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FORscene is an integrated internet video platform, covering non linear editing and publishing for broadcast, web and mobile.
Designed by Forbidden Technologies to allow collaborative editing of video,
its capabilities extend to video logging, reviewing, publishing and hosting. The software has been used in multiple broadcast productions.
The system is implemented as a web application with a Java applet as part of its user interface. Its video codec, Blackbird, addresses issues arising from editing over the internet, as well as video streaming.
FORscene is notable for running cross-platform without application or codec installation or machine configuration. Uniquely, it incorporates a codec designed for video editing over variable speed internet links. It has been recognised by the Royal Television Society, winning their award for Technology in the Post Production Process in December 2005. Both the underlying compression technology and the user interface are being protected by patents.
History
FORscene is a development from an editing system made by Eidos plc in the 1990s led by the same man. This history starts from the first public showing of this product, at the International Broadcasting Convention in Europe in 1990.
| Date | Version | Platform | Significant features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1990 | Eidos Edit 1 | Dual Acorn Archimedes |
|
| Dec 1990 | Eidos plc floats on LSE | ||
| 1992 | Eidos Edit 2 | Single Acorn Archimedes | Software-only editing system |
| 1993 | Eidos Optima replaces Edit 1 and Edit 2 | Acorn Archimedes | Complete revision of GUI |
| 1994 | Eidos Optima | Acorn Risc PC | Increase in colour resolution to 15bpp |
| 1996 | Eidos Optima |
|
Faster CPU allowed cheaper digitising solution |
| Feb 2000 |
| ||
| Feb 2001 | Java video streaming on website | Java |
|
| May 2002 | Live video streaming to mobile phone | Java / GPRS | Picture quality poor eg monochrome |
| Dec 2002 | Broadband web streaming | Java | 384x288 pixels, 25 fps |
| Sep 2003 | FORlive launched | Linux compression / Java player |
|
| Nov 2003 | FORmobile launched | Symbian Series 60 |
|
| Nov 2003 | FORscene project announced | Java |
|
| Sep 2004 | FORscene launched | Java | Simple Java editing and publishing tool |
| Sep 2004 | IBC TV news use FORscene/FORmobile | Symbian | Branded player |
| Feb 2005 | GMTV first broadcaster to sign up | Java | International access to GMTV |
| May 2005 | Logging added to FORscene | Java | Java logging, editing and publishing tool |
| Sep 2005 | Upload over-the-air from mobile phones | Symbian |
|
| Sep 2005 | IBC TV news use FORscene/FORmobile | Symbian | Branded player |
| Sep 2005 | First broadcast TV series uses FORscene | Channel 5 (UK) | Trust me, I'm a holiday Rep |
| Jan 2006 | New video codec designed for editing | Blackbird 1 codec | |
| Jan/Feb 2006 | First prime time TV series uses FORscene | BBC1 (UK) | Super Vets |
| Apr 2006 | Podcasting released | Video iPod, iTunes | |
| Apr/May 2006 | British Army uses FORscene mobile player | Symbian mobile phones | Ascent of Everest published on mobiles |
Components
The FORscene system is made up of various components, discussed here.
Codecs
FORscene has its own codecs for both video and audio. These use a form of adaptive coding to allow local variations in the type of data to be encoded efficiently.
Blackbird
The FORscene video codec is called Blackbird. It is designed for editing use over variable speed broadband Internet connections. By varying the frame rate, it provides consistent picture quality even on slow connections.
Like its predecessor Firebird (used in the FORlive system), the Blackbird codec allows real time compression and playback of video. This is important for handling the quantity of video in modern productions, as well as the reviewing, logging, editing and publishing features of FORscene.
Impala
The FORscene audio codec is called Impala. Datarate and quality can be varied depending on the use: 10kb/s for modem web video and mobile playback, 30kb/s for audio only modem playback or broadband playback with video, and 80kb/s per channel for editing.
Upload
FORscene videos can be accessed from anywhere on the Web. To maximise the performance of the web interface, videos are served from the Internet backbone. Forbidden's upload software, running on a suitable computer, compresses and uploads the videos. As Java does not allow access to a computer's hardware, and so cannot control tape machines or video cameras directly, the compress/upload programs run as native applications. Four options are provided for this purpose:
- Windows XP software
- MacOS X software
- Linux hardware and software
- Symbian mobile phone software (over-the-air)
Logging, editing and reviewing of uploaded material can start as soon as the upload process starts.
