JPEG-XS Codec – Lossless Quality, low Latency, low Complexity for 8K Broadcast

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by Richard LackeyFebruary 18^th, 2019

At NAB 2018 intoPIX unveiled its JPEG-XS compression technology, providing lossless quality, low latency and low complexity for IP video. Now their technology has been adopted by NHK and powers cutting edge 8K broadcasts.

JPEG-XS Lossless Quality For The Future of IP Video

intoPIX has played a leading role in the development of compression technologies designed to solve the challenges facing compressed IP video for broadcast, live production and A/V applications where uncompressed video is not an option.

They have been the proponent and co-developer of the world first international ISO standard technology “JPEG XS” addressing the specific needs of these applications.

This is becoming increasingly important as 8K video, high frame rates, and high bit depths push data bandwidth requirements ever higher. Another key application is high resolution 360 live VR broadcast.

“We invented the ultimate codec to manage and transmit more pixels ​with lower power, low bandwidth and lossless quality at the speed of light”

IntoPIX claims that “for virtual reality, gaming, live production, automotive or digital cinema workflows, the JPEG-XS mezzanine codec standard can be applied wherever uncompressed video is currently used.”

Guaranteeing fast encoding and decoding, latency is limited to only a few lines. JPEG-XS can be implemented in FPGA and ASIC with low logic and memory requirements, as well as CPU and GPU in software.

Safeguarding All the Advantages of an Uncompressed Stream:

• Low power consumption (through lightweight processing)
• Ultra low latency in coding and decoding
• Lossless picture quality
• Small size on chip
• Fast on software (CPU with the use of SIMD and GPU)

Without Significant Increase in Required Bandwidth & Cost:

• Low power consumption (through reasonable bandwidth interfaces)
• Longer cable runs
• Perfect fit for existing and new infrastructures
• More pixels at a reduced cost (higher resolutions, higher frame rates, higher bit depth)

JPEG-XS compression is near-lossless up to 6:1, and visually lossless up to 10:1.

Further reading:

Extending 8K over a single, cost-effective wire with TICO lightweight compression

We will have to see how, and in which applications JPEG-XS is implemented. High quality, low complexity lossless, or near lossless video compression is vital for the inevitable all-IP future of live and production broadcast infrastructure, especially at resolutions above UHD 4K and high frame rates.