Samsung has announced that it recently conducted a successful demonstration of sending 8K HDR images via satellite transmitted to a Samsung 82-inch QLED TV over HDMI 2.1.

The test broadcast used H.265 compression and was conducted at Seoul Mok-dong Broadcasting Center where 8K HDR images were transmitted to ETRI's Cheonian Ka-band satellite and shown over South Korean satellite broadcaster KT Skylife. ETRI is a South Korean-government funded research institute.

Samsung said it used the DVB-S2x transmission standard, which can expand satellite transmission bandwidth up to 100Mbps or more.

8KTVs were a prominent fixture at Samsung's 2019 CES booth, which included a massive 98-inch behemoth.  

“This test broadcast is significant in that it confirmed the technical stability of large-capacity satellite broadcasting in the future,” said Lee Han-han, head of technology at KT Skylife. "We will lead the market." 

CHAMPAIGN, ILL.—Cobalt Digital has begun delivery of its 9992-ENC series HEVC H.265/H.264/MHEG-5 encoder for openGear frames.

The 9992-ENC, a dual-slot card, offers a variety of I/O options and extensive audio support for contribution, distribution, ENG, IPTV and OTT applications.

The base model supports MPEG-2 and H.264 (AVC) with low-latency 8- and 10-bit 4:2:0 encoding. Optional license keys offer H.265 (HEVC) support and 4:2:2 encoding.

The base model also offers 3G-SDI input supporting up to one 1080p60 signal; however, an upgrade that supports three more 1080p60 inputs or one 4Kp60 signal (four 3G-SDI or one 12G-SDI signal) is available.

Two independent ASI ports are available as outputs that can be interfaced directly to microwave modulators on ENG trucks. If licensed for multiple channels, an internal multiplexer can be used to build multi-program transport streams and direct individual encoders to either or both outputs.

Two Gigabit Ethernet ports support various protocols and stream replication with the same multiplexing capabilities as the ASI ports for distribution flexibility.

The encoder offers transport streams over standard UDP/RTP, RTMP and single profile HTTP live streaming (HLS), allowing it to be used for direct streaming to content delivery networks (CDNs).

Licenses for advanced protocols, such as SMPTE-2022 FEC and ARQ for packet loss protection, as well as RIST for reliable, low-latency contribution over the internet without the need for additional gateways, are available.

Audio support includes MPEG-1 Layer II, AAC-LC, HE-AAC (V1 and V2), Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3) and 5.1 surround sound options.

More information is available on the Cobalt Digital website.

LONDON –Telestream has added support for V-Nova’s PERSEUS Plus codec to its Lightspeed Live video streaming system, which is used by numerous major operators and video service providers worldwide.

Telestream Lightspeed Live provides live multiscreen encoding, packaging and distribution in addition to multichannel video capture and processing. V-Nova’s PERSEUS Plus enables video to be transmitted at half the bitrate of existing h.264 solutions whilst improving picture quality, and the low complexity of PERSEUS Plus h.264 also increases encoding density by 2-3x when compared to HEVC. V-Nova says this can enable the delivery of live 4K content at up to 70 percent more efficiency when compared to current competitive codecs,

PERSEUS will be available in Lightspeed Live Stream from version 3.0.

“We have always been committed to ensuring our customers have access to the most innovative and advanced video delivery capabilities on the market,” said Scott Murray, vice president of Product Management at Telestream. “It is clear that V-Nova’s unique PERSEUS codec plays a key role in rolling out higher-quality and more efficient video services. We’re delighted to be able to offer PERSEUS to our customers.”

PALO ALTO, CA.—A new report from online video technology provider Bitmovin finds that in 2018 the H.264/AVC video codec has continued to dominate video encoding used by developers around the world while the use of H.265/HEVC has grown significantly from 2017 to the present.

In its second year, the “Video Developer Report 2018” draws on the responses of 456 survey developer submissions from more than 67 countries to paint a picture of the current state of video streaming technology and what will be important over the next year.

Besides video codec technology, the report presents findings on other key streaming technology, such as streaming formats, software vs. hardware encoding, audio-video format delivery popularity, native playback and OTT streaming device technology, ad architecture and other topics.

[Read: Can Video Compression Tame The Internet?]

As in 2017, the results reveal that nine out of 10 developers continue to use H.264/AVC, while the percentage saying they are using H.265/HEVC has climbed from 28 percent in 2017 to 42 percent this year. VP9 saw a slight 1 percentage point uptick in the 2018 total to 11 percent, and AV1 remained flat at 6 percent.

Future plans for codec use paint a different picture. In 2017, 40 percent of developers said they planned to use H.265/HEVC in the 12 months, while 36 percent said the same this year; 18 percent said their plans called for using VP9 last year, while 15 percent said they did this year.

AV1 recorded the biggest increase with 14 percent in 2017 saying the codec would be used in 12 months, while 29 percent said so in 2018.

Other highlights of the report include: 82 percent saying they are using the HLS streaming format, while 61 percent use MPEG-DASH; 43 percent saying they use hardware encoders, while 54 percent use on-prem software encoders, and 38 percent use a software encoder in the cloud; and 52 percent saying they use client-side ad insertion, 44 percent saying they use server-side ad insertion and 25 percent saying they use dynamic ad replacement.

