New Technology Automatically Makes Digital Video Look Better for Broadcast, Internet Use.

PRINCETON, NJ--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 15, 1999--

Breakthrough Optimization Technology Lets MPEG-2 Chips "See"

Images the Way People Do, Adjust Encoding for Better Pictures

Sarnoff Corporation today announced the availability of Vision Optimized Encoder (VOE) technology to give MPEG-2 encoder chips visibly improved digital video, from high definition TV (HDTV) signals to low-bit-rate video for the Internet.

VOE works by automatically optimizing picture quality during the compression process. The technology achieves its improvements by merging advanced MPEG-2 encoding algorithms with Sarnoff's well-known JNDmetrix(tm) model of human vision.

VOE is available for licensing to video hardware designers. Sarnoff will provide engineering services to incorporate the software-based technology in encoder chips and chipsets.

The new technology was announced at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Project (ATP) showcase in San Jose, CA. It was developed in part under the NIST ATP program.

"Now hardware providers can give their customers what they really need: visibly better video with less operator intervention," said Norman D. Winarsky, Sarnoff's Corporate Vice President for Information Technologies. "VOE makes a difference you can see, especially with low-bit-rate video. And it allows you to send more programs simultaneously over a single broadcast channel without reducing picture quality.

"The technology incorporates a robust encoding engine with a video quality measurement approach that's renowned for its real-world functionality and accuracy. The difference when you're doing video at under 2 Mbps is fantastic."

Three key technologies

JNDmetrix analyzes image quality in a way that directly correlates to human perception. JNDmetrix technology in VOE monitors the encoding, determines where distracting artifacts could occur, and dynamically allots more bits to those areas of the picture to minimize or eliminate distortions.

The VOE encoder offers significant improvements in almost every area of MPEG-2 performance, including rendering motion and handling such problem video effects as quick cuts between scenes and fades-to-black. It also improves allocation of bits across channels in a multiplexed environment.

VOE also includes Sarnoff's proprietary hierarchical Sub-Block Motion Estimation (SBME) algorithm. SBME reduces the requirement for computational resources by a factor of approximately 2000, while actually improving video quality.

More information about Vision Optimized Encoder technology is available from:

Tom Lento 

Sarnoff Corporation

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About Sarnoff Corporation

Sarnoff Corporation creates and commercializes electronic, biomedical and information technology. Founded in 1942 as RCA Laboratories, Sarnoff has been a wholly-owned, for-profit subsidiary of SRI International since 1987. The company's decades of innovation include the development of color television and the liquid-crystal display and a leadership role in creating the digital and HDTV standard for the U.S. Sarnoff now works with a wide variety of industry and government clients to develop and improve specific technologies that will help change the world. A key element of the company's overall strategy is the founding of new companies that bring its technologies to market. Fourteen such companies are in various stages of development.