Game on … MPEG returns to IBC with LCEVC to woo diverse media operators

4 weeks ago

1 minute read

Making a return to IBC 2023 is the MPEG-5 LCEVC Showcase, which will demonstrate Low Complexity Enhancement Video Coding (LCEVC)-based applications across broadcast, pay-TV, streaming, extended reality (XR), and cloud gaming.

LCEVC is the latest innovation from MPEG and ISO. Unlike traditional codecs, LCEVC reportedly enhances existing ones, reducing transcoding costs and energy consumption by up to 70%. It also offers higher quality at up to 40% lower bitrates, making it a compelling option for media operators, according to MPEG and ISO.

More than 30 vendors are rallying behind this showcase, including names such as Allegro DVT, AMD, Amlogic, Ateme, EZDRM, Harmonic, MainConcept, NVIDIA, RealTek, THEOPlayer, and V-Nova. The demonstrations on display at booths A24 and B40 in Hall 5 will present end-to-end systems tailored for streaming and broadcast applications, showcasing LCEVC on commercially available encoders while decoding on mobile devices, web browsers, and the chipsets powering televisions and set-top boxes.

Guido Meardi, CEO of V-Nova, said, “It’s great to witness the momentum with industry giants stepping up to build an ecosystem that empowers video service providers to harness LCEVC’s capabilities across diverse media landscapes, facilitating next-gen video experiences with unmatched visual clarity, maximum cost efficiency, and ultra-responsive latency.”

A new addition is the virtual reality (VR)/XR and Cloud Gaming pod, powered by NVIDIA technology. It will demonstrate how MPEG-5 LCEVC facilitates ultra-low-latency pixel streaming for cloud gaming and immersive six degrees of freedom (6DoF) entertainment. LCEVC-enhanced formats HEVC and AV1 will utilise NVIDIA RTX GPUs, including the RTX A6000 GPU, to deliver visual quality and service reliability.

Rick Champagne, Director, Global Media and Entertainment Industry Marketing & Strategy, at NVIDIA, said, “At NVIDIA, we are architecting the future of immersive applications by enabling top-tier rendering and streaming directly from the cloud.

“Our collaboration with V-Nova to optimise LCEVC support on NVIDIA GPUs will help enable these exciting pixel streaming applications at an unprecedented scale.”

Find out more at IBC 2023, which is taking place from 15 to 18 September at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre.