CES: Rovi Unveils HEVC Plans

Also announced that its DivX Plus Streaming DRM has been approved for UltraViolet Services.

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/7/2013 8:30:00 AM

Complete Coverage: CES 2013

In the run-up to the start of CES, Rovi Corporation has outlined its development program for the adoption of the new HEVC compression system, which is designed to significantly reduce storage and bandwidth costs while delivering the high-quality video.

The program will include a range of Rovi product updates and launches. These include new MainConcept encoding SDKs and an update to DivX device certification that will allow companies to introduce products supporting HEVC.

HEVC is the successor to H.264 compression and will be important for the development and distribution of Ultra HD and other higher resolution video formats.

The rollout of HEVC-enabled solutions is planned to begin early this year shortly after the standard is ratified, Rovi reported.

The first Rovi HEVC solution will be a new MainConcept SDK offering professional HEVC encoding for developers serving the broadcast, professional content creation, mobile and consumer industries.

Beginning in the second half of 2013, Rovi then plans to introduce HEVC support in its video delivery and playback solutions including its DivX products and technologies.

"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 VP, worldwide sales and marketing, Rovi Corp., in a statement. "We see HEVC as a huge step, enabling the industry to cost effectively transition more content to high definition formats and, eventually, 4K."

Separately, Rovi announced that its DivX digital rights management used in Rovi's adapting streaming format, DivX Plus Streaming, has been approved by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) for streaming use within the UltraViolet ecosystem.

DivX Plus Streaming dynamically adjusts streams to help deliver maximum visual quality based on available bandwidth and offers such features as support for 1080p, subtitles, multiple language tracks, and trick-play functions for smooth fast forward and rewind.