V-Nova Announces World's First Broadcast Of MPEG-5 LCEVC-Enhanced Channel

V-Nova has announced the world's first broadcast of a MPEG-5 LCEVC-enhanced channel, being showcased by Brazilian media company Globo during the football World Cup in Qatar.

The showcase features a live broadcast channel that leverages the enhancement layer of LCEVC to convert an existing TV 2.0 signal into a High-Dynamic Range (HDR) 10-bit channel for the enabled receivers. Transmission happens over the existing ISDB-Tb system and leads the way to the forthcoming discussions on the inclusion of LCEVC in the TV 2.5 specification.

The showcase also features the first end-2-end trial over DASH streaming of an LCEVC-enhanced VVC video, as an example of the capabilities that are developing to support the upcoming TV 3.0 standard, Brazil’s next-generation DTT system that is being specified by the Brazilian SBTVD Forum and is due to be deployed in 2025. It is the first time these technologies are being used in a complete end-to-end production to provide 4K HDR video with immersive and personalized audio. The system will facilitate the distribution of current and future formats, including 8K resolution, HDR and Next-Generation Audio (NGA) to over-the-air broadcast (OTA) and over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms.

The two LCEVC trials are the outcome of a long project that saw the collaboration of many companies. It illustrates the fast pace at which the ecosystem support for these technologies is maturing.

Carlos Cosme, Innovation Specialist at Globo, said: "It is amazing how fast this ecosystem is being formed, with various implementations based on software and hardware. Globo, at the technological forefront, is experimenting for the first time in Brazil the joint operation of the MPEG-5 LCEVC codec with the H.264 codec, all of this is associated with an immersive and personalized acoustic experience. In this showcase, the base layer is a 1080i, 8-bit, SDR, BT.709 signal targeting current Brazilian TV sets. Using the information present in the enhancement layer, the LCEVC codec enhances the quality of the base layer and provides a video signal with improved quality, i.e., 1080p, 10-bit, HDR10, and BT.2020. In the second showcase, using the 4K production signal from the World Cup, we demonstrated the joint use of LCEVC with VVC, both technologies chosen by the SBTVD Forum to make up the technology stack of the future 3.0 TV in Brazil. We are very proud to be able to experience first-hand all these technologies operating together."

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