Video Breakthroughs

NHK's 8K Super Hi-Vision is an extremely bandwidth-heavy format -- so much so that earlier tests used gigabit-class internet links rather than traditional TV broadcasting methods. Thankfully, both the broadcaster and Mitsubishi have developed an encoder that could keep data rates down to Earth. The unassuming metal box (above) is the first to squeeze 8K video into the extra-dense H.265(HEVC) format, cutting the bandwidth usage in half versus H.264. Its parallel processing is quick enough to encode video in real time, too, which should please NHK and other networks producing live TV. We'll still need faster-than-usual connections (and gigantic TVs) to make 8K an everyday reality, but that goal should now be more realistic.

Neil Hunt is likely the most important Netflix executive that nobody's ever heard of. While everyone in tech media knows CEO Reed Hastings and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, Hunt's kept a low profile despite the pivotal position he holds as the company's chief product officer. Hunt looks after the video service's technology, including the streaming platform, as well as the tech behind the new feature announced yesterday, which will enable subscribers to share what they watch with their Facebook friends.

Hunt also oversees the unprecedented amount of user data that Netflix sits on. The data helps his team create the algorithms that support Netflix's recommendation features. At a time when the cost of licensing content is spiking, Hunt said in an exclusive interview withThe Verge that these recommendations help Netflix and its subscribers get the most out of Netflix's video library by suggesting titles that customers are more likely to enjoy. Hunt also talked about those nasty holiday site outages, why Hollywood and Web movie distributors need better supply-chain technology, and why he thinks the film industry places too much emphasis on pixel counts when the sweet spot for improving viewing quality is higher frame rates.

Japan just announced that in July 2014 they would begin transmission of their first ever 4K broadcast.  The 4K services will be transmitted directly from Japanese satellites, then onto the broadcasters on the ground.   The Japanese government is hoping the announcement will spur sales of super HD television sets, which will in turn boost sales of Japanese electronics makers.

Super HD 4K televisions have approximately four times the regular resolution of the currently sold HD TVs.  Many South Korean electronic producers have begun sales on their 4K TVs along with some of Japan’s big brands such as Panasonic, Sharp and Sony. 

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications previously announced that the TV service would start sometime in 2016.

UltraHD and 4K have been the big talk at CES this year and it seems the terms has been getting some mix up.

Just in case anyone was in doubt that the 4K revolution is happening, Nvidia has just announced that its much anticipated Tegra 4 mobile chipset will include "4K Ultra-High-Def video support"

The Tegra 4 is significant because it has six times the GPU horsepower of the Tegra 3, and also incorporates ARM's most advanced CPU core, the Cortex A15. Just a few days ago, we predicted that ARM was going to be a technology to watch this year.

The new chipset will obviously be used in mobile platforms, from phones to tablets, and quite possibly games controllers and consoles, and the raw video processing power is unmatched in what is already a feverishly active area for technical innovation.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK will present the latest iteration of its 8K Super Hi-Vision system at the 2013 NAB Show. The demo will be a highlight of the NAB’s 2013 Futures Park area of the show. It will feature a presentation theater for viewing the system’s 8k video and 22.2-multichannel sound, including content recorded at the London 2012 Olympic Games. 

The system’s 7680x4320 video format provides 16 times more pixels than HDTV. Its multichannel audio system produces a 3D sound space for viewers located anywhere within a large viewing area. Besides the presentation in the theater, NHK will also show for the first time outside Japan the real-time, over-the-air transmission and reception of Super Hi-Vision broadcasts, using two UHF television channels.

European-based satellite bandwidth provider SES has succesful tested an end-to-end file transmsission solution for UltraHD content using the H.265 coding scheme. The compressed 3840×2160 pixel (4K) signal was broadcast from an Astra satellite at 19.2 degrees East in DVB-S2 using a data rate of 20 Mbps. According to those that saw it, the live transmission provided significant improvements in file size and image quality when compared to H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) compression.

The company used technology from Harmonic and Broadcom Corp. to show that it can be done at the SES Industry Days in Luxembourg (April 18-19), using Harmonic’s ProMedia Xpress and a HEVC decoder reference-design system based on Broadcom’s BCM7445 Home Gateway Chip for receiving and displaying HEVC encoded UltraHD television transmissions.

