Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
To achieve our final goal of broadcasting SHV programs to homes, a new high-
efficiency compression coding system is necessary. Therefore, we have developed
several SHV codec systems that are based on MPEG-2 (Moving Pictures Experts
Group) [3] and AVC (Advanced Video Coding)/H.264 [4] video coding standards.
It is necessary to conduct transmission tests and to solicit public opinion to en-
courage people to recognize SHV as a broadcasting service. However, this cannot
be done without an SHV codec. A real-time SHV codec will help people to con-
sider SHV as a functioning broadcasting system. For this reason, we need to de-
velop the codec as soon as possible. In 2006, we successfully conducted the first
transmission experiment using the MPEG-2-based SHV codec system via gigabit
IP networks [5]. We then continued to carry out several transmission tests in that
year. With regard to the AVC/H.264 codec system, we performed the first interna-
tional satellite transmission tests at IBC2008 [6].
In this chapter, the outline of our SHV system and details of the SHV codec
systems are described, and several transmission experiments using the codec sys-
tems are explained in detail.
2 Super Hi-Vision Systems
2.1 Video System of SHV
The specifications of the SHV system are listed in Table 1 and compared with
those of HDTV. SHV is now the highest resolution TV system available. The ba-
sic parameters of the SHV system are designed to enhance viewers' visual experi-
ence. There are 7,680 horizontal pixels and 4,320 vertical lines, for approximately
33 million pixels per frame. This is 16 times the total number of pixels per frame
of HDTV. The frame rate is 60 Hz progressive, so the total information of SHV is
32 times that of HDTV, i.e. 16 times spatially and 2 times temporally.
International standardization process for SHV is currently in progress. The Interna-
tional Telecommunication Union Radiocommunications sector (ITU-R) has been
studying large-screen digital imagery (LSDI) and extremely high-resolution imagery
(EHRI) and has produced recommendations for those video systems [7][8]. The Soci-
ety of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has produced standard
Table 1
SHV and HDTV specifications
Specifications
SHV
HDTV
Number of pixels
7,680 × 4,320
1,920 × 1,080
Aspect ratio
16 : 9
16 : 9
Standard viewing distance
(H: height of screen)
0.75H
3H
Standard viewing angle (horizontal)
100 degrees
30 degrees
Frame / Field rate
60 Hz / 59.94Hz
60 Hz / 59.94 Hz
Interlace ratio
1 : 1
1 : 1/2 : 1
