Hantro demonstrates H.264/AVC player in 'Off-the-Shelf' Mobile Handset

November 4, 2004 - Oulu Finland -- Continuing to lead the development of mobile video, Hantro has tested and proved a software H.264 player in ‘off-the-shelf’ mobile handsets enabling a dramatic improvement in the quality of video clips displayed on a mobile phone.

Hantro’s H.264 player for series 60 handsets is based on the 6100 software decoder and PlayEngine middleware. Running on the Nokia 7610 handset full, screen video (208x176 resolution) at 15 frames per second can be achieved.

H.264 is the latest video coding standard providing for improved compression over existing standards such as MPEG4 and H.263. With comparable bitrates the increase in visual quality is significant which also means that you can maintain acceptable video quality (comparable to MPEG4) with up to a 50% reduction in file size.Ideally suited for wireless transmissions, H.264 expands the potential of applications like streaming video to mobile over GPRS, video downloads and mobile TV.

One example of how this technology can provide an immediate improvement to the customer experience would be a case where a user subscribes to a service to receive a video clip showing the goal scored by his/her favourite football team. Adhering to the existing file size limitations for MMS, the improved compression ratios would allow for approximately twice the length of clip at the same visual quality as using MPEG4. Alternatively, the same length of clip can be received but with a vastly improved quality.

“We are very pleased with the performance that we have achieved with this product”, said Sami Niska, Product Manager, Hantro. “This software implementation clearly demonstrates the capability of H.264. By providing a short time-to-market, the 6100 software decoder is an ideal solution for device manufacturers and network operators looking to leverage the immediate potential of applications made possible by this new coding standard.”

Decoding H.264 with general purpose microprocessors and digital signal processors (DSPs) is much more complex than that of existing video standards which leads to trade-offs in supported image sizes and power management. To overcome this problem, Hantro has also developed silicon designs which, once integrated into a chip, support higher resolutions and will reduce power consumption considerably when compared to software implementations.

Hantro’s 6150 hardware decoder offers distinct advantages with superb performance-to-power consumption ratios. Capable of resolutions up to D1 (720 x 576), in addition to H.264 the 6150 also decodes MPEG4 and H.263 video.

Hantro will be demonstrating and speaking about the software H.264 player at the forthcoming Mobile Video and TV Summit in London (29th November – 1st December 2004). For more details, visit www.ibctelecoms.com/mvt

About Hantro
Focused on mobile, Hantro is committed to continually advancing video enabling technology to deliver capabilities that exceed the expectations of the marketplace. As the leading provider of hardware and software based MPEG4/H.263 and H.264 video solutions specifically tailored for handheld devices, Hantro is uniquely positioned to provide technology solutions for silicon providers, device manufacturers and network operators.

Hantro’s investors are funds managed by CapMan, Startupfactory, Menire and Nexit Ventures.