As full HD 1080p videos are overflowing the mobile networks across the world, mobile CPU makers, mobile phone makers as well as mobile service carriers alike are all intrigued by the ability of the HEVC technology to compress them in two times smaller file size than the H.264.
Chips&Media, Inc., a Korean video codec IP provider, bets on the mobile industry’s rapid embrace of the HEVC.
The world’s No. 1 video codec IP licensor is about to roll out the HEVC decoder IP core in March to allow some of its licensees to embed it into their mobile SOC chip design for smart phones and tablet PCs .
“The benefits of HEVC are multiple. The embedded HEVC will consume half the bandwidth of a SOC chip, compared with an existing H.264 technology, resulting in a 50% cut in the power consumption. And, it will eventually enable mobile carriers to use half their network bandwidth, when it is used to compress full HD 1080p videos, compared with the H.264, “ said Gilligan Choe, general manager of marketing and sale with Chips & Media.
A successor to a current H.264 standard for full HD 1080p compression, the HEVC standard boasts two times more data compression rate. As is the case, the HEVC helps TV broadcasting stations and mobile service carriers to transmit 4K and 8k videos in a more efficient way without squeezing their radio spectrum to the limit.
(General Manager Choe with Chips & Media)
The double gain in the compression data rate also means storing two times more of compressed video data on a given storage space, compared with when it is compressed with the H.264 technology.
As recently as January, 24, standard-setting body ITU (International Telecommunications Union) officially approved all the specifications of the HEVC, stipulating that it should support up to 8K video contents of 7,680x4,320p resolution, or 33-megapixel image. The approval will likely pave the way for the commercial roll-out of the HEVC technology for 4K TV and broadcasting markets.
Yet, the HEVC sees no immediate use in the 4K and 8K TV markets, because it will take a while until 4K content will become widely available.
Rather, the mobile phone industry is now hailing the HEVC technology as a technology enabler that can make the most use of the current mobile networks’ limited bandwidth resources, helping to relieve the increasingly scarce bandwidth crunch.
For example, mobile CPU chip maker Qualcomm was demonstrating at CES2013 that its HEVC codec IP, which was embedded into its flagship Snapdragon mobile SOC chipset, was compressing full HD 1080p videos at far ower bit rate than the H.264.
Samsung Electronics and Netflix also showed there that they could transmit full HD 1080p videos just using half of the Netflix’s IP network bandwidth when it was compressed into the HEVC file.
Chips & Media expects that it would soon sign a licensing agreement with two or more mobile SOC chip makers to license its HEVC codec IP. And, samples of the HEVC-embedded SOC chips are expected to roll out in the second half of this year, and mass-production will start in the first half of 2014.
The use of HEVC in the mobile SOC solution will halve the use of the SOC bandwidth, leading to about 50% cut in the power savings.
“Tons of full-HD videos are now playing out in mobile phone spaces, instantly draining the battery power. The use of HEVC will help significantly cut back power consumption,” said general manager Choe with Chips & Media.
(Photo caption: Reference design board for a HEVC chip-set)
Applications don’t stop there. The HEVC codec will be widely used with other applications like digital still cameras, camcorders, surveillance cameras, and digital TVs.
What sets Chips & Media’s HEVC core apart from competition is its scalability. Its HEVC core is designed on a multicore schematic to enable it to support the gradual evolution of the 4K video standard from 4K 30 frame to 4K 60 frame to up to 8K pixel image layout. As the HEVC adopts a lossless codec design scheme, it also can compress data with no image quality degradation.
With its focus on mobile markets, Chips & Media now accounts for roughly 60% to 70% of worldwide video codec IP market except for in-house captive video codec sales. For example, about 5 million tablet PCs sold worldwide in the fourth quarters of 2012 are estimated to incorporate Chips and Media’s video codec IP.
The rollout of the HEVC will help to double the company’s revenue in 2013 from fiscal 2012. The data-crunching on the fiscal 2012 financial performances are not yet completed, but the company estimates its fiscal 2012 revenue will hit a range of 10 billion won to 13 billion won.
Videos & Photos by JH Bae