MONTBONNOT, France — Aug. 30, 2016 — Digigram, developer of innovative audio and video solutions, today introduced a compact 4K/UHD hardware-based HEVC decoder line that — used in conjunction with the company's AQORD *HEVC encoders — makes it easy and cost-effective for broadcasters to build a live 4K/UHD or multiple-HD-stream contribution link between a remote event site and the studio. Available, respectively, as a 1U appliance in a 19-inch chassis and as a small tabletop appliance, Digigram's new AQORD *HEVC-DEC and AQORD *HEVC-DEC/LE decoders provide the low latency, pristine video quality, low power consumption, high reliability, and extended temperature range operation valuable in remote contribution of high-resolution video.

"As the first professional 4K/UHD decoders based on hardware decoding technology and housed in a compact chassis, our new AQORD *HEVC appliances are ideal for demanding outside broadcast van-based contribution applications," said Laurent Gros, video product manager at Digigram. "While the AQORD *HEVC-DEC model reduces the costs associated with high-end multicamera productions requiring multiple HD streams, our lower-cost single-stream DEC/LE model brings HEVC technology and its benefits within the reach of smaller live production budgets. The efficiencies of both these HEVC decoders enable more affordable contribution of high-resolution content to the studio for production, which in turn allows for more cost-effective coverage of a larger variety of sports competitions and other live events."

Digigram's AQORD *HEVC-DEC supports a single 4K/UHD channel or up to four HD channels in one unit and provides a raw video SDI output. The company's energy-efficient AQORD *HEVC-DEC/LE offers one 4K/UHD or one HD channel in a very small form factor and provides both an SDI and HDMI raw video output. Using the HEVC codec to reduce video bitrate by a factor of two — compared with the H.264 codec — for the same perceived video quality, these Digigram decoders allow users to cut their bandwidth invoices while reducing both power consumption and surface costs.