LONDON, UK—V-Nova has announced the availability of two licensing programs for MPEG-5 LCEVC, the MPEG and ISO-standardized video enhancement technology that improves compression efficiency and processing performance for any video codec.

The announcement is made in the lead up to this year’s SET Expo in Sao Paolo, Brazil, Aug. 19-21, where the company expects to see a big focus on the deployment of the most advanced digital broadcasting system in the world, TV 3.0/DTV+. DTV+ uses cutting-edge standards like LCEVC, recently included in the ATSC 3.0 US television standard. The licensing model creates a clear, scalable commercial framework beyond broadcaster applications, meeting the needs of streaming services and manufacturers of consumer devices similarly.

MPEG-5 LCEVC (Low Complexity Enhancement Video Coding) enhances any codec reducing transcoding costs and energy consumption by up to 70%, while improving compression efficiency by as much as 40%. It adds an enhancement layer to any base video, enabling benefits such as scalable delivery of UHD and HD services and low-latency streaming. LCEVC requires minimum silicon area and is able to run efficiently on existing and future devices by leveraging available hardware acceleration.

The new licensing framework matches commercial terms to the value LCEVC provides and introduces two programs: The first designed for video distribution services, with royalties determined by the size of the service; and the second, for consumer device manufacturers based on volume.

Video distribution services pay royalties based on their user count, aligning with the market's request for clear, simple, and fair pricing of codec technologies, V-Nova said, adding that royalties for free-to-air broadcasting are waived. Companies that sign up early can access a limited time program with additional benefits, including a per-service discounted cap of $8 million per annum.

Consumer devices pay royalties based on units sold, beginning at $0.20 per device. These rates include the Open-Access discount that applies when manufacturers provide unrestricted access to LCEVC and enable LCEVC to work with all systems and codecs available on a given device.

“After joining the Access Advance HEVC pool, we are reinforcing our commitment to the industry by announcing the MPEG-5 LCEVC licensing program.” said Guido Meardi, CEO and Co-Founder of V-Nova. “Our goal is to deliver better video at lower cost, across broadcast, streaming, and emerging immersive formats, while aligning with customer demand for clear, simple and fair pricing of codec technologies.”

To aid in deploying LCEVC, V-Nova offers resources and documentation, access to a Professional Services team, certification program, tailored IP integration, and technical assistance.

For additional information on LCEVC licensing programs:

Visit the Consumer Devices Licensing page: https://v-nova.com/licensing-lcevc-dlp

Visit the Video Distribution Licensing page: https://v-nova.com/licensing-lcevc-vdlp

For licensing enquiries, contact licensing@v-nova.com

Missed any of our recent product news? Here is TV Tech's weekly wrap-up of new products, services and deployments we published in our newsletter between July 29 to August 2. The stories are listed from the newest on Friday August 2, day by day back to our stories from Monday July 29

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LONDON—V-Nova and Amlogic have announced a partnership to support MPEG-5 LCEVC on Amlogic SoCs. As part of the collaboration V-Nova and Amlogic are developing and deploying multiple implementations of the MPEG-5 LCEVC standard, for both the existing and future portfolio of Amlogic’s SoCs. 

MPEG-5 LCEVC support provides the high levels of security, processing power, and efficiency required by operators and service providers for premium-quality content. 

"We are thrilled to partner with Amlogic, bringing the benefits of MPEG-5 LCEVC to its cutting-edge SoCs and responding to market need," said Guido Meardi, CEO of V-Nova. "This collaboration is a significant step towards delivering superior video experiences while addressing the industry demand for more efficient solutions. Participating in Globo's TV 3.0 Paris games showcase highlights our shared commitment to innovation and the future of broadcasting."

V-Nova and Amlogic also announced they will participate in Globo’s non-commercial TV 3.0 Olympic showcase with an ongoing commitment from Amlogic to support upcoming chipsets for the roll-out of TV 3.0 in 2025.

The addition of MPEG-5 LCEVC to the capabilities of Amlogic's SoCs, underscores its commitment to advanced video decoding technology, and delivering state-of-the-art solutions to customers, the companies said. 

MPEG-5 LCEVC is the latest MPEG and ISO standard. Instead of replacing existing codecs, LCEVC enhances them, reducing both the cost and energy consumption of the transcoding process by up to 70%. LCEVC is an addition rather than an alternative. It augments compression efficiency by up to 40%, with benefits that layer on top of existing methods to improve video compression.

“We pay particular attention to the needs and requests of our clients, and it is clear that LCEVC is gaining traction and adoption is increasing,” said James Xie, senior vice president of corporate business strategy at Amlogic. “Amlogic takes pride in working together with V-Nova on the integration of MPEG-5 Part 2 LCEVC into our STB chipsets roadmap to support the rollout of TV 3.0 in Brazil as well as supporting the future rollout of streaming services worldwide”.

