ATEME and SES trial first live over-air UHD broadcast using VVC

ATEME has partnered with SES, VideoLabs and IETR for the first end-to-end UHD satellite broadcast transmission using the new Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard. The test transmission has been launched on SES’ 28.2° East orbital position carrying a UHD (4K) video stream using the VVC standard.

In this trial, the UHD TV source is encoded with VVC and encapsulated in MPEG-TS using ATEME’s TITAN Live video processing platform. The streams are modulated using DVB-S2 and broadcast by SES on an Astra 2E transponder, covering the whole of Europe. On the reception side, the signal, demodulated by a DVB to IP gateway, is forwarded via IP to the VLC player that displays the video using the real-time OpenVVC decoder developed by IETR.

The test showcased the following benefits of VVC:

• Optimised bandwidth efficiency: Reduced UHD transmission cost with VVC increased compression efficiency
• Increased audience reach: DVB-S2 broadcast of VVC increases audience reach and coverage
• Improved quality of experience: Provided a high-quality viewing experience using VLC media player

VVC is the latest video coding technology, developed by the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET), formed by experts from ISO/IEC MPEG and ITU-T VCEG. VVC improves on the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard’s compression efficiency by 50% and addresses all video formats (VR-360°, 3D, 4K, 8K, HDR). Its versatility allows the standard to cover a wide range of applications, from broadcast to OTT delivery.