In the competitive world of professional video streaming, Intinor stands out for delivering broadcast-quality content over standard internet connections. Its integration of Visionular’s AI-powered Aurora5 HEVC codec into the Direkt link and Direkt router platforms marks a significant leap forward in remote production capabilities, enabling high-quality multi-camera streaming even in challenging network environments.
Remote production teams face a common dilemma: delivering broadcast-quality video while working with limited bandwidth, particularly over 4G/5G networks.
The traditional approach using H.264/AVC compression forced users to choose between quality and bandwidth efficiency—a compromise that professional broadcasters increasingly find unacceptable.
“We evaluated several HEVC solutions, but none could deliver the perfect balance of quality and speed our customers demanded,” says Peder Boberg, Product Owner at Intinor. “Our customers operate in environments where every millisecond counts and every pixel matters, so we needed a solution that could meet their standards for both performance and quality.”
The Search for Excellence
Intinor knew that adopting HEVC (H.265) encoding could be the key to delivering path-breaking solutions to the broadcast industry. HEVC promised better compression efficiency, but not all implementations are created equal. They needed an HEVC encoder that could:
- Deliver Superior Quality at Lower Bitrates: To make high-quality streaming feasible over limited networks.
- Integrate Seamlessly: With their existing platforms without extensive redevelopment.
- Be Flexible and Adaptive: Allowing adjustments to meet various production needs.
- Ensure Reliability: Maintaining the trust their customers placed in them for mission-critical operations.
After testing multiple HEVC solutions that couldn’t meet these demanding criteria, Intinor discovered Visionular’s innovative approach to video compression.
A New Approach to Video Compression
Visionular’s Aurora5 HEVC implementation represents a fundamental shift in video compression technology. Unlike conventional HEVC encoders, Visionular’s solution employs advanced AI and machine learning algorithms to optimize encoding decisions in real-time.
This intelligent approach enables:
- Dynamic adaptation to content complexity
- Region-of-Interest based rate-control
- Perceptual quality optimization using advanced metrics
- Ultra-low latency processing for live applications
The integration process showcased both companies’ commitment to excellence. Visionular’s team worked closely with Intinor to customize their codec for optimal performance with Intinor’s Direkt link and Direkt router platforms. The result was a seamless fusion of technologies that exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Measurable Impact
The integration delivers remarkable improvements across key performance metrics:
- Superior Quality at Lower Bitrates
- Broadacst-quality streaming at just 2 Mbps per camera over 4G/5G networks
- Consistently higher VMAF scores compared to H.264/AVC across all bitrates
- Professional-grade visual quality even in challenging network conditions
- Operational Flexibility
- Fully-adjustable parameters allow users to optimize for their specific needs
- Options to prioritize quality improvement or bandwidth reduction
- Seamless integration with existing Intinor workflows
- High speed & Low latency HEVC encoding
- The tests relevealed that Visionular’s Aurora5 HEVC encoder could achieve the same encoding latency as the H.264/AVC encoder being used by Intinor, while delivering lower bitrates and higher video quality.
- This implies that Aurora5 HEVC contains a highly efficient implementation (than other HEVC implementations) to deliver these low-latency results at higher quality & lower bitrates than H.264/AVC, despite being a much more complex video codec than H.264/AVC.
Internal testing using the challenging “Tears of Steel” sequence at 1080p, ultra-low-latency live streaming demonstrates Visionular’s HEVC codec’s exceptional efficiency. The results are striking:
At just 4 Mbps, Visionular’s Aurora5 HEVC implementation achieves a VMAF score above 80—a level of quality that H.264 only reaches at 8-10 Mbps. This translates to either:
- 50% reduction in bandwidth while maintaining the same professional quality, or
- Significantly higher quality within existing bandwidth constraints
“The future of video streaming demands intelligent compression that adapts to real-world conditions,” said Zoe Liu, CEO and Co-Founder of Visionular.
“Our partnership with Intinor demonstrates how AI-driven video compression can transform the broadcasting industry. By combining our advanced Aurora5 HEVC technology with Intinor’s innovative platform, we’re enabling broadcasters to deliver exceptional quality in situations that were previously impossible.”
These benchmark results validate what the Iditarod production team experienced in the field: exceptional video quality at half the typical bandwidth, making professional broadcasting possible even in the most challenging network environments.
Pushing Boundaries: Broadcasting the Iditarod
The Iditarod, Alaska’s legendary long-distance sled dog race, presents one of the most challenging environments for live video streaming. Art Aldrich (Director of Technologies at OTEK TV), the producer responsible for broadcasting this iconic event, shares his experience:
“The picture quality we achieved this year was simply exceptional, thanks to Intinor’s new HEVC codec,” said Art Aldrich.
“What really impressed me was how we could cut our bandwidth requirements in half while actually improving quality. Streaming at just 2.5 Mbps with HEVC delivered cleaner, more stable, and more beautiful results than what we previously achieved at 5 Mbps. The improvement was dramatic – we got superior quality even in the harsh Alaskan conditions. The fact that I could add this capability through a simple software update speaks volumes about the flexibility of Intinor’s solutions.”
This real-world validation from one of broadcasting’s most challenging environments demonstrates how Visionular’s Aurora5 HEVC technology, integrated into Intinor’s platforms, is transforming what’s possible in remote production.
The combination of reduced bandwidth requirements and enhanced quality proves particularly valuable in locations where connectivity is limited and conditions are extreme.
Looking Ahead
The partnership between Intinor and Visionular continues to evolve, with both companies committed to pushing the boundaries of video streaming technology.
The success of this integration has opened new possibilities for broadcasters worldwide, enabling them to deliver higher quality content more efficiently than ever before.
About Visionular
Visionular Inc. is a next-generation video encoding, processing, and streaming software and cloud solution company. With over 100 enterprise customers globally, Visionular leverages the power of AI and machine learning to deliver high-quality video streaming at minimal bitrates. Visionular’s solutions empower video streaming services to reduce CDN and compute costs while improving the visual quality of their videos.
About Intinor
Intinor develops products and solutions to carry high quality video and audio over the internet. Celebrating 20 years of excellence in the industry in 2023, Intinor offers solutions for remote productions, remote commentary, newsgathering, sports and much more. It aims to deliver the best and most comprehensive solutions for high quality media. For more information, see www.intinor.com