For many companies in media & entertainment, sustainability is more than a word: It’s a mission for these manufacturers who are taking serious steps to become more sustainable and environmentally responsible in their business practices. Here are some views of how the industry is doing in attaining sustainability, from some of the people making it happen.

The Big Picture
The drive towards sustainability in television touches upon two key areas: The production and distribution of TV content via broadcasting, streaming, and other delivery systems. The other is the various consumer devices that access and display this content.

Let’s start with TV content production and distribution. Thanks to framework organizations such as WeAreAlbert, (an environmental organization aiming to encourage the television and film production industry to reduce waste and its carbon footprint), or consultancies like Mrs. GreenFilm, the industry is seeing more productions taking steps to promote and impose sustainable practices on set, according to François Polarczyk, sustainability director for Accedo. 

“Connecting directly to the grid, hiring local crew to avoid travel, and promoting the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ loop in costumes and set buildings are the top criteria to me,” he said.

Polarczyk points to the Responsible Media Forum (RBF) as one of the leading organizations promoting sustainability in media, with members such as the BBC, Bauer Media Group, NBCUniversal, Sky, Virgin Media, and Warner Brothers Universal backing its efforts. The RBF’s sustainability initiatives include DIMPACT (an online tool for calculating the carbon emissions of digital content’s downstream value chain) and media sustainability conferences such as “Mirrors or Movers.”

“The streaming industry is responsible for 3–4% of global CO2 emissions,” he said. “DIMPACT is looking at providing a methodology to assess and reduce energy consumption of the media chain.”

“There are more and more initiatives that have started and aim to shine a light on being more responsible with the resources our planet offers,” agreed Chris Brähler, vice president of product for SDVI. “For example, the DPP [Digital Production Partnership] has been leading the way with their ‘Committed to Sustainability’ campaign, while other bodies like the NAB Show recently introduced sustainability-focused awards to increase visibility.”

V-Nova is a member of the Greening of Streaming group and the chair of its compression working group, which is working with Low Energy Sustainable Streaming (LESS) Accord recommendations to help streaming services reduce end-to-end energy consumption. 

In order to become more sustainable, the streaming industry should first focus on ways to reduce the utilization of existing systems, said Sam Orton-Jay, V-Nova’s vice president of product. 

“One possibility is rolling out better encoding technologies to reduce transcoding power requirements and the amount of data we deliver, to enable some reduction in required storage and delivery infrastructure over time” he said. “Secondly, a major part of the discussions so far on the LESS Accord has been the idea of a ‘Good enough’ quality of service that considers energy usage rather than simply prioritizing quality at all costs. Try to evaluate if you are delivering higher resolutions to certain devices than they really need. Finally, start asking key sustainability questions both of internal teams and external vendors alike. It is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal at this stage.”

From the Consumer Side
As for consumer products such as Smart TVs and other devices, and their impact on the environment as new models are purchased and older models that end up in landfills? 

“Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of their purchasing decisions, and so are many manufacturers who are choosing to offer more sustainable goods, build out ESG (environment, social, and governance) strategies and report on their environmental efforts,” replied Patty Minichiello, global brand experience manager for TMT Insights. 

As well, “consumer brands are making strides in reducing packaging and plastics in their product and some offer buyback programs for old tech, such as Apple,“ SDVI’s Brähler added. “But a lot more can and has to be done in this area, with different countries looking at legislation to force behavior.”  

It's not just television production and distribution that needs to become more sustainable, but the influence that this industry exerts on society as a whole. 

For instance, “advertising and monetization from a wider perspective needs to be taken into account,” Polarczyk observed. “It is not only producing and delivering advertising that has a huge impact in terms of carbon emissions; the content of advertising also needs to be taken into account. For example, seeing an advert for New Zealand tourism if you’re based in London will have another impact, compared to seeing promotions around local farms to visit.”

Individual Efforts
Each of these companies have publicly committed themselves to pursuing sustainable business practices in the TV industry. Such sustainability commitments are prominently posted on their respective websites, and typically spelled out in very clear detail.

Case in point: “At Accedo, we recently launched our ‘Sustainable Marketplace’ to help vendors build their video applications leveraging sustainable vendors and products,” said Polarczyk. “It enables video service providers to make buying decisions based not only on product features, but also on sustainable KPIs (key performance indicators) to cover carbon emissions reduction, audience influence, and community impact. 

“We also released a new study, which looked at the energy usage of various streaming devices and a number of popular streaming applications. It uncovered some key areas of actions and guidelines to reduce energy usage of video devices.”

