Motorola Mobility demonstrated two new technologies at last week’s Cable Show in Boston that it said will improve home video quality dramatically and allow a networked DVR to leverage content stored in the cloud.
Using a new version of High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) compression technology reduces bandwidth by 50 percent in comparison to MPEG4 AVC/H.264—while still delivering similar video quality, the company said. HEVC, it continued, provides high-quality video resolution in the home and makes HD video over wireless links (Wi-Fi or cellular) much more practical and attainable for service providers.
Motorola showed a side-by-side comparison of HEVC and MPEG4 AVC/H.264 at the show. HEVC was jointly developed by ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG). Motorola has been an active contributing member of MPEG-2 (1993) and MPEG-4 (2008) standards.
Additionally, HEVC can be a significant factor in dramatically reducing storage costs for in-home and networked DVRs. Motorola demonstrated how a networked VCR could leverage the efficiencies in the cloud and providers’ networks to deliver unlimited storage capacities for their consumers.
Motorola called the nDVR a key to the true multi-screen experience. By migrating DVR functionality into the network, providers can deliver the convenience and anytime, anyplace, any screen access to content that many consumers want.
By the end of the year, a major (unidentified) MSO customer of Motorola Mobility will launch a trial of a basic network DVR, the company said.
Google acquired Motorola Mobility last week $40.00 per share in cash (or about $12.5 billion).
The acquisition will enable Google to improve its Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.
