DVB publishes first specifications for 8K UHD video service delivery

The DVB steering board has updated several of its specifications to support the delivery of 8K UHD video services.

These specifications, which extend existing support for the HEVC codec, are the first step in a series of key enhancements planned for the DVB video encoding specifications. In doing so, DVB intends to continue to provide the “most comprehensive and flexible” set of tools for the delivery of next-generation television services over broadcast and broadband.

HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), also known as H.265, is a standard that offers 25% to 50% more data compression at the same level of video quality as its predecessor MPEG-4/AVC. It is already used in several markets around the world. Until now, DVB specifications included HEVC compliance points only for up to 4K resolution.

The updated DVB specification covers the delivery of 8K UHD in both broadcast (transport stream) and wideband (DVB-DASH). The updated documents are the DVB specification for video and audio coding, the DVB-DASH profile for video streaming and the DVB-SI specification for delivery of service information, which will be released over the next few days. The three updates also include some bug fixes.

In the long term, DVB notes that the delivery of 8K video to end users will benefit from “even more efficient” video codecs. To this end, the organization has already launched several initiatives to further explore next-generation video codecs.

DVB renews its steering board

The DVB steering board was recently renewed at its November general meeting. Specifically, representatives of a total of 41 organizations from the DVB four member groups were elected:

• Manufacturers/software providers: Dolby, ENENSYS Technologies, Ericsson, Fraunhofer IIS, HiSilicon, InterDigital, LG, NAGRA, NERC-DTV, Nokia, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony, ST Engineering iDirect, TP Vision, Verance.
• Content providers/broadcasters: ARD, BBC, Netflix, NRK, Rai, RTI-Mediaset, RTL, Sky, TF1, ZDF.
• Governments/national regulators: Federal Network Agency (BNetzA, Germany), Landesanstalt für Kommunikation (LFK, Germany), Ofcom (UK).
• Infrastructure providers: Arqiva, BT, Cellnex, Elettronica Industriale, Eutelsat, Hispasat, Orange, RTRN, SES, TDF, Telecom Italia, Telenor.

The names of the steering board representatives of the above mentioned companies, who will serve for the next two years, can be found here: https://dvb.org/groups/sb/steering-board-elected-members/