ATEME is another company that has taken a proactive approach. In 2021 it launched its  Green Delivery solution, an integrated end-to-end tool designed to allow OTT and DTH operators to reduce their video delivery carbon footprint. Green Delivery brings together carbon-efficient components to reduce hardware requirements, bandwidth usage and energy consumption. 

(Read: NAB Show Launches Excellence in Sustainability Awards)

SDVI’s sustainability efforts are largely centered around saving power, which means better utilization of the infrastructure used for content processing, according to Brähler.

“This can firstly be done by using the public cloud, as sharing compute and storage resources inherently means using less energy,” he said. “If I don’t process something on that machine, someone else is, and it‘s not just sitting there idle but still using energy. If I then optimize my supply chain and eliminate duplicate work and more efficiently use the resources at hand, I save even more energy. Lastly, choose a vendor that uses data centers and cloud providers that invest in green energy, so that even when I use less energy because even after I optimize my operations, the little energy I do use is created carbon free.”

V-Nova’s commitment to sustainability is inherent in their MPEG 5, Part 2 LCEVC (Low-Complexity Enhancement Video Coding) streaming solution, which the company says enhances the performance of existing codecs to reduce energy consumption during transcoding by up to 70%, while augmenting compression efficiency by up to 40%.

“It’s encouraging to hear how much the sustainability of video workflows is now on the agenda for our customers,” said Orton-Jay. “Even if not immediately so, they certainly engage when we bring up the significant savings that can be made in the energy consumption of their systems thanks to optimizations in their video compression technology. The fact that it often goes hand in hand with cost reduction tends to help too.”

This “doing more with less” approach is also being pursued by Zixi. ”We’re making our software cost-effective with 14x less CPU than other solutions in the market, 10x port efficiency, and virtual machine efficiency—requiring 50% less computing power,” said Gordon Brooks, CEO of Zixi. “All of these innovations combined save customers money, making our solutions highly sustainable and attractive in procurement.”

“In order to make meaningful progress towards sustainability, technology buyers need to make it mandatory, rather than a plus or an option—it needs to be a qualification of the procurement process,” he added. “And then, as a supplier it’s on us to do everything possible to be as sustainable as cost-effective to make it as attractive as possible.” l

LONDON—The LCEVC Showcase will be returning to the 2023 NAB Show, where it will be highlighting practical examples and demonstrating an expanding ecosystem of support for MPEG-5 LCEVC across broadcasting, streaming, social media and the metaverse. 

The showcase will include demonstrations of LCEVC-enhanced content on TVs, mobile apps, web browsers, and new XR applications, all powered by a number of key solution providers including Allegro, AMD, Amlogic, Ateme, Harmonic, Intel, MainConcept, NETINT Technologies, NVIDIA, PresenZ, RealTek, RedpillVR, Steinwurf, THEOplayer, Videon, and V-Nova. 

For video streaming applications, the ability to add MPEG-5 LCEVC at the player level will be demonstrated with integrations of LCEVC already available for popular projects such as Shaka Player, ExoPlayer and FFmpeg. 

LCEVC will also be shown running at the driver level on video chipsets used in set-top boxes and TVs, demonstrating the ability to quickly deploy the technology also for large-screen viewing. 

The availability of small-footprint silicon IP will also be presented. 

One of the key demonstrations will simulate the LCVEC trials that Globo performed during the World Cup at the end of 2022 and during the Brazilian Carnival in 2023. 

They showcased the ability to carry an enhanced High Dynamic Range (HDR) 10-bit layer on top of an SDR channel for enabled receivers as well as the first end-to-end trial over DASH streaming of an LCEVC-enhanced VVC video. 

Finally, the showcase will host demonstrations of how LCEVC, together with V-Nova Point Cloud Compression, benefits applications such as Cloud Gaming and Cloud XR rendering. The combination of these technologies enables photorealistic 6DoF PresenZ media to be streamed to lightweight client devices, in support of the companies and services that are driving the future of the Metaverse. 

“It is amazing to see the support of LCEVC in the video ecosystem growing from tradeshow to tradeshow,” explained Guido Meardi, CEO, V-Nova. “At NAB this year we’re seeing all the elements needed to deploy LCEVC in broadcasting, streaming, social media platforms, cloud gaming, and future XR applications, all coming together. LCEVC now offers diverse and cost-effective deployment options for both encoding and decoding. Video service providers will therefore be able to quickly monetize the benefits of more efficient, lower latency, higher density, and more sustainable video delivery.” 

The showcase will be in the West Hall, Connect Area, booths W3074 and W3075. More information about LCEVC and scheduling appointments with the LCEVC team at NAB Show is available here. 

