AMSTERDAM - Sept. 13, 2024 - PRLog -- As industries race toward increasingly immersive media experiences, Versatile Video Coding (VVC) is emerging as a critical technology that is poised to drive this transformation. Lukasz Litwic, Research Leader at Ericsson and Chair of the Interoperability Working Group for the Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF), shared insights into the status and future of VVC during an exclusive interview ahead of a presentation at IBC 2024 in Amsterdam.

At the Beyond 2D XR Immersive Media track at IBC, Litwic will present on VVC's ready deployment status, sharing updates on adoption and interoperability during a panel hosted by the 5G Media Action Group (5G MAG), which focuses on the evolution of cellular standards from 5G to 6G and beyond. In a preview of his remarks, Litwic highlighted the major strides made in VVC adoption, particularly in the broadcasting and streaming sectors. That said, he expects to see major strides in other vertical sectors, including the mobile communications market.

"In the last two years, we've been working with the broadcast and streaming industry on how VVC can enable new services," said Litwic. "Global momentum around VVC is building as it is adopted by a growing number of regional and international standards organizations, including the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) and the Society of Cable and Television Engineers (SCTE) in the U.S., the SBTVD Forum in Brazil, as well as DVB in Europe.

Harnessing Versatility

As the name suggests, the VVC standard has been designed to be versatile—capable of handling both performance and functionality to support a breadth of services. This is particularly important for mobile applications, where video traffic has surged and continues to grow at a compounded annual growth rate above 50 percent.

It is in this context that Litwic addressed the broader impact of VVC on mobile networks, noting its potential to enhance the capabilities of 5G and future 6G services.

"Video traffic constitutes 70 percent of all mobile network traffic. VVC has a crucial role to play here—not only by reducing costs but also by unlocking new services," he said.

He emphasized the synergy between VVC and modern networks, stating: "Offering 50 percent better performance than HEVC, VVC's superior coding performance and wide set of features make it a game changer for services such as cloud gaming and live event uploads or immersive communication across mobile and fixed wireless access."

While the advantages of VVC are clear, Litwic acknowledged that greater awareness is needed among mobile operators to fully realize its benefits.

"To this end, MC-IF is interested in initiating and sustaining a dialogue with the mobile industry to highlight the potential benefits to this sector," he said.

Litwic hopes attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of VVC's current deployment status and the opportunities it presents. "I want the audience to walk away with a clear picture of where VVC is being deployed and how it can enhance the value of networks and mobile offerings," he concluded.

EDITORIAL NOTE: To listen to the full interview with Lukasz Litwic click here.