The free report is available online from Bitmovin. Registration is required.

CHAMPAIGN, ILL.—At the 2018 NAB Show New York, Cobalt Digital will demonstrate the 9904-UDX-4K-12G UHD 12G/3G/HD/SD-SDI up/down/cross-converter, the company’s latest generation of advanced image and audio processors for the openGear platform. The base card provides quad 3G-SDI and 12G-SDI I/O with SDI muxing and demuxing and up/down/cross-conversion. Options include RGB color correction and SDR-to-HDR up-mapping via Technicolor’s HDR Intelligent Tone Management (ITM) processing.

Also on display will be Cobalt’s new 9971-MV18-4K series of openGear multiviewers. These support the latest signal types with a high-density modular design that can be expanded as required. The MV18 is equipped with 18 4K 12G-SDI auto-detect inputs, which the company says can be scaled as needed across a full 3840 x 2160 UHD raster output.

The 9992-ENC-4K-HEVC H.265 Streaming Encoder for openGear will be demonstrated. The platform supports quad 3G-SDI and 12G-SDI inputs and is also configurable as a multichannel encoder (up to four channels) for 1080p60 signals and below using MPEG-2, H.264 or HEVC, with all channels using the same compression standard.

The new Cobalt Digital OG-PC computer card is an x86 computer on an openGear card. The OG-PC takes advantage of the redundant power and cooling features of the openGear frame. The card’s modular form-factor saves on rack space by replacing bulky 1RU PCs.

Cobalt Digital will be on the show floor in booth N626.

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[Editor's Note: Stewart Wolpin is a TWICE contributor and HEVC analyst for Digital Technology Consulting.]

We're all familiar with format wars — VHS v. Beta, Blu-ray v. HD-DVD, even the 19th century's AC v. DC war of the currents. What you may not be familiar with is the current 4K video compression format war between HEVC (High-Efficient Video Coding, aka H.265), Google's VP9, and a new and potentially disruptive entrant, AV1 from the Alliance for Open Media(AOM).

The question is, is this format war too inside-baseball for most CE retailers and vendors to worry about?

"Device makers include media processors that decode multiple compression technologies," said Myra Moore, president of Digital Tech Consulting, "and it's in their best interest to make sure the most commonly used ones are included."

"[Vendors] will care because every additional codec they need to support adds to the development and [bill of materials] cost of a device," added John Luther, senior VP of technology for JW Player, a web video platform.

For more than a decade, the MPEG-based H.264 format has been pretty much the only HD video codec game in town. Nearly all devices that record or playback 1080 or 720 video include H.264.

[Read: ITU, ISO Prepare For Next-Gen Video Codec]

But 4K video is quickly becoming increasingly ubiquitous. 4K, however, with files four times the pixel size of standard HD, presents problems for both streaming and storage. HEVC shrinks 4K files to roughly nearly the same size as H.264 for HD files of similar length.

Creating the right 4K video codec presents varying challenges based on multiple factors, including:

• delivery platform: web browsers, streaming, broadcast;
• device: mobile, smart TV, set-top box (i.e. Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV), PC;
• technical variables: i.e. HDR, which H.264 can't handle; and
• economics: encoding, storage and royalty costs.

As a result, the 4K video codec market has splintered. "There is a tremendous amount of opportunity in this field," observed Paul MacDougall, solution architect for BitMovin, a Cloud-based video encoding service. "Many different people and organizations [are] trying to capitalize on that opportunity in whatever way they can."

[Read: To Be or Not to Be UHD-That is the Question]

HEVC has established itself as the de facto standard for most 4K content providers, and for all smart TVs and smartphones, including the iPhone. But VP9 is the 4K codec of choice for Android, Windows (but, oddly, not Internet Explorer) and YouTube, as well as browsers including Google's Chrome and Firefox. Most TV and smartphone chipsets include capabilities for both HEVC and VP9.

For hardware vendors, HEVC's primary headache is its confusing royalty structure, administered by three different patent groups — MPEG LA, HEVC Advance and Velos Media. VP9 and the pending AV1, however, promise to be royalty-free, but questions remain about their IP status.

"HEVC IP owners, particularly those in the Velos Media Pool, have created the worst case of self-inflicted FUD [fear, uncertainty, doubt] in the history of technology," said Jan Ozer, author and codec consultant. "[Vendors] need to know everything about royalties for H.264/HEVC, plus IP rights relating to VP9/AV1. It's a huge expense."

AOM's AV1, whose backers include Amazon, Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Netflix, promises to be superior to HEVC and VP9, and holds the most promise for becoming a single 4K codec standard — one day.

"AV1 won’t appear in hardware until 2020," Ozer reported. "That’s the next seismic event. Between then and now, we’ll learn a lot more about performance and IP status. It will be as an open-source alternative to HEVC in markets where HEVC doesn’t serve, like computer-based browser playback. Until 2020, all this discussion is just noise for CE retailers." 

This article originally appeared in TWICE.