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/ 

GRENOBLE, France, and LONDON—Video codec compliance test suite and video semiconductor intellectual property (IP) provider Allegro DVT and video compression solutions specialist V-Nova have partnered to speed up the availability of Low Complexity Enhancement Video Codec (LCEVC)-enabled solutions for video SOC (system on a chip) and Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) vendors looking to accelerate time to market for deployment of LCEVC, the companies said today.

V-Nova co-chaired the development committee for MPEG-5 Part 2 LCEVC and contributed to the foundational technology upon which it is built. 

“We were impressed with the performance of LCEVC both in terms of video quality and compression ratio. We also see it as an opportunity to tackle the increasing complexity of video codecs while delivering best-in-class power consumption,” said Allegro DVT CEO Nouar Hamze. “Allegro DVT is committed to supporting the LCEVC ecosystem and welcomes the collaboration with V-Nova. Over the next months, we will be announcing a full range of new products to accelerate the design and testing of video SoCs targeting the LCEVC market.”

The companies will collaborate on making available compliance test streams and proven video IP, they said.

The product roadmap will make it possible for video SOC and video ASIC vendors to integrate and verify the compliance of their LCVEC implementation with the standard. As a consequence, tape-out will be safer and time to market reduced, they said.

“We are excited to be collaborating with Allegro DVT to support the roll out of LCEVC in the market,” said V-Nova CEO and co-founder Guido Meardi. “They are the market leaders in the provision of compliance test streams to SOC vendors. These, together with proven silicon IP, will speed up the availability of LCEVC-enabled silicon in the market. We look forward to the partnership and further support Allegro’s LCEVC roadmap.”

LCEVC is the new video standard from MPEG. It delivers better quality at up to 40% less bandwidth, reduces transcoding times and lowers storage and content delivery costs. It enhances any “base” codec, including AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265, VVC/H.266 and AV1 without replacing them, V-Nova said.

More information is available on the Allegro DVT and V-Nova websites.

LONDON—Video compression specialist V-Nova today announced it will feature the capabilities of MPEG-5 Low Complexity Enhancement Video Coding (LCEVC) at the NAB Show, April 23-27, in Las Vegas.

The company will show the capabilities across a range of different use cases and devices, including a demonstration of a regular HD H.264/AVC channel to deliver a UHD 2160p60 stream at bitrates below those used today for HEVC deployments. MPEG-5 LCEVC also will be shown decoding on iOS and Android devices, set-top boxes, HTML5 players and VR headsets.

V-Nova is part of a growing MPEG-5 LCEVC broadcast and OTT product and solution ecosystem. Others include: AMD/Xilinx, Amlogic, Harmonic, Kynesim, MainConcept, NETINT, NVIDIA, Oregan Networks, Qencode, Red5 Pro, Resi, SBTVD Forum, SEI Robotics, Simplestream, SOUTHWORKS, Steinwurf, THEOplayer, Videon and Visaic.

“The first MPEG-5 LCEVC showcase is a great example of the growing ecosystem of solutions available to operators and service providers to equip their video delivery with the latest MPEG standard,” said Guido Meardi, CEO and co-founder of V-Nova. “The technology is ready for broadcast and OTT services and now products are coming to market.”

The company also will make two presentations at the NAB Show. One will cover deployment of MPEG-5 LCEVC using commercially available solutions and focus on specific use cases for live 4K streaming. The second will examine the growing use of HDR video content and how LCEVC can be used to enhance performance when working with existing SDR H.264/AVC services, the company said.

V-Nova has set up a webpage with more information on its booth demos, the presentations how to book an NAB Show appointment.

More information on LCEVC is available online. 

See V-Nova at NAB Show booth W9407.

LONDON—V-Nova has announced completion of the MPEG-5 Part 2 Low Complexity Enhancement Video Coding (LCEVC) standard, which enhances the compression efficiency of any future or existing video compression scheme, including AVC, HEVC, AV1, EVC and VVC.

MPEG-5 Part 2 LCEVC, which was promoted to an MPEG/ISO final draft, offers improved picture quality at up to 40% lower bitrates for live and VOD delivery. It also provides a 2x to 4x improvement in encoding computational efficiency, the company said.

LCEVC enables greener and more cost-effective video delivery workflows while maintaining compatibility with the device ecosystem of the enhanced codec. Services can use it to improve the quality-of-experience (QoE) of viewers without having to duplicate workflows or wait for device replacement cycles, it said.

V-Nova co-chaired development of MPEG-5 LCEVC and the technology foundation upon which it is built.

“We are extremely proud to have contributed to this innovative standard, as part of such a successful collaboration with industry leaders,” said Guido Meardi, CEO and co-founder of V-Nova. “LCEVC is poised to immediately deliver a step-change in usage and profitability to a host of existing services. The standard has broad applicability, we are already seeing great traction and are committed to ensuring rapid adoption.”

