PS4 and HEVC license, Sony's console roadmap

[jeff_rigby]

Ran across some information that may have impacted the Sony game console roadmap. ATSC 1.0 or DVD incurs a License cost. If you include a DVD then you pay for the MPEG 2 codec with the DVD license and the same codec can be used for ATSC 1.0 (US antenna TV) which incurs the following cost. Sony likely has no plans to support ATSC 1.0 so they did not pay for the DVD license.

$5.00 per ATSC Receiver Product from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2016 (coverage from December 24, 1996)
•$1.50 per ATSC Receiver Product from January 1, 2017 –December 31, 2020
•$1.00 per ATSC Receiver Product from January 1, 2021 forward
•Alternatively, Licensees may elect, with written notice to MPEG LA, a further reduced royalty of $1.00 per ATSC Receiver Product
from the later of January 1, 2017 or the receipt of such notice with 30-day right of termination on or after January 1, 2021

ATSC 3.0 uses the HEVC codec and there are two clauses that impact the HEVC License.

1) HEVC is included with the UHD Blu-ray license which Sony and Microsoft have already paid for but a UHD Blu-ray player has to be implemented. XB1 S and XB1 X have UHD Blu-ray players and use Hardware codecs but the PS4 pro and older PS4s do not, they use the GPU, so how does the Pro get to use HEVC for Netflix?.

2) "HEVC Advance, which manages a patent pool for HEVC/H.265 technology, said it will not demand licenses or royalty payments when HEVC functionality is implemented in application layer software downloaded to a PC or mobile device after the initial sale. This would essentially make the HEVC codec free for use in browsers, media players and other software applications as long as it is "fully executed in software on a general purpose CPU,"

Using the CPU or GPU for the HEVC codec is free but Hardware accelerators for HEVC would incur a charge. So Microsoft would pay for HEVC on the XB1 S and later consoles but the S and later will support UHD Blu-ray so HEVC is included at no charge. Sony won't pay for HEVC on early PS4s (1080P + HDR) because they use the GPU for codecs. The Netflix app on the PS4 would incur no charge for HEVC as it meets all of the above.

Sony calls all PS4s UHD Capable and the early models can support 1080P + HDR on UHD TVs which will pretty much be the standard for ATSC 3.0, 4K will likely be provided only by Internet IPTV due to bandwidth issues (4K on ATSC 3.0 would use the entire 6 MHZ channel which does not make economic sense). HEVC for 1080P is easier than for 4K media and the DRM license for 1080P easier to implement. No PS4 to this date has DRM for UHD media like UHD Blu-ray requires.

This leads to two possible future PS4/5 designs. HEVC hardware codec and a UHD Blu-ray player or they continue to use the GPU for codecs and they do not need a UHD Blu-ray player for the HEVC codec. But to use the GPU for codecs they need Infinity Fabric or rather their Secure VM which I believe is included with every device implementing Infinity Fabric. Which is cheaper and more attractive? UHD Media DRM is pretty much a lock on new consoles and the UHD Media power caps can give us a clue as to how Sony will support UHD Media. The UHD Gaming console power caps are too large to be using a ARM trustzone HEVC Codec, Infinity fabric is likely. The UHD media console power caps are inconclusive but I'd guess that they will stick to what the other console uses if there is no significant cost difference.

Both NEW consoles will likely support UHD Blu-ray in any case, two new Tier 4 power caps for 2019 page 33 and 34 signal two new console iterations of the PS4. Early XB1 Consoles are defined as HD, Early PS4s UHD Capable (1080P + HDR for media and gaming) and the 2019 UHD Media console is defined as UHD Media along with the XB1 S. The XB1 X. PS4 Pro and a new 2019 UHD Gaming console are called UHD Gaming Consoles.

To reiterate: ALL PS4s can support HEVC and 1080P + HDR or lower which will likely be the only ATSC 3.0 Antenna TV modes. ATSC 3.0 will be in 24 US markets by the end of 2018. Netflix and Google want to use the AV1 codec as soon as possible (this year 2018) and the PS4 Pro and later can support it, maybe the older PS4s at lower resolutions just like they do with HEVC. AV1 requires 2-5 times the CPU or GPU performance.

Pearl TV And Sony Develop First ATSC 3.0 Application Environment For Next-Generation Broadcast TV Model Market

"Our finished product for the Phoenix Model Market will be the first Electronic Service Guide with program information from both broadcasters and multichannel providers built with ATSC 3.0 technology. This innovative platform will bring a state-of-the-art experience to the viewer with interactivity, personalization and voice command support, both directly to the TV and indirectly through companion devices, such as tablets and mobile phones," said Anne Schelle, Managing Director of Pearl TV.

Sony has played an integral role in the development of ATSC 3.0 since the beginning of its development more than seven years ago as a key contributor of technology and industry leadership."

"ATSC 3.0 is essential to the future of the terrestrial broadcast industry. Sony believes strongly in the convergence of broadcast, broadband, and mobile viewing made possible by ATSC 3.0," said Paul Hearty, Vice President of Technical Standards at Sony Electronics Inc.

Sony Semiconductor Solutions is in the advanced stages of development of a demodulator chip for ATSC 3.0 receivers. Sony already has carried out field testing in North Carolina and Maryland. The company also is planning additional field tests at WJW, the experimental station in Ohio.

Sony Broadening Its 4K Ultra HD Base, Partners With Google

Sony also said the new models will have Google’s voice-controlled Assistant built into them, to be activated later with a firmware update. Sony said these will be the first TVs on the market with built-in Google Assistant. While the TVs will be voice-controlled for users with a Google Home Speaker for basic functions, users without will have to press a button on the included remote to query the TV.

Sony's TVs already come with Android TV functionality.

And the PS4s come with voice command support and can support 1080P + HDR.