LONDON—Globo, Brazil’s largest broadcaster, recently collaborated with V-Nova, a developer of video compression solutions, to test the delivery of an LCEVC-enhanced stream for the 2023 Carnival in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The live stream was set up alongside the existing AVC/H.264 feed to demonstrate the benefits of MPEG-5 LCEVC in live streaming applications, where it is paramount to obtain maximum quality within the real-time constraints, especially on detailed and complex content such as that of the Brazilian Carnival parades. 

LCEVC (Low Complexity Enhancement Video Coding) is a new MPEG standard that can boost the compression efficiency of any existing or future video codec, enabling higher quality at up to 40% lower bitrates.

The streaming trial featured a MainConcept LCEVC-enhanced H.264 live encoder creating a ladder of 6 profiles peaking at 1080p29.97 @ 4500kbps. This was compared to the  incumbent AVC/H.264-only channel of 8 profiles, where the top profile was 1080p29.97 @ 5500kbps. The streaming employed HLS in 6 second TS segments and delivered via AWS CloudFront. Playback was available on a demonstration website using Shaka Player v4.3  which natively includes an LCEVC decoding option. 

The LCEVC-enhanced H.264 produced a higher quality output with a ~40% bandwidth saving compared to the existing H.264-only stream. V-Nova says this significant reduction promises to make large-scale streaming events accessible to millions on congested networks while simultaneously reducing delivery costs for the video service provider.  The trial was carried out live, delivering content across the world using LCEVC-enabled encoding and player solutions that are already available on the market.  

 “The Carnival is as beautiful to watch as it is challenging to compress at high quality," said Guido Meardi, CEO of V-Nova. "We are proud of our collaboration with Globo, which proves the tangible benefits of LCEVC for enhancing resolution and picture quality in large-scale live events while improving efficiency in both the CDN and backend. Critically, these real-life trials demonstrate that this new technology can be deployed today with broad encoder and decoder support available.” 

Deacon Johnson, SVP & General Manager at MainConcept said, “We are pleased to continue the work we started in 2022 with V-Nova and Globo. MainConcept values our partnerships with industry leaders, such as V-Nova and Globo, who share our commitment to the quality, reliability, and performance we demand in our products.”    

LCEVC is the selected enhancement layer for the upcoming TV 3.0 system in Brazil. Globo and V-Nova already successfully showcased the use of live LCEVC-enhanced  video during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, proving its effectiveness in a complex broadcast scenario. The 2023 Carnival streaming can be watched here: https://lcevc.globo-carnival.tv/ 

LOS GATOS, Calif.—Netflix has revealed a number of innovations as it aims to deliver the best viewing experience to its customers, particularly those using legacy decoders.

In a post on its blog, the Netflix tech team detailed a number of developments it has employed to devices that can’t be upgraded to use the latest decoders due to memory limitations, device upgrade cycles, etc.

To that end, the team has made a number of improvements to its H.264/AVC Main profile per-title encodes.

Netflix detailed the improvements:

• Instead of relying on other objective metrics, such as PSNR, VMAF is employed to guide optimization decisions. Given that VMAF is highly correlated with visual quality, this leads to decisions that favor encodes with higher perceived quality.
• Allowing per-chunk bitrate variations instead of using a fixed per-title bitrate, as in its original complexity-based encoding scheme. This multipass strategy, previously employed for the streamer’s mobile encodes, allows it to avoid over-allocating bits to less complex content, as compared to using a complexity-defined, albeit fixed, bitrate for the entire title. This encoding approach improves the overall bit allocation while keeping a similar average visual quality and requires little added computational complexity.
• Improving the bitrate ladder that is generated after complexity analysis to choose points with greater intelligence than before.
• Further tuning of pre-defined encoding parameters.

According to the blog, the team found a number of improvements over existing per-title encodes:

The full post can be read on Netflix’s tech blog.

Few could argue that MPEG-2 has not been a workhorse of professional media compression. Created in 1988, it helped to power the commercial success of DVD disc players and is still used daily by U.S. TV broadcasters as a vital –and mandated—part of their DTV transmission service.

But what if I told you H.264 Advanced Video Compression (AVC) will have a run that matches or exceeds that of MPEG-2? One that ensures AVC will be with us for the rest of our adult lives?

Perhaps, you are raising an eyebrow, smirking skeptically or simply saying to yourself “No way!” But keep an open mind and consider these three reasons why H.264 compression will be with us for a long, long time.

No. 1: Hitting the sweet spot. When you consider factors like processing power and cost, it’s hard to beat H.264 encoding. Sure, H.265, or High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), outshines AVC in terms of pure apples-to-apples compression.

A BBC Research & Development blog posting, “H.265/HEVC vs H.264/AVC: 50% Bit Savings Verified,” makes the case for HEVC in the title. The posting discusses subjective comparison testing of the two compression standards based on international recommendations for assessment of video quality.

“The overall average bit rate saving achieved by HEVC compared to AVC of the same subjective quality was found to be 59% as supposed to the 44% gain show with objective quality metrics,” the blog says. It also notes that bit rate savings were greater for larger picture sizes.