For global broadcasting services, LCEVC will enable a speedy, seamless and cost-effective upgrade to higher picture quality across all devices regardless of bandwidth, the company said.

When serving millions of concurrent streams to a variety of devices, such as live sports delivery, LCEVC will provide greater reliability, reducing buffering events and increasing quality. It also helps to minimize latency, the company said.

Social media and esports platforms, along with other hyper-scale operators, are looking at LCEVC as a key tool to drive enhanced user experiences through higher-quality and faster stream start-up while also reducing per user costs. LCEVC also is enabling advances in video conferencing, said V-Nova.

More information is available by e-mailing V-Nova.

LONDON—The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has published V-Nova’s VC-6 video codec as the SMPTE ST-2117 standard, the company announced today.

Ratification of VC-6 as a SMPTE standard came after a comprehensive peer review. VC-6 leverages artificial intelligence as part of how the video codec approaches compression. It does not rely on transforms, such as DCT or wavelet, the company said.

The codec leverages a hierarchical series of Self-Organizing Trees (S-Trees) and compresses video by reusing the same structures at different resolutions, which make VC-6 encoding fast when implemented in software, it said. 

The AI-powered hierarchical approach means full-resolution, full-quality proxies are intrinsically available, as is region-of-interest decoding. This reduces the demands placed upon data transfer and decode processing, V-Nova said.

VC-6 is compatible with all major industry container formats, such as MXF and QuickTime, meaning it can be seamlessly incorporated into any workflow, it said.

The codec offers benefits in 4K and 8K production workflows. For instance, VC-6 makes it possible to capture 8K RAW and never have to cross convert to other resolutions because the codec can automatically provide proxies and enable editing at multiple resolutions from a single file, the company said.

Initial uses show reductions in 8K processing by requiring just 12.5% of the full resolution to be de-mosaiced, up to 60% reduction of disc access for 4K files and 2x to 4x faster decoding than ProRes-based solutions, V-Nova said.

VC-6 is available as part of V-Nova’s P.Link for contribution and remote production. The company is at work on a multiplatform software development kit (SDK) and cloud service deployment. Availability via an Early Access Program is expected later this year, the company said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LONDON—V-Nova and Amazon Web Services are collaborating on a contribution solution for sports, entertainment and other content that sidesteps the need for costly leased connections by leveraging SMPTE VC-6 encoding that can achieve a bitrate savings of up to 70% when compared to JPEG 2000, V-Nova said.

By combining V-Nova’s P.Link SMPTE VC-6-based compression with AWS Elemental’s MediaConnect and AWS Direct Connect, it is possible to avoid a costly choice faced when contributing premium sports and entertainment via dark fiber backbones: the expense associated with dedicated connections capable of supporting the bandwidth requirements of low-latency contribution encoders. Similarly, it is no longer necessary to turn to lower-quality, higher-latency encoders to address the problem, V-Nova said.

“The significant cost of dedicated leased connectivity is one of a number of key barriers to the rollout of more live UHD channels and richer remote-production setups,” said Guido Meardi, CEO and co-founder, V-Nova.

“The combination of SMPTE VC-6 encoding and the on-demand flexibility of AWS increases the feasibility of these services and help to satisfy the ever-growing consumer appetite for premium video experiences,” he added.

P.Link offers Intra-frame low latencies and quality equivalent to a JPEG 2000 alternative at as much as a 70% bitrate savings. Testing has revealed excellent low-latency transport of feeds, including 4Kp60 at less than 200Mbps between London and Sydney, the company said.

Relying on AWS for transport enables mission-critical one-to-one or one-to-many links that are easy to set up, cost-effective and available on-demand. Additionally, SMPTE VC-6 encoding also reduces processing power, thus enabling higher-density and lower operating costs, the company said.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

LONDON—VidOvation and V-Nova are teaming up on a new strategic partnership that will see VidOvation represent V-Nova’s line of PPro-powered P.Link products for the contribution and remote production market in the U.S.

VidOvation is already the master distributor for Aviwest in the U.S., which boosts the previously announced strategic partnership between Aviwest and V-Nova for development and commercialization of innovations for newsgathering, the official press release says.

“V-Nova’s P.Link, powered by PPro, has demonstrated its ability to provide the best video quality per bit of any contribution intra encoder on the market,” said Jim Jachetta, executive vice president of engineering and CTO at VidOvation. “This allows our customers to lower costs by up to 70%, increase video quality or increase the number of services in the same network link. Using next-generation solutions like P.Link will help us to help our clients deliver low latency, high quality streams from anywhere in the field.”

V-Nova will have a place at the VidOvation booth, N265, during the NAB Show New York conference, which runs from Oct. 16-17.

