Ericsson adds quality to live mobile TV with ‘world’s first’ HEVC encoder

Editor | 22-08-2012

Aiming to address squarely the worry that mobile TV cannot even now support high quality video experiences, Ericsson is to launch what it says is the first HEVC/H.265 encoder for the delivery of live and linear TV over mobile networks.

To be unveiled at IBC 2012, the new technology is claimed to be able to support an enhanced TV viewing experience for consumers using handheld devices, providing, adds Ericsson, up to 50% saving in delivery bandwidth, while improving picture quality.

Furthermore the technology is attributed with being capable of real-time encoding at resolutions up to HD, thus ‘greatly’ reducing bandwidth requirements for current and future services. It enables operators to deliver consistent, high quality TV experiences on mobile devices and to meet growing consumer expectations for TV Anywhere services, whether in the home or on the move.

Such capability is crucial says the mobile giant, quoting its own ConsumerLab research that shows that as much as 50% of the TV/video consumption on smartphones is today done out of the home, up 5% since 2011. It also alludes to aJuly 2012 report from Juniper Researchsuggests that the number of streamed mobile TV users on smartphones will increase to 240 million by 2014. A driver for this growth is the strong desire by consumers to access time-critical content such as live sports and news as they occur, and interact with socially.

“As operators strive to keep pace with the multi-screen consumer demand, they are facing increased strain on their networks. There is an immediate need for new video compression solutions that enable high quality pictures over mobile networks, while keeping bandwidth and storage costs as low as possible,” said Dr. Giles Wilson, Head of TV Compression Business, Ericsson. “We understand the dynamics of consumer and operator needs, and the launch of the Ericsson SVP 5500 encoder demonstrates our ability to make first to market moves that allow next-generation TV experiences to become mass market reality.”