Java interface
Available functionality
The Java interface works with the default configuration on most machines, though allocating more memory to the JVM improves performance. It enables the following functionality:
Security
Each user account has its own web page containing the FORscene applet. Most users must enter their password from their account page to log on, though not all accounts have passwords. Once logged on, the users have access to their own videos, library videos, and any functionality their account supports.
Video is not stored on the computer hard disc, so when the user closes their web browser, their video is not accessible to subsequent users of the same computer.
Internet standards
The FORscene Java interface operates through widely supported internet standards such as HTTP and Java, so can be used even in companies with severe firewalls. If web browsing works, then FORscene almost always will too.
Web player
Each web video which is published comes with its own Java player. The video size can be chosen from a range of sizes from 160x120 to 384x288. The frame rate depends on the available bandwidth and speed of the playback machine, with full frame rate available for fast machines and connections. Playback of web videos works cross-platform.
Forbidden Technologies supplies its Blackbird decoder in the form of a Java player. This can be locked to a particular server, making it hard to pirate videos published in FORscene.
Mobile player
FORscene can publish mobile content for its Symbian mobile player, FORmobile. Customers can also have their own branding. The publisher chooses whether videos published from FORscene for mobile appear in the standard FORmobile menu or are available to only selected people. FORscene can automatically notify people by text message that a video has just been published.
The mobile player can be sent from handset to handset for free via Bluetooth, and videos can also be distributed virally via Bluetooth once the FORscene mobile player has been installed.
Video podcast
Videos edited in FORscene can be published directly as video podcasts. These can then be downloaded and viewed in a podcast viewer such as iTunes or on a video iPod.
Timecode export
Video logged or edited in FORscene can be exported in the form of a simple EDL or more complex XML for autoconform and offline or online on an Avid or Final Cut Pro system.
Server
The FORscene Java front end is complemented by a number of computers which combine to form a redundant server configuration. These have enough storage to store thousands of hours of video. As the Java front end does most of the work during editing, and the upload software does the compression work, the server is lightly loaded and can support many users at the same time.
Very large customers could buy their own network of FORscene servers, though in practice Forbidden Technologies provides FORscene as a service, with customers having no capital costs.
Summary
FORscene is an internationally used, cross platform internet video solution with review, log, edit, and web/mobile/podcast publishing capabilities. Being Web 2.0, FORscene is constantly evolving.
See also
Video editing related
Web related
Technical related
Mobile related
Misplaced Pages related
References
- ^ FORscene web page
- ^ Showreel article
- GFS projects use FORscene for web publishing
- Cellular news article on British Army use of FORscene for mobile
- Digital Television.com IBC 2004 round up
- Regional Film and Video news story
- ^ Forbidden Technologies news archive
- Guest account
- Royal Television Society awards
- Video of Royal Television Society award ceremony
- PCT patents
- PCT patents
- PCT patents
- UK patents
- UK patents
- Netimperative article
- IBC 1990 programme guide
- Acorn Cybervillage Optima
- AGM 2002 Live streaming to mobile phone
- Highbeam Research FORscene launch
- hoeksteen.dds.nl
- ^ Digital-Lifestyles.info IBC TV News uses FORscene and FORmobile
- Hardware depot online article about GMTV signing up to FORscene
- Regulatory News Service Over-the-air upload
- Upload options
- e-consultancy Misys
- Army on Everest Mobile page
- e-consultancy Bluetooth
- Radio & televisione Monitor Mediaconcept Italian partnership
- Regional Film and Video article on Vizor partnerhip in Nordic region
- Regional Film and Video article on Formidable partnership in Canada
External links
- Forbidden Technologies plc
- FORscene
- FORmobile
- Clesh free guest account
- Review of video streaming solutions which discusses FORscene
- Review of FORscene in Showreel magazine
- Article "Let's go Tapeless" in Showreel magazine
- Review (requires Greek fonts)
- Video podcast example published on FORscene
- RTS Award video shot on a prototype Nokia N90 and edited/published/hosted on FORscene