NEW YORK—VidOvation, which in addition to manufacturing its own products reps a number of other brands, has a full lineup on display for the 2019 NAB Show New York, which will take place from Oct. 16-17 at the Javits Convention Center.

First, under its namesake banner, the company will demonstrate VidOvation TV, a turn-key enterprise IPTV and digital signage system that now includes full integration of DirecTV content. The integration enables an end-to-end IPTV system with DirecTV, digital rights management, video on-demand and digital video recording with streaming to smartphones, tablets, desktop players, displays, smart TVs and set-top boxes.

Aviwest products that will be set up at the booth include the Safe Streams Transport protocol, Pro3 and Air series and the Pro380 HEVC bi-directional video uplink system. The SST protocol aggregates multiple IP links and features new functionalities for live video production and distribution like data hotspot, remote control, video return and an intercom. Each of the Pro3 and Air series products will also be shown with new hot folder and high-speed data hotspot feature incorporated. The offerings are rounded out with the latest generation of the Pro380 portable video uplink system with H.265/HEVC bonded cellular encoder and transmitter.

Another VidOvation client that will be in the booth is ABonAir and its Wireless Teleprompter and Video Return system. The mobile wireless system is based around the usage of the same single link that incorporates a teleprompter, video return, CCU and intercom so a crew can use all the functions of a wireless camera like a wired camera. This includes latency delays reduced to 7 milliseconds for live content or multicamera productions.

V-Nova also has a presence at the show, touting its PPro AI-powered software library for encoding and decoding SMPTE VC-6. There will also be the P+, a software library for encoding and decoding enhanced video streams with MPEG-5 part two, otherwise known as low-complexity video enhancement coding (LCEVC).

Meanwhile, AlphaEye will bring its real-time, wide-angle lens distortion corrector to fix distortion and curvilinear perspective errors.

VidOvation will be located at booth N265 during the NAB Show New York.

AMSTERDAM—Aviwest and V-Nova have formed a strategic partnership to develop and sell newsgathering products with a target release of 2020, the companies said.

Building upon the success of a Media-Telecom Catalyst project, which led to a proof of concept in less than six months, the joint development uses V-Nova’s P+ AI-powered next-gen streaming enhancement with newsgathering solutions from Aviwest. The proof of concept is being shown during IBC 2019 at the RAI Amsterdam, which closed Sept. 17.

The Media-Telecom Catalyst Innovation projects fast-track innovation in the media and technology ecosystem. IBC and the TM Forum have collaborated on the program, which brings together companies of all sizes to develop solutions to commonly faced industry challenges.

Aviwest and V-Nova were among several companies participating in the “Mobile Newsgathering Using AI-Powered Catalyst” project. Others in the project included Al Jazerra, Associated Press, BBC and BT. The project tackled enhancing transmitted news content in the face of fluctuating and sometimes unreliable mobile network coverage, as well as taking advantage of the benefits of 5G.

The Aviwest-V-Nova proof-of-concept product enables high-performance video compression and robustness in a constrained bandwidth connection. It provides low latency performance and smart adaptability to different network conditions, the companies said. The goal is to develop this proof-of-concept project into a newsgathering solution that integrates V-Nova’s P+ technology into an HE4000, Multi-HD/UHD HEVC encoder.

Live demos are being held at the Media Telecoms Catalyst Zone in Hall 9 of the RAI Amsterdam.

V-Nova is exhibiting at IBC 2019 stand 14.A07 and Aviwest is in stand 2.B31.

More information is available on the Aviwest website and the V-Nova website.

LONDON—V-NOVA, developer of PERSEUS Plus compression used for video distribution, has joined the Advanced Television Systems Committee, the company announced today.

“Joining the ATSC further strengthens one of our primary missions, which is to work extremely closely with all leading standard bodies and industry peers to drive the innovation and adoption of next-generation video and imaging compression technologies,” said company CEO and co-founder Guido Meardi.

PERSEUS Plus compression enhances visual quality and computational performance of existing codecs, including AVC/H.264, HEVC, VP9 and one day AV1, according to the company.

Existing players and set-top-boxes can be software updated to support an enhancement with PERSEUS Plus, the company said.

“In combination with our active work with MPEG and SMPTE, we’re excited to collaborate intensely with the ATSC group to advance terrestrial digital television broadcasting and media services [namely ATSC 3.0],” he said.

The Next Gen TV standard was designed specifically to take advantage of continuous technology development and to incorporate new enhancements as they become available. “We intend to contribute greatly towards this future innovation and help the group to deliver ever-improving experiences for viewers,” Meardi added.

More information is available on the company’s website.

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

LAS VEGAS—Developments in software, IP, the cloud and AI have led to a need in compression technologies that V-Nova seeks to fill with its own Perseus compression technology, which will be on display during the 2019 NAB Show.

