CESNET presents unique 8K video transmission technology in Tokyo

Prague, 05 December 2018 At the prestigious international trade fair BEE 2018 in Tokyo, the CESNET association and intoPIX presented a technology for transmission of video at 8K resolution, which is 7680 x 4320 pixels. No comparable solution is available on the market.

The technology for transmission of 8K video over the Internet uses a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) with very low added delay. By employing a TICO codec and creating a system working fully in real time in the FPGA circuit, we have cut down the delay to approximately 1 ms. Another advantage of the hardware implementation is high energy efficiency and small dimensions. The encoder and decoder for 8K video consume approximately 20 W each.

At present, the technology can transmit up to 60 frames per second; an upgrade to 120 frames per second will be possible with the same FPGA circuit in future. The solution will find applications in science and research, at cultural and sports events, and has potential for television broadcasting.

At the Inter BEE 2018 trade fair in November, CESNET presented a functional sample at the TICO Alliance booth together with the Belgian company intoPIX, which is the coordinator of the 8K Studio Over IP (8KSVIP) project, as part of which the technology has been developed. The project is implemented as part of the Eurostars scheme, supported by the European Union and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. Additional partners besides CESNET are the companies Image Matters (Belgium) and AV MEDIA, a.s. (Czech Republic).

The TICO codec was developed by intoPIX in the form of an IP core, which is blocks for design in FPGA circuits. Image Matters produced the board with the FPGA circuit. CESNET contributed with an integrated design for FPGA circuits, which was verified in cooperation with AV MEDIA.