A2Zlogix, Inc. announced today its commitment to support content owners and service providers as they adopt HDR video technology to create differentiation, increase profitability, and enhance the end-user experience. As 2016’s Consumer Electronics Show demonstrated, HDR is a major discussion point among content creators, distributors, consumer device manufacturers, and end users.

The reason is obvious. As Will Gaddy, A2Zlogix’s CTO states, “Watching HDR video is like looking through a window and experiencing the visuals in real-life. It’s that stunning.” In contrast to 4K UHD, which provides more pixels, HDR provides “better” pixels, and the resulting video images are much more vivid and highly nuanced. The major components of this quality are:

  • A much wider range of colors: While conventional TVs only display about 33% of the colors that the Human Visual System can perceive, HDR transmission and display standards raise this to approximately 66%.
  • Increased brightness: HDR standards allow for a much greater range of brightness (up to 40 times that of non-HDR systems).
  • Greater contrast ratio: HDR allows for up to a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio versus 5,000:1 for conventional displays.

While HDR is immediately and indisputably recognizable as a qualitatively superior viewing experience, key challenges must be addressed before its ability to create competitive differentiation makes solid business sense. The first challenge — the need for an end-to-end ecosystem with content, distribution, and display devices — is being addressed. Those considering HDR should be reassured by the fact that major players — including Disney, Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, VUDU, Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, and Vizio — are supporting HDR, as are industry and standards organizations such as SMPTE, the UltraHD Forum, and the UHD Alliance.

The second challenge — dealing with the significant increase in bandwidth required for storage and distribution — still needs to be addressed. Rather than engaging in spectrum acquisition, which is, by and large, prohibitive, or undertaking massively expensive network upgrades, carriers can utilize cost-effective measures such as HEVC encoders that achieve as much as 50% more compression compared to previous generations of encoders with no loss in quality. These savings can be increased again through the use of video optimization technologies such as A2Zlogix’s commercially ready ImageIQ® Video Bandwidth Reduction (VBR) solution, which can yield up to 35% additional savings.

Will Gaddy, A2Zlogix’s CTO states “Now that the specifications for UltraHD that incorporate HDR are standardized and finalized, A2Zlogix is committed to fully supporting end-to-end workflows incorporating the Rec. 2020 color space as well as the various HDR color coding specifications such as Perceptual Quantizer and S-LOG throughout our bandwidth-saving product line in both the 10-bit and 12-bit variants. Our product line already supports 32-bit-per-channel color processing internally. Additionally, several of our fundamental technology building blocks can be used to address the complex problem of “upscaling” legacy Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) content to HDR, which will help address the lack of HDR content in the ecosystem.”

Commenting on A2Zlogix’s image and video processing capabilities, Iain Gillott, President of iGR, stated that “Today’s highly competitive landscape demands that carriers find differentiation to maintain or increase their subscriber base — and they must do so in the context of a solid business plan. HDR can provide this differentiation, and in my experience, the addition of A2Zlogix’s VBR bandwidth reduction technology to a video production environment is a powerful catalyst that operators can use to transform differentiation into profitability.”

For further information about A2Zlogix’s support for HDR technology, please download our white paper. Please contact Sandra Bullock, Director of Marketing, at +1 (732) 476-6808 to make an appointment to discuss A2Zlogix’s Bandwidth Reduction Calculator and potential savings your organization can achieve using our ImageIQ® technologies, or to arrange a Technical Proof of Concept.

About A2Zlogix, Inc.

A2Zlogix, Inc. is the global industry leader in developing solutions that address the creation, delivery, and monetization of content across the CME industry sectors. A2Zlogix, Inc. is a B2B company whose suite of strategic technology solutions addresses the industry’s need for bandwidth and wireless spectrum, and the effective monetization of advertising content across an increasing array of mobile devices. A2Zlogix’s solutions effortlessly integrate into existing legacy infrastructures and provide instant ROI, enabling service providers to deliver higher quality digital media services and user experience. The company’s solution portfolio includes ImageIQ® Image Bandwidth Reduction (IBR), ImageIQ® Video Bandwidth Reduction (VBR), and Advertisement Sync Gateway (ASG).

A2Zlogix, Inc. is headquartered in Edison, NJ, and can be reached at +1 (732) 476-6812 or www.a2zlogix.com.

The A2Zlogix logo, ImageIQ logo, and “ImageIQ”, are registered trademarks or trademarks of A2Zlogix Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners.