More on Film Grain, VVC and 8K LED
This week, there were a number of news items related to 8K that seemed to be worth a bit more attention than our usual ‘Quick Comments’ so we’ve covered them in this article.
Film Grain Synthesis Gets More Attention
We’ve written a number of times about Film Grain Synthesis (FGS) over the last couple of years and the recent news that
- Netflix has decided to support FGS more widely using the AV1 codec and that
- DVB has come to the conclusion that there doesn’t currently seem to be a basis for broadcasters (as opposed to streamers) to adopt the technology for now
has led to an interesting discussion on LinkedIn, started by Dirk Hildebrandt of Wavelet Beam about the reasons why this makes sense for some and not for others. There are some very interesting comments on the effects of noise, which seems not to be an automatically bad thing when your bit depth is limited (e.g. to 8 bits). There are also interesting comments on higher bit depths. However, a key issue is the wide availability of the correct technical architecture, which is the challenge that DVB identified.
Absen Produces ‘World’s Largest’ LED Virtual Production Volume
Well regarded LED supplier Absen said that it has built what it claims to be the ‘World’s Largest’ LED Virtual Production Volume in Deqing, China with Zhejiang Versatile Media Ltd based in Hangzhou. The volume covers 270 degrees with a 50m (164 ft) diameter and a height of 12m (39.5 ft) with an area of 1,700 m2. The wall can be driven in segments of 8K resolution,
We reached out to Absen and hope to have an interview about this project shortly.
MC-IF Highlights Spin Digital’s VVC Encoding
Advanced codec developer Spin Digital and its co-founder and COO, Mauricio Alvarez-Mesa are not strangers to the 8K Association and its website. The MC-IF, which functions to promote the adoption of MPEG standards, such as VVC/H.266 identified Spin Digital as a “key player in making next-generation video formats more accessible and practical” based on the work done to develop a software-based VVC encoder.
In an article released by the MC-IF, Alvarez-Mesa detailed the 20% improvement in bitrates already seen with the firm’s encoder. He also highlighted the ability to “stay within compute budgets”. He acknowledged the challenges from limited support in consumer playback devices, but believes that software-based solutions are acceptable.
Alvarez-Mesa also made the point that because VVC is the base codec used by Brazil for SBTVD 3.0, chip makers are developing support for the format in hardware and that hardware will then become available to others. (The editor is reminded that one of the reasons that we all have GPS in our smartphones was the mandate by the Japanese government that wanted to ensure quicker help for earthquake victims. Once the GPS technology was in chipsets, it went global quite quickly).
As we went to press, Spin Digital was planning to be at the Cedia Expo in Denver from September 3rd to 6th.
Cinegy to Demonstrate 8K LED Wall at IBC 2025
Cinegy, which describes itself as ‘the premier provider of software-defined TV technology” said that at the IBC show in Amsterdam in September, it would show a 29.16 m2 LED wall, to be provided by Fabulux that will support full 7680 x 4329 ITU 8K resolution.
The demonstration will be on stand 7.A01.
