Elemental Achieves World’s First Real-time 4K HEVC Transmission

“4K and Ultra High Definition will be very important, especially for live sports in the coming years, and HEVC compression will be critical to making 4K cost effective, reach multiscreen devices and not use too much distribution bandwidth,” said Tom Morrod, research director for consumer electronics and video technology at IHS. “With the upcoming World Cup and Winter Olympics, the industry needs successful real-time demonstrations of 4K video delivery and HEVC.”

A subsidiary of the Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc., K-Opticom (K-OPT) provides high-quality fiber optic services for the Kansai Region of Japan, including the prefectures of Kobe, Kyoto and Osaka, which together comprise the second most populated area in Japan after greater Tokyo. Also in support of the event, K-OPT used Elemental video processing to provide live streaming of marathon coverage to PCs, smart phones, tablets and other connected devices. K-OPT was a presenting sponsor of the race.

The Japanese telco was using Elemental Live systems to provide HEVC encoding of 4K/59.94p material acquired from Sony PMW-F55 CineAlta 4K cameras located at the midpoint and finish line of the racecourse. Each camera was mounted with an AJA Ki-Pro Quad, sending source content to Elemental systems via live 3G-SDI interfaces.

Elemental video processing systems encoded live content in real-time HEVC at 4Kp30 and stream video over K-OPT optical fiber networks to an NTT Docomo decoder with final rendering on an 84-inch Sony 4K Bravia TV. The public was able to view 4K live coverage of the marathon in a special K-OPT exhibit located at the Intex (International Exhibition Center) Building 2 in Osaka.

“This weekend, K-Opticom was proud to help make history with the world’s first real-time 4K HEVC transmission. The stream looked stunning with clear, reliable and very detailed output on Sony 4K televisions,” said Mr. Takao Fujino, President of K-Opticom. “Together, the advanced K-OPT optical fiber network and Elemental’s video processing proved real-time 4K HEVC transmission is now a reality.”

With four times the resolution of high-definition (HD), 4K content presents a challenge to traditional compression approaches such as MPEG-2 and advanced video coding (AVC / H.264) in terms of the bandwidth required to deliver a smooth and immersive viewing experience. Elemental’s award-winning HEVC implementation allows for delivery of 4K content at greatly reduced bitrates.

“Sunday was a winning day - for the athletes who participated in the event; for content programmers and distributors who now have access to a real-time 4K HEVC solution; for K-Opticom’s wideband network; and, for Elemental video processing,” said Keith Wymbs, VP of Marketing for Elemental. “We are thrilled to have successfully enabled this unprecedented transmission.”
In addition to a real-time 4K HEVC demonstration, Elemental will feature its full line of video processing solutions for linear and non-linear content delivery at Inter BEE 2013. To schedule a meeting with an Elemental representative at InterBee, please click here.

About K-Opticom
K-Opticom Corporation is a comprehensive telecommunications operator providing fiber-optic Internet services. Founded in 1988 and based in Osaka, Japan, the company operates as a subsidiary of Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. K-Opticom leverages its powerful EO™ Hikari (Everywhere Optical fiber-optic) network, which is deployed across the Kansai area, to enrich consumer lives and provide state-of-the-art business support. With approximately 1.4 million subscribers for its award-winning consumer services reported at the end of 2012, K-Opticom is actively developing life improvement services for mobile and connected devices.

About Elemental
Elemental Technologies is the leading supplier of video solutions for multiscreen content delivery. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company pioneered the use of graphics processors to power adaptive video streaming over IP networks. Providing unmatched solutions for more than 300 leading media franchises worldwide, Elemental helps pay TV operators, content programmers, film studios and sports broadcasters bring video to any screen, anytime – all at once. The company has offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China, Russia and Brazil.