Required Bit Rates Analysis for a New Broadcasting Service Using HEVC/H.265

A novel video coding standard called high efficiency video coding (HEVC)|ITU-T H.265 was released in 2013. HEVC has twice the compression capability of MPEG-4 AVC|ITU-T H.264, a feature that is expected to enhance new broadcasting services. Japanese broadcasters plan to start a new ultra high definition television service using HEVC. To identify the required bit rates for the new broadcasting service, we conducted a subjective evaluation test using the double stimulus impairment scale method in a laboratory environment. The evaluation test was conducted by experts namely the broadcasting engineers and video circuits/signal engineers. For discussing multiformat video quality, the test materials consisted of 1080/60/I, 1080/60/P, 2160/60/P, and 4320/60/P, all of which originate from 4320/60/P video sources, and encoded using the HEVC test model with the Main 10 profile and using bit rate control. We decided to use the Main 10 profile, after comparing the performances of the Main profile and Main 10 profile in the objective evaluation test. The source and encoded test sequences were displayed on monitors compliant with the source video formats. The test results indicate the following required bit rates for the respective video formats: 10-15 Mbit/s for 1080/60/I and 1080/60/P both, 30-40 Mbit/s for 2160/60/P, and 80-100 Mbit/s for 4320/60/P. It also confirmed the possibility to transmit such videos via the existing satellite channel bandwidth.