IT-Review

Thomson's Film Grain Technology Approved as Low Cost Compression Format for HD DVD Video Markets

Thomson Technology has been Adopted in MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) Standard and is Supported by Studios in the DVD Forum for its Rendering of HD Video at Low Cost

Thomson has announced that its Film Grain technology was approved as an optional HD DVD-Video application format for the next generation high definition DVD disc (HD DVD disc) by the DVD Forum Steering Committee which met on December 1st in Orlando, Florida. Two major studios, part of the DVD Steering Committee, namely Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., support adoption of the technology.

Film Grain is an important enhancement for delivering HD content to consumers. Film Grain technology was specified and developed by Thomson's research group in Princeton in collaboration with Thomson's Technicolor business.

The Film Grain tool is a set of algorithms that automatically estimates film grain parameters, thereby enabling the editing and manipulation of picture quality after high compression processing. This enables low bit rate transfers and limited storage capacity for HD videos while preserving the creator's touch. Thomson will present a demonstration of Film Grain at the CES trade show to be held in Las Vegas from January 6th-9th 2005.

Thomson will continue to work within the DVD Forum Technical Coordination Group to obtain approval of Film Grain technology for HD DVD players at the DVD Steering Committee scheduled to take place in Tokyo on February 23-24th 2005.

Source: press release

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