being developed are the recognition of text on screen (OCR) and, to facilitate content search, automatic speech conversion to text (ASR).

To ensure that Recapue in real situations and adjusts to the rules of the sector, the project team maintains consultations with a group of interested entities, specifically large broadcasters, news agencies and content owners, entities that facilitate convenient orientations. Finally, the team is about to celebrate a series of exhibitions in outstanding exhibitions, congresses and acts of the partners throughout the next months.