Future in HD for Warwick spin-out

The University of Warwick (UoW), based in the UK, and its spin-out video compression firm goHDR have announced new technology that allows compression and decompression of High Dynamic Range (HDR) video, which the University says will bring “enormous benefits” to sectors such as gaming and security.

Researchers at the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), part of UoW, have developed technology that allows for real-time encoding and display of HDR, allowing for the encoding and direct streaming of video content to remote displays and mobile devices, such as iPads. The technology could also have an impact on gaming as HDR content could be made directly available for online and cloud based games.

HDR covers a wide range of light intensity levels, which matches the human eye’s ability to respond to different levels of life and can give a display similar to scenes viewed in real life. However, the technology has been somewhat hobbled by the vast amount of data required for the extra detail; roughly the equivalent of one CD (700 MB) per second.

Professor of visualisation at WMG and founder of goHDR Alan Chalmers, said: “Previously HDR video compression had to be done off-line. This meant the HDR video data from a camera had to be first stored on special high-speed disks, encoded and finally transmitted. This could take many minutes, precluding any live broadcasts. Real-time encoding now opens up many more opportunities for people to experience HDR content directly.”