The 2024 China Household Appliances and Consumer Electronics Expo (AWE) took place from March 14th to March 17th in Shanghai. As a key exhibitor and permanent member of the UWA Alliance, Tencent Video collaborated with leading domestic smartphone manufacturer vivo during the event. They showcased a demonstration of the latest generation international standard H.266/VVC, China's leading ultra-high-definition standard HDR Vivid, and Audio Vivid on vivo's latest flagship model, the iQOO 12. These three cutting-edge high-quality technologies were combined to exhibit their practical application.
The content produced based on these latest technical standards not only saves bandwidth compared to the previous generation encoding standards but also fully utilizes the iQOO 12's features such as the all-weather super-sensitive screen, symmetrical stereo dual speakers, and ultra-wide vibration motor. This comprehensive upgrade in audiovisual experience aims to enhance the overall viewing and listening experience for users.
Here are some snapshots from the AWE exhibition:
Feel free to explore these exciting moments from the event!
Demo Images
With the widespread adoption of 5G networks, the Internet audiovisual industry is once again experiencing a surge in market demand for "higher, clearer, and more realistic" audiovisual quality from both markets and users. Correspondingly, the ultra-high-definition video field, represented by 4K, HDR, and 3D sound, has entered a period of rapid development. As a popular content and streaming service platform, Tencent Video closely monitors the development trends of ultra-high-definition industry. It is not only the first domestic platform to provide HDR content playback but also leads the development in next-generation video coding, decoding, and rendering fields. Tencent Video has implemented industrial applications of AVS3, H.266/VVC, HDR Vivid, and Audio Vivid after years of systematic construction, forming a full-chain application of advanced technologies. This advancement has facilitated the smooth transition of cutting-edge domestic and international standards from paper release to commercial operation.
For a long time, video traffic has been the largest source of Internet traffic, and with the increase in resolution, frame rate, and pixel depth, the bandwidth and traffic required to transmit ultra-high-definition videos have become significant burdens on video platform operating costs and end-user traffic fees. VVC/H.266 is the latest generation of international video coding and decoding standards, boasting the strongest compression capability and being the first international video compression standard with extensive participation from Chinese companies. Experts from Tencent Multimedia Laboratory hold important positions such as joint editors and co-chairmen of reference software in the VVC standardization process. Tencent, as one of the main technical contributors to the VVC standard, has had over 100 standard technical proposals adopted. According to statistics from Germany's IPLytics, Tencent's VVC technology proposal adoption quantity and the number of essential patents for standards both rank among the top in the world. Not only has Tencent made significant achievements in standardization, but also the Tencent Multimedia Laboratory, in collaboration with Tencent Video, Tencent Cloud, WeChat, and other teams, has developed the Tencent266 codec. Tencent266 showcased the world's first stable long-time playback of 4K 10-bit 60fps VVC on Qualcomm SoC at ChinaJoy23 and IBC23, and continuously achieved the highest total score in the MSU World Video Coding Competition. Compared to the x265 encoder, Tencent266 can save over 50% of bandwidth. Tencent266's outstanding compression performance brings more efficient and economical solutions to the video industry, allowing for significant savings in bandwidth and storage costs.
With the high compression performance of Tencent266 codec ensuring bandwidth cost control, it can guarantee users a clear viewing experience. However, the next challenge lies in fully utilizing the screen capabilities of playback devices such as mobile phones to make viewing more "realistic" and "immersive." In January 2021, Tencent Video became the first Internet content platform to launch HDR Vivid content sources in the industry. Through the integration and application of a series of independently developed cutting-edge technologies such as self-built HDR color grading studios, intelligent image reverse tone mapping, intelligent image salient region protection, and dynamic metadata analysis and generation, Tencent Video has constructed a complete HDR Vivid technology chain. Products derived from related technology applications have been incubated into the leading audiovisual brand representing the highest quality on the platform, bringing users a delicate and immersive visual experience. As of the second half of 2023, Tencent Video's HDR Vivid service has covered all types of terminal devices including Android, iOS/macOS, HarmonyOS, Windows, etc., and the types and quantity of HDR Vivid content sources fully cover all content on the platform.
With the relentless pursuit of sound restoration and quality, and continuous technological innovation, audio technology continues to evolve. From monaural to stereo, surround sound, and three-dimensional sound, people's demand for a "real" and "immersive" audio-visual experience keeps increasing. As an important component of the ultra-high-definition experience, 3D sound technology provides spatial sense, orientation, high fidelity, and immersion, bringing viewers a more emotional, personalized, and interactive experience. Audio Vivid, as a three-dimensional sound technology, is committed to addressing the entire process of sound construction and restoration, and can be widely applied in home environments, cinema environments, personal, AR/VR, and automotive fields. Tencent Video's "Yue Panorama Sound" adopts independently developed panoramic sound algorithms, highly restoring spatial sense and tone, and provides users with a "real" and "immersive" experience through Audio Vivid.
Based on the practice and application of AVS3, H.266/VVC, HDR & Audio Vivid standards, Tencent Video has gradually built a complete system of self-developed ultra-high-definition technologies, products, and services based on cutting-edge standard systems. Tencent will continue to implement the research and development philosophy of "technology serving art," bringing continuous surprises to content creators and ordinary end-users with advanced technology, accompanying creators and users, and making the most of the good times.
