Harmonic Aims at Mobile TV

Compression supplier Harmonic integrated low-resolution encoding into its DiviCom Electra MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) encoders, with a specific focus on mobile-video applications.

The vendor will demonstrate the development at the 2008 NAB Show with its Electra 5400 standard-definition H.264 encoders.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Harmonic has added support for mobile-friendly formats including QVGA and SIF for applications such as video delivery to automobiles via satellite transmission or Internet-protocol-based streaming to PCs and handheld devices. The lower-resolution formats still use the full range of Harmonic’s compression technologies, including "LookAhead" compression and IP-based statistical multiplexing.

The multipass LookAhead process uses a dedicated H.264 compression processor to analyze incoming video content and apply the most efficient encoding techniques.