Manipulating Ultra-High Definition Video Traffic

Compared to the widely deployed high-definition (HD) format, ultra-high definition (UHD) defines video parameters associated with higher spatial resolutions, higher frame rates, higher sample bit depths, and a wider color gamut. UHD promises to significantly enhance the user experience with pictures that offer the "look out the window"' effect. However, this promise comes at the cost of increased bandwidth required to deliver UHD. This article explores on-demand UHD video streaming using the latest video compression and delivery technologies. The proposed solution uses the scalable extensions of HEVC (SHVC) to efficiently compress, store, and deliver UHD video in a large-scale streaming system. With scalability, backward compatibility is maintained and the quality of the existing HD services is guaranteed.