Randy Conrod, Sales Engineer for Leitch Technology International, spoke at the October Detroit Section meeting, which was hosted by Sandy Corporation in Troy, Michigan. Fifteen members and guests attended. Randy's talk covered ancillary data and embedded audio in the serial digital video stream.
Randy started by giving an overview of ancillary data, describing the types of information which can be coded, including timecode and error detection and handling clusters. He explained the mechanics whereby data is placed in the composite SDI stream, and how it is significantly smaller than the space available in the component interface.
Continuing with embedded audio, Randy illustrated the advantages of routing audio along with the video but pointed out the drawbacks, among them being the cost of multiplexing and demultiplexing hardware, and providing audio delay equivalent to the time to process video through effects devices.
The program concluded with a discussion of protocols for error detection and handling, and a demonstration of a computer program that can show EDH statistics of up to seven video signals on one PC. A question period followed Randy's talk.