At NAB, taking place in Las Vegas April 8-11, Envivio will introduce
new products and showcase new developments in next-generation
software-based video processing that optimize the convergence of
traditional TV and multi-screen services :

- An Ultra HD 4K technology demonstration
- HEVC HDTV video compression, enabling up to 50 percent bit-rate savings while preserving video quality
- HEVC video streamed to a tablet in MPEG-DASH format
- TV Anytime capabilities including applications such as Catch-up and Start-over TV, highlights creation, ad insertion and nPVR
- Introduction of a new product that further personalizes the multi-screen user experience
- High efficiency MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) statistical multiplexing
- Envivio True Motion Experience, a new technology for high-quality streaming in MPEG-4 AVC format to connected TVs
- Video packaged by Envivio Halo(TM) network media processor in the Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS) format, protected by Adobe Access

Pay TV operators in all categories have welcomed HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) as a game changer following its recent ratification by the ITU (International Telecommunications Union), although for varying reasons. There is broad agreement that HEVC will be the codec to usher in Ultra HDTV (UHDTV) services, but also that adoption will proceed gradually over some years as the whole broadcast ecosystem will have to be upgraded.

CES 2013 is officially concluded. With over 150,000 people in attendance and almost 2 million square feet of exhibit space, the CEA has stated that it was their largest convention since its founding over 45 years ago.

I journeyed to Sin City to get an up-close look at the Ultra HD offerings from some of the biggest display manufacturers in the world, including Sharp, LG, Samsung, ViewSonic, Toshiba, Sony, Westinghouse, and Vizio. I will share my impressions of each in a few moments.

There appears to be plenty of cynicism regarding the future of Ultra High Definition technology. Many believe that price, lack of content, insufficient bandwidth, and enormous screen size will inevitably lead to its failure. While some of these limitations are apparent, one cannot simply dismiss the adoption of new technology because it sounds impossible or impractical. Technology is always evolving, and sometimes rapid changes in infrastructure allow for further adoption of new technology. Remember the incredible doubt when flat panel TV’s first debuted? These display companies know that their Ultra HD products are very expensive, and many of them intend to bring manufacturing costs down over the next few years. So why should we doubt progression? Ok, moving on to the summary…

While today’s price tag for most Ultra High Definition (UHD) televisions are around $10,000, Strategy Analytics expects prices to fall to the sub-$2000 range within the next five years, a factor that will help drive global sales to over 50 million units per year by 2020. The company made these forecasts on the eve of CES 2013 and set the scene for UltraHD to take its bow as possibly the next big thing in TV.

The next step change in video displays will be a move to a resolution four times that of high-definition television. That is the message from the International CES trade show in Las Vegas, which provides an annual high-pressure barometer check for the winds of change blowing through the consumer electronics industry. If the manufacturers have their way it will be only a matter of time before we all want even higher-definition television.

So-called 4K displays, with a resolution of around 4,000 pixels across, were a prominent theme of the show, displacing the emphasis of previous years on smart and 3D-capable televisions, although these are still prevalent. So is this just another fad, in an attempt to create premium products as high-definition displays become commoditised, or does this represent the next natural evolution in television?

Eutelsat is launching a dedicated demonstration Ultra HD channel for Europe on the Eutelsat 10A satellite.

The first transmissions of content filmed in 4K will start on Tuesday, January 8. Delivering a resolution of eight million pixels, four times the resolution of HDTV, Ultra HD (4K) is poised to mark the next big leap forward in the immersive viewing experience.

EyeIO said its next generation of H.264 software encodes video 45 percent faster and reduces bit rates by an additional 26 percent using studio-level profiles that improve video data on several fronts by more than 50 percent.

A company called EyeIO, based in Palo Alto, CA, has announced new technology that enables delivery of ultra-low-bandwidth Internet video in full HD, 3-D, StudioHD and UltraHD (4K Video) formats.

New product suite achieves new levels for ultra-low-bandwidth Internet video – enabling delivery of full HD 3D, StudioHD, and UltraHD (4K Video) :

• eyeIO StudioRes. Built to Hollywood's 4K requirements, eyeIO StudioRes delivers UltraHD, studio-grade H.264 videos (10 bit, 4:2:2 video, xvYCC). eyeIO StudioRes is available for both package media and Internet streaming delivery to bring no-compromise pictures to the next generation of 85" and larger UltraHD/4K screens.
• eyeIO.265. Brings eyeIO technology to the coming H.265 HEVC ITU standard and long-term industry efforts.
• eyeOS. The eyeIO video operating system. A superior, true UNIX™ Operating System featuring advanced kernel enhancements achieving ultra-stability, bare-metal virtualization performance, automatic load-balancing transcoding, closed-environment security, elastic scalability, and advanced 4K video processing including native support for the forthcoming Interoperable Master Format (IMF). eyeOS will be available in beta form for larger enterprises in the spring of 2013.

A new high-resolution television format has been approved by the UN's communication standards setting agency.

Broadcasts in 8K will offer a resolution of 7,680 by 4,320 pixels - roughly the equivalent of a 32 megapixel pixel photo. That is 16 times as sharp as current HD TVs offering about 2MP resolutions.

The UN's Internationalal Telecommunication Union (ITU) discussed the standard in May and offered broadcasters the opportunity to file objections. Because no-one did, a letter was sent out this week confirming the format's approval.