LiveU: 25% of traffic now HEVC-encoded

A quarter of LiveU-generated traffic is now HEVC-encoded, according to the live video streaming company’s annual ‘State of Live’ report.

The study notes the growing adoption of the HEVC protocol and said this reflects the “increasing demand for professional-grade video quality,” a trend that was evident at this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.

LiveU said the adoption of HD resolution continues to rise, while UHD/4K is emerging with sports leading the way – most notably in the US, Japan and Western Europe.

Transmission hours were also reported to have increased over the past year with more than 2.2 million hours of live video delivered in 2018, representing a 55% surge in hours compared to 2017.

“HEVC technology has undoubtedly transformed the market this year, enabling dynamic sports productions in the most challenging locations, as well as ongoing global news coverage,” said LiveU’s CEO and co-founder, Samuel Wasserman.

“Looking ahead to 2019, we believe that live sports usage will continue to grow across multiple segments as HEVC offers the quality and reliability of satellite and other traditional transmission methods at a fraction of the cost.

“In-station services based around the IP distribution of content are also playing a key role in the industry, replacing traditional fibre and satellite services, and this will likely continue next year.”

LiveU provides live video streaming for TV, mobile, online and social media and is used by broadcasters, online media companies and news agencies to cover news and high-profile events like the US Presidential Election, the FIFA World Cup and the Winter and Summer Olympic Games.

The report findings are based on data gathered from LiveU’s global customer base of more than 3,000 customers.