Media technology giant Technicolor and one of the world’s largest multiplatform video services platform providers Vubiquity have formed a partnership this week to fast-track the roll out of HDR content to consumers.
HDR – the process of providing whiter whites and darker blacks, independent of 4K – is currently limited to just a handful of items in the content libraries of a select few OTT services such as Netflix and Amazon. The collaboration between Technicolor and Vubiquity aims to change this by incorporating Technicolor’s technologies to offer an “in-network” HDR up-conversion and delivery service to network service providers and content owners – in what the two companies say is an industry first.
This means Vubiquity’s customers across the world will be able to up-convert SDR content to HDR, as well as offer native HDR content. The up-conversion of content from SDR to HDR is managed using Technicolor’s HDR Intelligent Tone Management solution, which boosts the dynamic range of legacy content by adjusting the image on a localized basis and adapting it for new display technologies.
As a founding member of the UHD Alliance, the body seeking to establish an open standard for HDR grading, Technicolor has taken an open approach in the development of its up-convert solution, which it says is licensable across many of the upcoming HDR SoC processors in Smart TVs and set tops.
Some UHD ready TVs and Blu-ray players already come with in-built up-conversion capabilities that put additional pixels into HD content, producing a 4K UHD image. However, the picture quality of this type of up-scaled content is not considered to be the real deal compared to native content which is shot and distributed in 4K – but many studios remain reluctant to shell out the cash to produce content that is not yet widely consumed.
Vubiquity is best known for content processing for VoD services, on the back of acquiring the On Demand Group from SeaChange International back in 2012. This has grown up on the back of VoD contracts for companies like Virgin Media in the UK, initially distributing Sony and Disney movie content.
Since its acquisition and merger into Avail TVN, followed by a name change to Vubiquity, the US and UK based company has thrived, now boasting a customer list of over 750 global video distributors, including HBO, Verizon, ESPN, BBC America, AMC, Fox Sports, National Geographic, and Comedy Central. As well as partnerships with more than 600 film studios, TV networks, independent producers and MCNs. Vubiquity provides both live and VoD content for linear TV and OTT services around the world, and although there are no figures available for how many viewers Vubiquity reaches through its multitude of clients and partners, it’s likely to be a pretty substantial number.
Vubiquity’s product portfolio also includes its AnyVU Cloud platform which offers everything from content acquisition, content encoding and packaging, CDN delivery and a digital storefront. Vubiquity also owns Juice Worldwide, and bought UK-based white label VoD provider FilmFlex in 2014.
The new HDR “in-network” up-conversion delivery service will launch later this year, and Technicolor will be showcasing it to reservation only attendees at next week’s NAB show.
“This announcement contributes to Technicolor’s ongoing mission to bring the best and most immersive cinematic-quality experience to as many people as possible around the world,” said Mark Turner, VP Corporate Partnerships & Alliances at Technicolor. “Vubiquity has a global network with hundreds of content partners and distributors. By embedding Technicolor technology into Vubiquity’s services, visually richer HDR experiences can reach more consumers at a faster pace.”
“At Vubiquity we’re always looking for new technologies to enhance our suite of content services. Technicolor’s award-winning HDR technologies are a great addition to make available to our clients,” said Gabriel Berger, EVP Sales for Vubiquity. “Technicolor’s single stream and HDR up-conversion technologies are tools our clients will be able to access this year to dramatically expand their HDR capabilities.”