25-September 2012
In 25 years activity, MPEG Committee, the International Working Group chaired by Leonardo Chiariglione , have sorted out and developed several world known digital formats like MPEG2, MP3, MPEG4 and now the last born is coming up, called HEVC, High Efficiency Video Codec. Representatives of international organizations like ISO, IEC, ITU e WIPO joined MPEG in Geneva last May to celebrate the 100th MPEG meeting.. The technical specifications are prepared by the “Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding”, made up by ISO e ITU 2 years ago in order to fine tune the main tech features of this emerging standard officially denominated MPEG-H, Part 2.
The main basic idea of such new standard is to provide a much-desired bandwidth saving of up to 50% on everage and reaching 70% with very high resolution pictures at the same quality of today’s AVC.
So this great efficiency can be used on every digital device just like today with AVC and also in new A/V areas requiring a great deal of data transfer and handling like BlueRay, and Super HiVision 8K (7680x4320) which is 16 times today's HD 1080, or 4K (3480x2160).
MPEG is also investigating the use of HEVC for coding of 3D Stereo implemented a Multiview Video Plus Depth.
The HVEC can be used by a 2D HD TV as “bi-dimensional baseline” view, by a 3D TV and if used in conjunction with MVC (Multiview Video Codec) can handle a stereo signal with a lot less data, or a 3D auto-stereoscopic TV for stereo view without glasses.
For such solution the tv set receiver is to provide al least 8 views on the horizontal plane that in this case are obtained from the synthesis of the information derived by depth maps and camera parameters.
A huge number of broadcast industry businesses are therefore interested in HVEC and a wider number in the 3D compartment.
Leonardo Chiariglione confirms: “HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) is the latest video compression standard being developed by MPEG. It has been shown to have compression capabilities 50% the previous AVC video compression generation, in some cases above 60%. This means that you can get the same performance (quality) of AVC at half the bit rate. MPEG will release the HEVC specification in January 20013.”
RAI Research Center in Turin together with EBU have created non compressed video sequences in 4K as a test, using two Sony F65 cameras plus Leica Prime Lenses in formats 3D/Full HD 1080p@50Hz (L+R) as a baseline and two ARRI Alexa M each configured with separate camera body and sensor sections a part, connected with cables.
All images are available for every broadcast organism for evaluation and comparative tests in order to decide the effective level of improvement and related bit-rate used.
The new HEVC, heir of AVC format, may become a good ally of the efficient and diffused present DVB-T2 in order to lend a helping hand the frequency shortage typical of DVB-T, keeping in mind the “700 MHz-LTE affair” is worsening the landscape by 2015.
