JVET-Y0001 JVET AHG report: Project management (AHG1) [J.-R. Ohm, G. J. Sullivan]

The work of the JVET overall had proceeded well in the interim period with higher number of input documents (as compared to the previous meeting) submitted to the current meeting. Intense discussion had been carried out on the group email reflector, and all output documents from the preceding meeting had been produced.

Output documents from the preceding meeting had been made initially available at the JVET web site (https://jvet-experts.org/) or the ITU-based JVET site (http://wftp3.itu.int/av-arch/jvet-site/2021_10_X_Virtual/). It is noted that the previous document site http://phenix.int-evry.fr/jvet/ is still accessible, but was converted to read-only.

The list of documents produced included the following, particularly:

• The meeting report (JVET-X1000) [Posted 2021-11-13, also submitted as WG 5 N 82]
• Errata report items for VVC, HEVC, AVC, Video CICP, and CP usage TR (JVET-X1004) [Posted 2021-11-17]
• New level for HEVC (Draft 1) (JVET-X1005) [Posted 2021-11-16]
• Algorithm description for Versatile Video Coding and Test Model 15 (VTM 15) (JVET-X2002) [Posted 2021-12-28, also submitted as WG 5 N 92]
• VVC operation range extensions (Draft 5) (JVET-X2005) [Posted 2021-11-12]
• Additional SEI messages for VSEI (Draft 5) (JVET-X2006) [Posted 2021-11-12]
• Conformance testing for Versatile Video Coding (Draft 7) (JVET-X2008) [Posted 2021-11-30, also submitted as WG 5 FDIS N 84]
• Common Test Conditions and evaluation procedures for neural network-based video coding technology (JVET-X2016) [Posted 2021-11-03]
• Common Test Conditions and evaluation procedures for enhanced compression tool testing (JVET-X2017) [Posted 2021-10-29]
• EE on Neural Network-based Video Coding (EE1) (JVET-X2023) [Posted 2021-10-15, last update 2021-11-02, also submitted as WG 5 N 88]
• EE on Enhanced Compression beyond VVC capability (EE2) (JVET-X2024) [Posted 2021-10-14, last update 2021-11-06, also submitted as WG 5 N 89]
• Algorithm description of Enhanced Compression Model 3 (ECM 3) (JVET-X2025) [Posted 2021-12-23, last update 2022-01-07, also submitted as WG 5 N 90]
• Conformance testing for VVC operation range extensions (Draft 2) (JVET-X2026) [Posted 2021-11-14, also submitted as WG 5 CDAM1 N 86]

Furthermore, the following documents were submitted to the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29 parent body on behalf of its WG 5:

• Recommendations of the 5^th WG 5 meeting (WG 5 N 81)
• Disposition of comments received on ISO/IEC DIS 23090-15 Conformance testing for Versatile Video Coding (WG 5 N 83)
• Request for ISO/IEC 23090-15 Amd.1 Conformance testing for VVC operation range extensions (WG 5 N 85)
• Draft disposition of comments received on ISO/IEC DIS 23090-16 VVC reference software (WG 5 N 87)
• List of AHGs established at the 5^th WG 5 meeting (WG 5 N 91)

The thirteen ad hoc groups had made progress, and reports from those activities had been submitted. Furthermore, two exploration experiments (EE) on neural network-based video coding and on enhanced compression beyond VVC capability were conducted.

Due to issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, a conversion of the meeting to be conducted only online was again necessitated.

Software integration was finalized approximately according to the plan. Significant activities were also conducted on preparation of subjective tests, and on development of VVC conformance testing.

Various problem reports relating to asserted bugs in the software, draft specification text, and reference encoder description had been submitted to an informal "bug tracking" system. That system is not intended as a replacement of the ordinary JVET contribution submission process. However, the bug tracking system was considered to have been helpful to the software coordinators and text editors. The bug tracker reports had been automatically forwarded to the group email reflector, where the issues were discussed – and this is reported to have been helpful.

Roughly 135 input contributions (not counting the AHG, CE and EE summary reports and crosschecks) had been registered for consideration at the current meeting.

It is further noted that, starting from the twentieth JVET meeting, work items which had originally been conducted by the Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC) were continued to be conducted in JVET as a single joint team, as negotiated by the parent bodies. This particularly consists of work on

• High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) and its extensions, the development of associated conformance test sets, reference software, verification testing, and non-normative guidance information,
• Specification of Coding-independent Code Points (Video) (CICP), and associated technical report(s),
• Maintenance and minor enhancement work on the Advanced Video Coding (AVC) standard, associated conformance test sets and reference software.

To retain a consistent numbering scheme, the number range of output documents starting from 1001 was reserved for the previous JCT-VC topic items listed above, whereas the number range starting from 2001 was retained for VVC, VSEI and exploration activities.

A preliminary basis for the document subject allocation and meeting notes for the 25th meeting had been made publicly available on the ITU-hosted ftp site http://wftp3.itu.int/av-arch/jvet-site/2022_01_Y_Virtual/.

The AHG recommended its continuation.