Thomson Video Networks has included HEVC compression to its line of ViBE encoders.
Including the ViBE VS7000 compression and transcoding platform, and the ViBE CP6000 contribution encoder. The VS7000 is one of the first implementations of HEVC, and is designed to lower operators’ operational expenditures for delivery of a wide range of convergent TV services including WebTV and OTT, as well as traditional IPTV and cable applications.
“With HEVC support, we are clearing a path for our customers to deliver the most advanced HD and Ultra HD video offerings on any type of device and over any type of network,” said Eric Gallier, vice president of marketing.
Thomson is updating its ViBE CP6000 premium multi-channel video contribution platform, introduced last year. With deliveries starting in the fourth quarter of this year, the CP6000 now features a new hot-swappable DVB-S/S2/DSNG satellite modulator board as well as multiplexing and de-multiplexing built into the chassis. A new half-rack format chassis, that can compress four instead of the regular eight channels at the same time, will be available in addition to the current 1RU chassis.
The integrated modulation and multiplexing capability are to do away with the need for multiple solutions from multiple vendors. Lowering cost and allowing for more flexibility in operations. A simple software upgrade is to enable the CP6000 to support the latest DVB-S2 extensions. With the built-in multiplexing capabilities, operators can multiplex up to eight channels and send them over IP, ASI, or satellite via the new modulator board.
“When the ViBE CP6000 was introduced last year, it broke new ground as a dedicated, multi-format, high-performance platform with unmatched compression performance and MPEG-4 4:2:2 10-bit support. Much more than an encoder or decoder, the ViBE CP6000 is a future-proof solution for top-quality live video contribution, designed to optimize customer investment and minimize the cost of ownership,” said Christophe Delahousse, president of Thomson Video Networks. “These latest enhancements deliver even greater operational flexibility and a lower cost-per-channel. For instance, with the new half-rack chassis and the hot-swappable DVB-S/S2/DSNG modulator module, customers are able to save rack space without compromising video quality in a space-constrained environment such as live event coverage”.
Thomson has added the ability to integrate variable bit-rate data streams within the video pool, instead of reserving a fixed datarate to dataservices, to its Flextream 2.0 statistical multiplexing technology that automatically controls the company’s ViBE MPEG-2/4 SD or HD encoders by dynamically allocating video bit-rates according to quality targets and service priorities. According to Thomson “the benefits are immediate: whenever the data bit-rate decreases, Flextream 2.0 automatically reallocates the freed bandwidth to the video to optimize bit-rate usage within a multiplex”. Making room for data streams as the need pops-up, but also freeing up the bandwidth to be used by the video services when the data stops streaming. It dynamically adapts the video pool bit-rate based on the quantity of data to be transmitted, up to a predefined threshold. Thomson says this is ideal for asynchronous data components or services, such as EPG, HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV), system software updates, and the playout of Video On Demand programs.