Tag Archives: encoding

Netflix updated its video encoding to make downloads look better

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From time to time, Netflix updates the technology it's using to convert and compress each of the digital copies of movies it streams to customers. Because people watch from so many different platforms, in so many different situations, it has to be re...

NHK and Mitsubishi develop the first H.265 encoder for 8K video

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NHK and Mitsubishi develop the first H265 encoder for 8K video

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.

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Source: NHK (translated)

UltraViolet movie format to use Dolby Digital Plus encoding, keep sound thumping across platforms

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UltraViolet movie format to use Dolby Digital Plus encoding, keep sound thumping across platformsMovies encoded in UltraViolet's Common File Format represent just one of multiple takes on paid internet video -- what's to make them stand out? The answer might just be Dolby Digital Plus audio encoding, which should be a staple feature of CFF from now on. A newly ready development kit lets producers feed the multichannel sound to hardware and apps that can recognize it, including web-based avenues like Apple's HTTP Live Streaming, Microsoft's Smooth Streaming and MPEG's DASH. Just in case a few devices fall through the cracks, Dolby is talking directly with digital production firms like castLabs, Digital Rapids and Elemental Technologies to make sure the audio codec's implementation truly spans platforms. We don't know how soon movies will take advantage of the upgrade, but the Dolby addition lends weight to a fledgling format that might have as fierce a battle in home theaters as it does on PCs and tablets.

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UltraViolet movie format to use Dolby Digital Plus encoding, keep sound thumping across platforms originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 11:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raspberry Pi lands MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding through personal licenses, H.264 encoding and CEC tag along

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Raspberry Pi lands MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding through personal licenses, H.264 encoding and CEC tag along

Making the Raspberry Pi affordable involved some tough calls, including the omission of MPEG-2 decoding. Licensing fees alone for the video software would have boosted the board's price by approximately 10 percent. Now, after many have made media centers with the hardware, the foundation behind the project has whipped up a solution to add the missing codec. For $3.16, users can purchase an individual MPEG-2 license for each of their boards on the organization's online store. Partial to Microsoft's VC-1 standard? Rights to using Redmond's codec can be purchased for $1.58. H.264 encoding is also in the cards since OpenMax components needed to develop applications with the functionality are now enabled by default in the device's latest firmware. With CEC support thrown into the Raspbmc, XBian and OpenELEC operating systems, a single IR remote can control a Raspberry Pi, a TV and other connected gadgets. If you're ready to load up your Pi with its newfound abilities, hit the source link below.

Update: The Raspberry Pi Foundation let us know that US customers won't have to pay sales tax, which means patrons will only be set back $3.16 for MPEG-2 and $1.58 for VC-1 support, not $3.79 and $1.90 for the respective licenses. We've updated the post accordingly.

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Raspberry Pi lands MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding through personal licenses, H.264 encoding and CEC tag along originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 07:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MPEG drafts twice-as-efficient H.265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013

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MPEG drafts twiceasefficient H265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013

All of that squabbling over H.264 may be rendered moot in the near future. The Motion Picture Experts Group (better known as MPEG) has just let us know that it was quietly drafting a new video standard while everyone was on summer vacation last month: H.265, also called High Efficiency Video Coding, promises to squeeze video sizes with double the efficiency of H.264. As you might imagine, this could lead either to a much smaller video footprint for bandwidth-starved mobile users or a hike to image quality with the same size as before. Imagine fast-loading HD streaming on 4G, or cable TV without all the excess compression, and you've got the idea. Ericsson Research visual technology lead Per Fröjdh anticipates H.265 coming as soon as 2013, when our smartphones and tablets are most likely to play it first. TV and other areas might have to wait, although Fröjdh is offering a consolation prize -- he's teasing a separate MPEG project that could give us glasses-free, compressed 3D video as a standard by 2014.

Continue reading MPEG drafts twice-as-efficient H.265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013

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MPEG drafts twice-as-efficient H.265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dolby ups TrueHD lossless audio on Blu-ray to 96k, says every upsampled bit is amazing (video)

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Just because your home theater can handle lossless audio doesn't mean the sound is as good as it could be. Dolby is now giving Blu-ray producers using Dolby Media Producer Encoder v2 the choice of premastering TrueHD surround sound at an upsampled 96k. Along with just squeezing the most possible clarity and depth out of 48kHz audio, the encoding purportedly eliminates some of the harshness of digital sound through an apodizing (signal altering) filter. At least three projects have already been given the 96k treatment, and authoring firms like Technicolor have upgrades in place to give that noticeable boost to your next Blu-ray movie.

Continue reading Dolby ups TrueHD lossless audio on Blu-ray to 96k, says every upsampled bit is amazing (video)

Dolby ups TrueHD lossless audio on Blu-ray to 96k, says every upsampled bit is amazing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 07:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu Laboratories wants to take your mobile’s 2D videos to another dimension

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Fujitsu Laboratories wants to take your mobile's 2D videos to another dimension

Fujitsu Laboratories has developed technology that will let any phone grab pictures and video with some of that third-dimension spice. Using a small attachment with cleverly positioned mirrors, the widget sits atop your phone's plain old 2D camera and breaks the incoming image into two. Once the data has been grabbed, you then send it off to Fujitsu's servers, whereupon it'll be converted into a 3D format. This isn't the first 2D-to-3D idea, but the main advantage, of course, is that your poor phone doesn't have to do all the leg-work -- but it undoubtedly comes at the expense of some quality. The gadget will get properly announced at the IEEE ISCE conference in Harrisburg on June the 4th along with pricing and availability. In the meantime you can step into the Japanese dimension -- i.e. the press release -- below for more info.

Fujitsu Laboratories wants to take your mobile's 2D videos to another dimension originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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