SVC spec developed to ensure interoperability among video conferencing solutions

USA: The Unified Communications Interoperability Forum (UCI Forum) announced that its Board of Directors has approved the Unified Communications Specification for H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 AVC and SVC Modes Version 1.0. Coupled with a certification program that is currently under development, it will allow customers to deploy mixed-vendor solutions with confidence.

Video conferencing solutions from a number of leading vendors have already incorporated H.264/SVC; however, current implementations may not fully interoperate. The approved specification defines configurations of H.264/SVC-based systems to ensure their interoperability. The approved specification builds on the profiles submitted by the UCI Forum to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and adopted in early 2012, concerning use of H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 AVC and SVC in Unified Communication (UC) systems.

The UCI Forum approved H.264/SVC specification defines a carefully selected set of capabilities that have proven to be effective in real-life deployments from different vendors. The specification takes into consideration the needs of UC users that use various devices, ranging from handheld and mobile devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, and notepads) to larger, location systems (e.g., desktop computers and video conference suites) to connect into visual collaboration meetings.

The new specification is the first step in the UCI Forum’s planned interoperability certification program for H.264/SVC-based video systems and covers the bit stream. Additional specifications are planned in the area of transport and signaling, enabling the negotiation of different transmission modes between the video source and the video destination, as well as parameters such as picture resolution, video refresh rates and screen size.

“The UCI Forum’s approval of the H.264/SVC specification is a significant milestone because it represents the first step towards enabling the video conferencing and unified communication industries to offer fully interoperable video solutions,” said Bernard Aboba, president of the UCI Forum. “The H.264/SVC task group defined a specification that addresses market needs as well as interoperability challenges among vendors.”