While impressive, the blog doesn’t address the cost of encoding. At this point in time, it’s not out of the ordinary for a professional quality HEVC encoder to cost four times as much as a comparable AVC encoder. Although HEVC encoders will likely drop in price with time, as do the vast majority of electronics, so too will AVC encoders.

Thus, in terms of bang for the buck, H.264 encoding occupies, and likely will continue to occupy, the compression sweet spot for a very long time.

No 2: Changing viewing habits. No one could argue that TV viewing hasn’t undergone a major transition. While the living room TV remains important, people now enthusiastically watch television, streaming entertainment and movies on their phones, tablets and laptops—something that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.

Helping to fuel this transition is H.264 compression. Equally adept at powering video streaming on a Raspberry Pi-based IoT device, an iOS platform or Android device, H.264 unlocks a world of possibilities for reaching people with video where they want to consume it.

Further, because of its flexibility, H.264 can be used to simultaneously stream a high school or college basketball game at 360p or 480p while encoding a 720p or 1080p version to be edited later and uploaded to a YouTube channel.

Not only has H.264 evolved into a web delivery format, it is widely used in high-end cameras as one of many supported output formats. It’s also the fuel powering a variety of affordable, yet-powerful production setups used to produce everything from corporate and government events to video game tournaments and club sports—all of which nurture changing consumer viewing habits.

No. 3: Archiving. Perhaps the biggest reason H.264 will remain relevant for decades is its role as an archival format. It’s widespread use for archiving by universities alone ensures H.264 will be around a long time. But it’s also widely used for first-time digitization of content to be archived outside of academia.

All of that HD content shot over the past 20 years –whether 1080i or 1080p— is going to be with us for the rest of our lives regardless of the growing adoption of 4K and maybe 8K. As long as it is, H.264 will remain a vital compression format to archive that content, assuring its longevity one day will challenge and likely surpass that of MPEG-2 as a workhorse compression format.

SAN FRANCISCO—Latency is the most significant issue faced by over half (54%) of video developers, according to Bitmovin’s annual Video Developer Report.

Bitmovin is a provider of video infrastructure for digital media companies and works with companies across the globe to build new video products.

Based on the views of 542 industry professionals in 108 countries, the survey found that 53% expect to achieve live streaming latency of less than 5 seconds, and 30% said their aim was under 1 second.

The report further showed that H.264/AVC is by far the most widely used video codec, used by 91%  of all respondents. Planned usage of AV1 is also set to triple, with 20% expecting to start using it in the coming year.

Meanwhile 24% of video professionals expect to start using AI/ML as part of video workflow solutions before the end of 2019, while 32% plan to do so in 2020.

Bitmovin CEO Stefan Lederer said: “The Bitmovin Video Developer Report is an inside look at the technology adoption plans of companies that are collectively delivering video to huge global audiences. We’re excited to share the results with the community of video developers.

“The findings show a shift toward new breed technologies such as AV1 and artificial intelligence. We’re also seeing the industry continue to face huge issues with latency and ensuring playback on all devices.”

You can download the full report here.

TORONTO, ON–PBS is adopting a technical specification that will help the network standardize on an HD delivery format for contributed content from North American programmers.

The specification, AMWA AS-11 X9: MXF Program Contribution - NABA DPP HD (AVC) was developed by the U.K.-based group DPP in collaboration with the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) and the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA). The specification belongs to the AS-11 X family of air-ready master formats that define constrained media file formats for the delivery of finished media assets to a broadcaster or publisher.

“The adoption of AMWA AS-11 X9 by PBS is a significant moment for the industry, showing that a collaborative approach is essential to meeting the industry’s developing needs”, says Rowan de Pomerai, DPP Head of Delivery and Growth. “We, at the DPP, along with our colleagues at NABA and AMWA, are working closely with all of our members to ensure that each new specification addresses their business needs effectively.”

[Read: DPP is Ready to Roll]

AMWA AS-11 X9 uses a constrained version of the H.264 codec to offer significant benefits in picture bandwidth and fidelity for program distribution. The specification also supports audio carriage in both PCM and AAC format.

AMWA AS-11 X9 is one of the chosen delivery formats for PBS’s New Media Supply Chain and will be the subject of exhibits and sessions at PBS TechCon, taking place in Las Vegas April 3-5, ahead of the 2019 NAB Show.

“We see AS-11 X9 as a step toward ongoing PBS modernization efforts. The adoption of this specification is a key component to moving PBS away from legacy formats, processes and systems,” says Renard Jenkins, PBS Vice President of Operations, Engineering & Distribution. “The collaborative work of AMWA, DPP and NABA resulted in a format that should gain wide adoption throughout North America. We encourage vendors and broadcasters to consider its usefulness.”

Adoption of AMWA AS-11 X9 by other North American broadcasters is a key goal of this collaboration, alongside implementation by product vendors. In order to support this aim, the DPP Test Lab will launch its AMWA AS-11 X9 compliance testing program this month.

