Perseus codec (2-3x better than HEVC)

[lazystoner]

H.265 (aka HEVC) is supposed to half the video bandwidth / bitrate required compared to H.264 by delivering the same quality, and VP9 should also offer equivalent compression, but it’s just not as broadly supported in media processors. UK based V-Nova claims its Perseus codec can even beat that, by providing 2 to 3 times better compression than H.265 thanks to a new approach to video encoding, that allow the codec to leverage existing hardware, meaning it can be encoded with existing computers, and decoded by leveraging the CPU and GPU parallel processing capabilities in existing mobile & computing devices.

Perseus codec highlights:

• Highly efficient – >3x compression vs. state-of-the-art in practical use cases.
• Extremely fast – Significant processing time reduction thanks to massively parallel architecture. Designed to take advantage of modern hardware
• Multi-scale (continuously hierarchical) – Single bit stream for all quality levels. Adaptive streaming from a single encode and the ability to make continuous, frame-by-frame, “on-the-fly” bitrate changes
• Runs on standard hardware – Backward compatible with legacy devices. Upgrades of existing ecosystem can be done with a simple software update (e.g., over-the-air)
• Highly robust – Maintains picture integrity even at very low bitrates
• Easy integration – Compatible with existing workflows; compliant with existing standards; Industry standard interfaces and APIs. (but the API is nowhere to be found, so it must require an NDA, and license fees).

In practical terms, it means that you could stream a SD video at 125 KBit/s, HD video at 500 Kbit/s (720p?), a “good quality” HD video can be broadcast at 2 Mbps, and 4K UHD videos at 4 Mbps using existing hardware and infrastructure.

V-Nova approach to video encoding is completely different from MPEG block-based compression algorithm, and instead Perseus has been designed as a hierarchical and scalable video encoding algorithm “functioning in a similar fashion to the human brain”, “by first visually recognizing a human being, then, a face, then a goatee, and then, gray hairs mixed into the goatee”.

The 2 to 3 times better compression is the average results, but that almost looks too good, especially since it should run on existing recent hardware (Although Broadcom claims CPU power is critical). I could not find side by side comparison with H.265, nor any video demo of Perseus. But we’ll soon find out since Perseus will be showcased at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Las Vegas on April 13-16 with Hitachi P-Link video gateways, OTT services leveraging Perseus, Perseus-powered HD and UHD contribution products by Elber, and VisualOn Perseus media players.

http://www.cnx-software.com/2015/04/...gacy-hardware/

[bailey1987]

Is there a catch?

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by bailey1987

Is there a catch?

More than likely, will see if it's about to play with.

[karbon]

I'm against compression!

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by lazystoner

Perseus codec (2-3x better than HEVC)

Already some discussion about it on the HEVC thread here.

To add to the conversation since last I posted on this topic, a friend checked out Perseus at NAB. Images looked *okay* ; however, they offered NAB visitors no control group to test the material for proof of concept. So their demo didn’t do much for proving their extraordinary claims to him or others, nor did the flyer which they provided onlookers....and the booth wasn't exactly packed with onlookers.

However, I guess $595 was a worthwhile investment for them…http://www.newbaymedia.com/newbay-me...-page-and-faq/

as to at least garnering an award, for if you scroll down near the bottom here – http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/...winners/275636 , you’ll note they made the ‘Best of Show’ list.

[vargo]

I wonder how it compares to the amazing compression of Raystream and eyeIO ?

[raygendreau]

Gathering support, but when do we see some independent testing?

http://www.v-net.tv/commentators-out...pression-codec

http://www.v-nova.com/en/index.html

[Richard Paul]

It is easy to make claims when the encoder is proprietary and covered by an NDA. In my opinion if V-Nova believed that Perseus was competitive with HEVC they would have publicly released the encoder so that anyone could test it. Also a company called Selevision is releasing Nukodec which also claims to do 4K video at 4 Mbps.

[vargo]

Originally Posted by raygendreau

Gathering support, but when do we see some independent testing?

http://www.v-net.tv/commentators-out...pression-codec

http://www.v-nova.com/en/index.html

They would need to define what it actually is before anybody can test it.

It's not a newly developed codec if the video that comes out the other end is playable on an existing set-top box as they claim (set-top boxes have very specific hardware decoding capabilities). It doesn't appear to be an encoder for an existing codec standard since that's a very straightforward announcement.

Most of their comments and press-releases are buzzwords and vague nonsense.

[vargo]

Interesting FT piece on V-Nova, giving more details on the revolutionary new codec they have developed all by themselves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbEQ...outu.be&t=1m8s

[Wendell R. Breland]

IMO, the most interesting video codec news is:

Microsoft, Google, Mozilla, Cisco, Intel, Netflix, and Amazon today launched a new consortium, the Alliance for Open Media. The group plans to develop next-generation media formats—including audio and still images, but with video as the top priority—and deliver them as royalty-free open source, suitable for both commercial and noncommercial content.

[vargo]

Yes, HEVC Advance really screwed themselves.

[raygendreau]

Yes. Perseus rapidly gaining credibility.

http://www.platformpr.com/v-novas-ib...dustry-awards/

http://www.v-net.tv/v-nova%E2%80%99s...quality-checks