Perseus Pro is a commercially deployed codec that uses AI at its core, in a format that includes multiple layers of information within a single stream or file. V-Nova will demonstrate how the Pro model can perform multi-scale rendering from single assets inclusive of transparency and HDR, which enables services like contribution, production, imaging and AI-powered indexing acceleration.

Then there is the Perseus Plus model, which uses the same principles to boost the compression and computational performance of existing codecs, like AVC/H.264, HEVC, VP9 and, in the future, AV1. It also works with the MPEG-TS, HLS and MPEG-DASH formats. At NAB, V-Nova will present new cloud distributions to enable users to launch Perseus Plus’ services.

V-Nova will also feature its P.Link product, which is powered by Perseus Pro and AI to redefine intro-only contribution encoding with efficiency gains over JPEG 2000, MPEG-4 and HEVC-I solutions.

V-Nova is set to present these products at booth SU8213.

To register for the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.

ONTARIO—When you think about artificial intelligence (AI)–specifically software capable of performing self-directed tasks historically performed by human intelligence–it conjures up images of Skynet; the evil AI in the Terminator movie franchise.

That’s fiction. But in real-life, AI is finding its way into the workplace, and that includes the encoding, transcoding and decoding of compressed video. Using the power of AI in their programs, vendors such as Bitmovin, Cobalt Digital, MediaKind, Telestream and V-Nova are speeding up their encoding programs while reducing bandwidth demands; resulting in faster, more affordable products for their customers.

“AI is starting to play an important role in encoding, where it has enormous potential to dramatically improve workflows,” said Stefan Lederer, CEO and co-founder of Bitmovin, a developer of cloud-based media streaming technology. “With the emergence of new codecs, new video file formats and delivery methods, the TV and media industry needs solutions that improve encoding in the automated, immediate and highly efficient way that AI offers.”

[Read: How We See: The Human Visual System]

That said, there is a debate underway among vendors as to the limits of AI in the encoding process. Certainly AI–also known as “machine learning”–can accelerate the encoding process. But can it do everything that a human observer can to detect and remedy artifacts in compressed video? No one really knows.

It’s important to remember that the the improvement in speed is in the process of removing humans from the review stage after an encode has happened, according to Paul Turner, of Turner Media Consulting. “Encode parameters can be set to a predefined set of values, but you still have to look at the result and assess if the encoded output is of sufficient quality,” he said. “If not, you have to iterate on the settings.”

(For the record, ML is a narrower version of AI, in which AI-enabled software is charged with making decisions about specific data within predefined parameters; rather than becoming self-aware and choosing to annihilate the human race. In this article, we will use the two terms interchangeably, as the people who were interviewed tended to.)

HOW AI CAN IMPROVE ENCODING

Today’s video codecs use algorithms to analyze video imagery, to determine which bits can be removed to reduce file size without degrading the subjective image quality perceived by the viewer.

Injecting AI into the encoding process takes this process a step further. AI allows the software to proactively assess the quality of the compressed video before transmission. This lets the encoding system detect and remedy any artifacts inadvertently generated by the codec. As the AI does this, it “learns” from its actions, and uses this knowledge to improve its performance over successive applications.

The result: “By using AI, encoding solutions can make smart decisions about the compression settings and visual parameters of each frame, speeding up processing and improving encoding efficiency,” said Lederer. “Trained AI models can even predict the optimal encoding settings, as well as preprocessing tools, for every given source asset.”

There are other ways that AI can be used in encoding, according to Guido Meardi, CEO and co-founder of V-Nova, a U.K.-based developer of codecs. One of the most common is to improve an existing codec’s predictive capabilities, for deciding which bits can be safely removed.

“The better you predict the image, the less residuals you have to eventually encode,” Meardi said; “therefore the less you have to send down the pipe without compromising quality.”

THE LIMITS OF AI

In each of these examples, AI is trying to improve the video production process by automating quality control. This is meant to reduce much-slower (and more costly) human intervention to perform the same tasks.

“What you’re fundamentally trying to do is emulate human assessment,” said Shawn Carnahan, CTO for Telestream in Grass Valley, Calif. “You’re trying to use machine learning to emulate how the viewer perceives the quality of the content, and use that to decide questions such as ‘can I drive the bitrate even further, or do I need to increase the bitrate to maintain subjective quality?’”

If this sounds like a daunting task, it is. AI software is literally trained “to look for things in the image that human viewers would find objectionable,” Carnahan said. “You are training a machine to spot things that shouldn’t be there.”

This is where the limits of AI-enabled video encoding come to bear. “Mapping or trying to best represent the human visual system using software is near impossible,” said Carl Furgusson, vice president of Portfolio Management for MediaKind (formerly Ericsson Media Solutions). “People have been trying to do it for 20 or 30-plus years without success, and I don’t think anyone will ever really get to an accurate mapping of the human visual system.”