Products that pass the test program will be eligible to apply for a compliance certificate from AMWA, providing buyers and sellers with the confidence that DPP tested tools are technically compliant and interoperable. The DPP, NABA and AMWA will also work with their respective members to facilitate implementation.

“We are delighted that the AMWA AS-11 family continues to grow and show relevance across the globe”, says Brad Gilmer, AMWA Executive Director. “Its support in North America represents a significant step forward and promises to bring important business efficiencies to the media companies that adopt it.”

The DPP and its partners, including AMWA and NABA, continue to extend the AS-11 family. The next addition to the family will provide UHD delivery formats for both the European and North American markets.

LAS VEGAS—At the 2019 NAB Show, Matrox Video will launch a new version of its M264 H.264 hardware codec cards, now with support for up to four channels of 4K Sony XAVC and Panasonic AVC-ULTRA encoding/decoding in a single-slot card to enable high-density, multi-channel 4K workflows in PC-based platforms. Combined with onboard de-interlacing and scaling functionality, the Matrox M264 S4 card provides a simple, cost-effective means of managing computationally demanding 4:2:2 10-bit and 4:2:0 8-bit workflows, the company said.

Designed specifically for high-density and pristine-quality, H.264-based encoding/decoding (Baseline Profile to High 10 Intra Profile up to Level 5.2), the Matrox M264 S4 card provides XAVC-certified and AVC-ULTRA-compliant presets. The Matrox M264 S4 card can encode/decode up to four 4Kp50/60 streams of XAVC 4K Intra Class 300/480, XAVC 4K Long 4:2:2, or AVC-ULTRA in real-time with zero CPU usage—while the highest-end multi-socket PCs struggle to achieve just one real-time encode. The M264 S4 card can also encode/decode up to four streams of 4Kp60 at 4:2:2 10-bit, 40 streams of HD Long GOP at 4:2:2 10-bit, or 64 streams of HD at 4:2:0 8-bit, with ultra-low power consumption, in the smallest footprint.

The Matrox M264 S4 card is supported by the field-proven Matrox DSX SDK, which boasts an extensive set of powerful media processing modules—including file input/output (I/O), software codecs, and CPU effects—for rapid application and system development. The M264 family of codec cards also provides plug-ins for H.264 transcode acceleration into the FFMPEG framework.

The Matrox M264 S4 hardware codec card will be available in Q3 2019.

Matrox will be in Booth SL3811 at the NAB Show, which runs April 6-11 in Las Vegas. 

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.

ATLANTA—VITEC today announced its acquisition of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Telairity, a provider of H.264 encoding solutions. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

"Telairity customers have been asking for a compelling reason to upgrade their broadcast links,” said Matt McKee, formerly of Telairity and now VITEC director of broadcast sales. “VITEC HEVC solutions offer the highest levels of network efficiency, video quality, and reliability especially for Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) and contribution applications."

VITEC’s MGW Ace encoder is powered by its own HEVC Gen2+ all-hardware compression chip. The encoder provides best-in-class HEVC video quality up to 4:2:2 10-bit and encoding latency as low as 10ms, the company said.

VITEC will be exhibiting in Booth 500 at the 2018 Government Video Expo, Nov. 28-29 in Washington, D.C. 

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.

[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.

CAMARILLO, CALIF.—Aperi has a number of technology demonstrations planned for VidTrans 2018, but the IP live media processing provider is looking to highlight a partnership with Video Clarity on a presentation of Aperi’s H.264 compression app.

During the demonstration, Video Clarity will test the quality of the H.264 compression app on audio and video live. The demo also intends to show how compression can be analyzed when operating in live IP-centric infrastructures to ensure optimal media compression and transport.

Andrews Osmond, Aperi’s vice president of business development, will attend the show to present a session titled “Sorting the Fact From the Fiction—IP and Software-based Live Video Transport.” Osmond’s presentation will cite real-world deployments to show the value of IP.

Additional demonstrations planned include Aperi’s live remote production technology and apps created using Aperi’s software-based media processing technologies. The company will also showcase the latest in its IP security offerings, including real-time network address translation, RTP packet and media inspection and firewalling, and new fail-over technologies.

VidTrans 2018 is underway and will continue through March 1 in Los Angeles.

REEDSBURG, WIS.—Firmware Version 3.00 for Video Devices’ Pix-E series of 4K recording monitors is now available, offering new capabilities like the H.264 codec. Additional features now available as part of the updated firmware includes the ability to simultaneously record an Apple ProRes and H.264 files.

The addition of the H.264 codec also includes an applied LUT baked into the H.264 mp4 file and saved through an SD card. The master ProRes 4K file is saved to the Video Devices’ SpeedDrive without an applied LUT.

The Pix-E system will now automatically scale a 4K ProRes recording to 1080p for recording H.264. Both recordings also include audio, as many as eight channels for ProRes and two with h.264.

Users can download the free firmware v3.00 upgrade for Pix-E here.