The improvements that HEVC will bring will not only benefit UHD viewers, but those using SD and HD content as well. Mark Senecal, manager of product management for compression for Imagine Communications in Dallas, explains that by leveraging the compression efficiencies of the new codec, low bandwidth viewers who once could only get 480p streams can now get 720p over the same delivery path. “If you look at companies doing a pure OTT play, ones that do SD can now deliver HD, which is a more compelling offering,” he said.
Bringing the improved viewing experience home will rely on companies leveraging the new codec to deliver content over existing distribution systems. “For HEVC distribution it is about economizing bandwidth,” says Ian Trow, senior director of emerging technology and strategy at Harmonic in San Jose, Calif. “Use of HEVC has a direct cost savings in distribution, whether satellite or Internet delivery.” He says that at CES there was a huge emphasis on replicating what Netflix and Sony had done in terms of a UHD VOD service model using HEVC.