MainConcept Launches VVC, Introduces Codec-Based Ad Tech and Next-Generation Broadcast at Upcoming NAB Show

MainConcept celebrates 30-year anniversary, launch of VVC SDK and update of Live Encoder; demonstrates immersive broadcast TV and advertising technology capabilities

San Diego, California; Aachen, Germany – April 12, 2023 – MainConcept, a leading provider of codecs for production, broadcast and streaming technologies, announced the official release of their SDK 14 library which includes their new VVC encoder and decoder and an update for their Live Encoder application for on-prem and cloud. At their NAB Show booth (W1749), MainConcept will highlight their advancements in immersive broadcast TV and advertising technology and illustrate why MainConcept’s technologies are used in processing over 90% of today’s professional videos.

“We are excited to celebrate our 30-year anniversary as the NAB Show reaches its hundred-year milestone. For three decades, industry professionals have trusted us with their prized products and artistic creations as we’ve pioneered technology for the Media & Entertainment industry,” said Deacon Johnson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, MainConcept. “As always, customers ask and the MainConcept team delivers. This year we released our VVC SDK and FFmpeg plugin as well as an update to our Live Encoder application, all of which include many industry-first features.”

New and Updated Products Now Available

Since 1993, MainConcept codecs have served as the foundation for thousands of video and audio workflows—spanning from the largest global broadcasters and filmmakers to individual content creators. Universally, creators are searching for simplicity and flexibility in their tools, which is why MainConcept has developed the software to meet almost any broadcast, production or streaming workflow need across its SDK, application and plugin product lines. Leading up to this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas, MainConcept has made the Versatile Video Codec (VVC) SDK and MainConcept Live Encoder 3.2 available. In addition to delivering reliable, high-quality 8K, 4K and HD live video streams, MainConcept Live Encoder adds immersive, object-based MPEG-H 3D Audio with more extensive choices for audio encoding and support for the SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) protocol.

About MainConcept VVC Encoder & Decoder
MainConcept has released their VVC/H.266 Encoder & Decoder SDK and FFmpeg Plugin, the encoders having been in public beta since last September, as part of the MainConcept SDK 14 update. The VVC standard is capable of improving compression efficiency up to 40% over HEVC, enabling higher quality content to be processed with smaller file sizes. MainConcept VVC is a future-ready codec that can tame massive video file sizes resulting from high-resolution 4K and 8K content. Moreover, we’ve enabled nascent features within our next-gen video codecs to support advertising technology at the codec level and open a new chapter in immersive advertising for greater efficiency and ad efficacy.

New Technology (Showcased at MainConcept NAB Show Booth (W1749))

Codec-based Advertising Technology: Enhance your platform with ads
MainConcept codecs have been a bedrock of broadcast for decades. With the emergence of FAST and other ad-supported content delivery models, MainConcept’s customers are discovering that these same codecs have powerful advertising applications as well. MainConcept codecs help simplify the video compression process and lead to a streamlined ad-placement experience for broadcasters. With HEVC and VVC, broadcast and ad-tech workflows will be future ready and even more efficient.    

In addition to sharing how codec technology can be used for innovative advertising applications, the team will be engaging with the industry, exploring short- and long-term enhancements to technology used by broadcast, streaming and post-production professionals to best deliver advertisements.

Immersive Broadcasting
MainConcept knows that traditional television remains the primary way consumers access programming in many regions around the world. The team is therefore leveraging its learning from streaming and on-demand video delivery to develop solutions which will enhance the linear television viewing experience. By way of two initiatives, the company is fulfilling this agenda.

MainConcept Live Encoder is ideally suited for live content delivery. With the upcoming addition of their VVC SDK, MainConcept can deliver multilayer video live at 60 fps in 8K, 4K and HD quality (an industry first), as well as MPEG-H Audio. At MainConcept’s NAB booth, their patented Smart Adaptive Bitrate Encoding Technology (SABET™) will be incorporated with VVC SDK to stream processed via AWS live at the LVCC, dramatically demonstrating how up to 8K resolution can be delivered to broadcast and streaming devices.

Separately, MainConcept and Globo, the largest Brazilian free-to-air television network, along with Fraunhofer IIS, InterDigital, Philips and V-Nova, have been running trials since late 2022 in support of the rollout of the SBTVD TV 2.5 specification in Brazil. Using MainConcept Live Encoder for TV 2.5 broadcast, broadcasters can now bring MPEG-H Audio and Advanced HDR by Technicolor for enhancing the consumer experience offered to the Brazilian audience.

The showcase conducted by Globo during the World Cup 2022 included an additional LCEVC enhancement layer, which is under consideration for inclusion in TV 2.5 by the SBTVD Forum. MainConcept, Fraunhofer IIS and V-Nova are also engaged in the specification of the SBTVD TV 3.0 standard led by SBTVD Forum, which includes VVC video, MPEG-H Audio and LCEVC for delivery over next-generation broadcast systems.

xHE-AAC and MPEG-H Audio
MainConcept and Fraunhofer IIS, the institution behind the low-bitrate xHE-AAC and object-based MPEG-H audio standards, are sharing the latest advancements in high-quality audio. Attendees can experience the difference of audio quality with xHE-AAC in either the MainConcept booth or the Fraunhofer booth. You can also learn how and where MPEG-H Audio is being offered as an enhancement for immersive broadcast.

Find MainConcept at NAB Show 

The MainConcept team is available for meetings from April 16 to 19 at the LVCC, booth W1749, in the West Hall. Alternatively, add the MainConcept booth to your myNAB show tracker and stop by at any time. You can also join the MainConcept team for 30-year anniversary celebration happy hours in their expo booth on Sunday and Monday at 3 pm PT.

Thomas Kramer, MainConcept VP Strategy & Business Development, joins other 8K Association members to present the most recent advances in video codecs for 8K delivery and discuss their main capabilities. The Next-Generation Video Codecs for 8K session will be held on Monday, April 17 at 2:40 pm PT in the CONNECT Inspiration booth W3421.

You will also find MainConcept showcased in other areas of the LVCC:

• Fraunhofer will demonstrate xHE-AAC and MPEG-H using the MainConcept Content Creation Lab in booth C3529
• BBright, MainConcept and Advanced HDR by Technicolor are demonstrating SL-HDR1 and dynamic meta-data management for playout at the UltraHD Forum booth, W4009 (Future Park)
• V-Nova will be one of multiple companies showcasing LCEVC products in the MPEG-5 LCEVC booths W3074 & W3075
  
  

About MainConcept 

Since 1993, MainConcept has provided best-of-breed video/audio codec solutions that fuel creativity and business globally for professional video production, multimedia, broadcast, digital signage, gaming, medical and security industries. Our software development kits, transcoding applications and plugins are used across industry verticals to meet an ever-expanding list of use cases. With world-class engineering, exquisite attention to detail, and best-in-class support and professional services, we are constantly innovating to deliver you the simplicity you need with the customer experience you deserve. MainConcept codecs are engineered to surpass the challenges of even the most demanding use cases and are used by organizations such as Adobe, AVID, Autodesk, Corel, Dalet, Endeavor Streaming, Globo, Grass Valley, Intel, MAGIX, Nikon, PlayBox, Soliton, Sony, Telestream, V-Nova and Wowza.  MainConcept is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company.

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