V-Nova, a leading provider of video compression solutions today announced licensing terms for V-Nova LCEVC, a software development kit and a wide range of reference integrations that add MPEG-5 Part 2 LCEVC (Low Complexity Enhancement Video Coding) ISO/IEC 23094-2 encoding and decoding to any existing video delivery workflow, device or application. The licensing terms have been designed together with customers and key industry players and reflect the enhancement nature of LCEVC as well as a modern approach to licensing, akin to that of software services where operators pay as they benefit from a given technology. The result is license fees that are either free or low-cost.
V-Nova LCEVC – including both IP Rights and software products – is available for Entertainment Video Services with two types of licensing:
• The Integration License is free and enables device or chipset manufacturers, operating systems, browsers, in-house development and encoder/player vendors to rapidly integrate V-Nova LCEVC encoding and decoding libraries.
• The Usage License is priced based on service size, measured via the total number of users. Above a lower free threshold, the cost per user is calculated according to volume and capped at $3.7mn per year.
V-Nova LCEVC is the industry’s first highly optimized implementation of MPEG-5 Part 2 LCEVC, the codec-agnostic ISO/IEC enhancement standard capable of providing higher quality at up to 40% lower bitrates than codecs used natively. Its unique low-complexity design immediately accelerates encoding by up to 4x via a simple software upgrade, producing significant transcoding cost efficiencies. Importantly, it offers a corresponding reduction of carbon emissions per hour of video, providing relevant environmental sustainability benefits to video workflows. LCEVC enables service providers to improve the quality of their services, their customer reach and minimize their operating costs.
“The rapid release of the LCEVC product, followed in quick succession by our low-complexity licensing terms, comes in response to the strong interest we have seen for LCEVC. We are actively supporting multiple major customer projects and we are working hard to ensure that LCEVC market adoption is as rapid and seamless as possible” said Guido Meardi, CEO and Co-founder, V-Nova.
“We all know that for coding standards simple and fair licensing terms are at least as important as compelling technical benefits. Following extensive consultation with customers and key industry players, we chose not to charge any fees to hardware manufacturers, operating systems, browsers and other ecosystem enablers, so as to facilitate rapid adoption at scale, also via software upgrades of existing devices. We charge a fair and low-cost capped fee only to those service operators who benefit directly from the standard, producing measurable quality and profitability benefits.”
The Integration License includes:
• Optimized Encoder and Decoder libraries for multiple platforms
• Onboarding support for SDK integration
• Conformance and integration testing
• Ongoing maintenance and support
The Usage License includes:
• Usage of V-Nova LCEVC, including trademarks
• Dedicated onboarding support
• Conformance and service level testing
• Basic maintenance support
Usage License Fees:
• Fees range from $0.01 - $0.12 per-user, capped at $3.7mn/year
• Premium packages available
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About V-Nova
V-Nova, a London based IP and software company, is dedicated to improving data compression by building a vast portfolio of innovative technologies based on the game-changing use of AI and parallel processing for data, video, imaging, point cloud compression, with applications across several verticals.
This is achieved through deep-science R&D (300+ international patents) and the development of products that test, prove and continuously enhance the technology portfolio.
V-Nova LCEVC is the industry’s first highly optimized library for encoding and decoding enhanced video streams with MPEG-5 Part 2, Low-Complexity Enhancement Video Coding (LCEVC). V-Nova VC-6 is a high-performance AI-powered software library for SMPTE VC-6 (ST-2117) which is used primarily for professional production workflows and imaging applications.
V-Nova has developed multiple award-winning software products to kickstart the ecosystems for its technologies and allow their immediate deployment, addressing use cases in TV, media, entertainment, social networks, eCommerce, ad-tech, security, aerospace, defence, automotive and gaming.
V-Nova’s business model is to monetize its technologies through software licensing, IP royalties and product sales.
