Barco Silex validates interoperable VC-2 lightweight video compression solution for ASIC/FPGA - ready for UHD and 4K transport

Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium – January 21, 2016 -- Barco Silex, leading provider of IP cores for the audiovisual industry, has validated its hardware solution for lightweight, low-complexity video compression against the SMPTE 2042-3 reference. The low-footprint core is now ready to be integrated in both ASIC and FPGA designs without need for expensive footprint. This opens up new possibilities for equipment manufacturers as they get a low-cost, interoperable compression solution to upgrade video transport to high-definition formats such as UHD and 4K.

Barco Silex’ solution implements the VC-2 Low Delay codec. Originally conceived at the BBC labs, VC-2 LD is a lightweight, low-cost, patent-free solution that can either be added to the existing hardware or run in software. It compresses video 4:1 visually lossless and allows for sub-millisecond delays, which is essential for video applications that require (near) real-time operation.

Most importantly, VC-2 LD has been accepted as a standard (SMPTE 2042), which ensures equipment supplier support and interoperability. To prove its solution is ready for the AV market, the video experts from Barco Silex have now validated their ASIC/FPGA implementation against the latest available VC-2 conformance reference software. In addition, they have proven the interoperability between their implementation and the BBC’s open-source software, encoding through their IP core and decoding with the software.

“We kept true to the design goals of VC-2 LD and created an IP block of minimal size and complexity,” says Jean-Marie Cloquet, product manager of Barco Silex’ video division. “The result is a core that can be integrated on any FPGA of choice, even if that is a mid- or low-range chip. With this core, adding VC-2 to your hardware toolbox has become a cost- and time-efficient way to upgrade your video transport to the high-definition formats, without the need to invest heavily in new infrastructure and storage.”

Barco Silex ships its blocks, with a functional simulation test bench, synthesis and implementation scripts, and full documentation. The IP solutions have been made with easy integration in mind. In addition, the experts at Barco Silex are ready to assist customers, be it to discuss ideas, help draw up efficient designs, even down to executing full integration projects.