Rovi Unveils Program to Drive HEVC Rollout
Rovi to Introduce New Professional MainConcept Encoders, DivX Device Certification, and Consumer Software to Power Efficient and High Quality Video Experiences Across the Entire Entertainment Ecosystem
Las Vegas - CES 2013(07 Jan 2013)
Rovi Corporation (Nasdaq:ROVI), driving digital entertainment innovation, today unveiled its HEVC Development Program to enable companies participating in the digital video value chain to take advantage of the latest compression technology to reduce storage and bandwidth costs and deliver an optimized viewing experience. The program is planned to include a range of Rovi product updates and launches including new MainConcept encoding SDKs and an update to DivX device certification to allow customers such as IC manufacturers, consumer electronics device makers and mobile operators to rapidly introduce products that support the successor to H.264.
"HEVC is important for the industry, allowing compression to keep pace as resolution and quality demands on video rise and the sheer volume of channels and video available increases," Avni Rambhia, Sr. Industry Analyst of Frost & Sullivan's Digital Media Practice. "However the speed of uptake of the format and the rate at which it is able to transform the industry with its benefits depends heavily on the timely delivery of encoding SDKs for content creation, as well as technologies to streamline CE and mobile device support. Early innovation by key solution providers such as Rovi will play a critical role in driving earliest possible adoption and demand across all target verticals and on all target devices."
Rovi's rollout of HEVC-enabled solutions is planned to begin early this year shortly after the standard is ratified. The first Rovi HEVC solution will be a new MainConcept SDK offering core professional HEVC encoding for developers serving the broadcast, professional content creation, mobile and consumer industries. MainConcept encoding solutions are already broadly deployed by many of the world's largest technology companies, which will help streamline the migration to HEVC in a broad range of leading cable, internet and wireless systems.
"As with H.264, Rovi will release core video encoding and decoding solutions that will be the foundation of a successful HEVC rollout and enable our customers to save money while enhancing the quality of the video services they offer," said Matt Milne, executive vice president worldwide sales and marketing, Rovi Corporation. "We see HEVC as a huge step, enabling the industry to cost effectively transition more content to high definition formats and, eventually, 4K."
Currently expected to begin in the second half of 2013, Rovi anticipates introducing HEVC support in its video delivery and playback solutions including its broadly deployed DivX products and technologies. For these solutions, HEVC should enable Rovi to offer better cost performance to customers involved in the distribution of video and, supported by the DivX Certification program, deliver better playback quality and device interoperability.
Rovi will be hosting private meetings and product demonstrations for industry executives during the upcoming CES tradeshow in Las Vegas, January 8-11 at Caesars Palace. As a result, invited attendees will
have the opportunity to learn about Rovi's full suite of HEVC/H.265 solutions and view live demonstrations that will include 4K implementations of software-encoded HEVC video content.
Later this year, Rovi will be releasing key findings from an HEVC Market Trajectory Study conducted in collaboration with Frost and Sullivan. The study will assess the current and future roadmap for HEVC
across a number of products and application verticals including ICs, consumer electronics devices, mobile platforms, and a range of video services.
About Rovi Corporation
Rovi powers the discovery, delivery, display and monetization of digital entertainment. With innovative technology solutions for consumer electronics manufacturers, service providers, content producers, advertisers, retailers and websites, Rovi connects people and the entertainment they love. The company holds over 5,000 issued or pending patents worldwide and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. More information about Rovi can be found at rovicorp.com.