The problem is the subjective nature of human viewing, compared to a metrics-based AI viewing model. “You will always get different results between what people think in reality is better picture quality, and what the measurement tools will give you,” Furgusson said; no matter how sophisticated the AI viewing model may be.

Quality assessment isn’t only about absolute picture quality; there are artifacts that non-trained human viewers will not notice, according to Turner.

“That has to be factored in to the AI training too,” he said.

Does this mean that AI is doomed to play a minor role in video compression? V-Nova’s Guido Meardi doesn’t think so. Even with its limits, he predicts that AI will become “an integral part of compression engines in the future.”

Still, until this technology can actually match the complexities and nuances of the human visual system, human intervention will remain a necessary element of high-quality video compression. At best, AI will continually drive down the percentage of instances when humans have to step in to fix the picture quality.

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.”

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, U.K.--V-Nova Ltd.—a U.K.-based provider of compression solutions for media processing and delivery—has upgraded its membership to the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers to Platinum, the organization’s highest level--Platinum. IABM is an international trade association for broadcast and media technology suppliers.

V-Nova’s product portfolio, which includes PERSEUS cross media codec technology, spans content production, contribution, storage, and distribution to end-users.

“As members for several years already, it has become clear that IABM is a leading forum and we now look forward to expanding our work with other members to drive forward progress across the industry,” said Guido Meardi, CEO and co-Founder of V-Nova Ltd., in London, U.K.

[Read: V-Nova Acquires Faroudja Enterprises Video Processing Patents]

V-Nova joins other IABM Platinum level members including Dell EMC, Google, Grass Valley, NEP, Piksel and Verizon Digital Media Services. IABM provides a wide range of member services, including market intelligence, training, technology, exhibitions and best practices to help them improve business.

“We welcome V-Nova’s decision to upgrade its IABM membership to Platinum level,” said Peter White, IABM CEO. “Having been an IABM member since 2015 – not long after the company was founded – V-Nova has been an active participant in IABM initiatives, events and activities, and is in a great position to take advantage of the extra benefits and status that Platinum membership offers. I’m looking forward to working closely with one of the industry’s great, new-generation innovators.”

LAS VEGAS—V-Nova Ltd., a video compression solutions provider, will showcase its next-generation V-Nova Perseus video processing technology at the 2017 NAB Show. V-Nova Perseus 2 expands the codec’s capability to enhance performance, simplify deployment and reduce operating costs through improved efficiency. It addresses IP video delivery bottlenecks, allowing for a better viewer experience across all data networks.

The software optimizes performance at key operating points for service delivery, including 100 kbps, the minimum necessary for delivering mobile video to all consumers. It also provides 300 kbps for reliable HD mobile video experiences, 1 Mbps for monetizing HD mobile video, 2 Mbps for HD IPTV programming for all xDSL users, 6 Mbps for UHD movie streaming at scale, and 10 Mbps for scalable DTH/Cable UHD sports services.

The 2017 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 24-27. V-Nova Ltd. will have a suite at Encore/Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

LONDON—V-Nova has made its first acquisition, announcing the purchase of video imaging manufacturer Faroudja Enterprises full global patent portfolio for an undisclosed sum. V-Nova will look to boost its Perseus compression technology with the addition of Faroudja patents.

Among the patents that were acquired as part of the portfolio are Faroudja’s pre-processor and post-processor. There are also techniques for video enhancement like multidimensional video processing and the use of a support layer in parallel with the conventional compressions path. The Faroudja scheme complements compressions standards like MPEG-2, H.264, HEVC and Perseus.

V-Nova will not require modifications to its standard codec with the addition of Faroudja’s IP patent portfolio. This will allow the company to fully utilize the patents with Perseus.

Guido Meardi of V-Nova discusses how V-Nova PERSEUS video compression solution allows providers to maximize the quality of video services delivered over legacy copper and 2G-3G mobile infrastructure.

LONDON—Video compression technology provider V-Nova has officially released its Perseus technology as a software development kit; don’t worry, no need to brush up on your Greek mythology. The company says the Perseus SDK is designed to enable operators and video platform providers to integrate and deploy the Perseus system on existing ecosystems for the delivery of full HD video over bandwidth constrained networks.

Available as an encoder plug-in and decoder plug-in for integration and deployment, Perseus plug-ins are supported on a range of platforms, including Intel x86-based encoders and iOS and Android consumer devices. Pre-integrated encoding/decoding combinations are also available for the deployment of Perseus OTT services.

Some of the benefits of the Perseus plug-ins, according to V-Nova, include reducing service buffering, allows product differentiation, and delivers HD OTT video services with few profiles and at lower bit-rates.