TICO has become a broadly adopted technology for lightweight, ultra-low latency video compression. But now suddenly, we start hearing about a new “TICO-XS” and several questions come up:

TICO was originally developed to replace uncompressed video in the audiovisual industry. An industry in great change due to 2 factors:

1. Everyone is moving from SDI to IP
2. Video data is reaching unprecedented amounts thanks to 4K, HDR, and higher frame rates

The JT-NM (Joint Task Force on Networked Media) set up a roadmap in 2014 which visualizes this transition from pure SDI to IP and eventually virtualization in a time-frame of roughly 6 years.

It started out with pure SDI being the widespread way of doing and moved to step number one, the mapping of SDI over IP. This is defined by the ST 2022-6 where the SDI signal, consisting of video, audio and ancillary data in one package, is simply mapped onto IP. Here the original TICO-RDD35 (standardized by the SMPTE) comes into play. By compressing at 4:1 it allows the transport of 4K - instead of just HD over a single 3G-SDI or even mapping multiple 4K streams onto 10Gb Ethernet. This allowed the industry to keep their existing infrastructures, while still upgrading to UHD resolutions.

From 2017 we started looking at step 2: Elementary flows. Thanks to SMPTE’s ST2110 there is no more packaged SDI stream. Video, audio, and ancillary data are sent separately over IP, leading to much greater flexibility. Hence, we have a separate video stream to be compressed. Even more now, we are also facing an addition to ST 2110. Namely part 22 – specifically defining IP transport for compressed essence. This created a new use case for which we were looking to deploy a more suitable codec. And that is why we came up with a new TICO product family member: “TICO XS”

As mentioned above, TICO-XS is a new family member. However, with increased compression efficiency. Depending on your content, we can compress down to 1 bit per pixel and you won’t witness any quality loss. In bitrate this means compressing a 4K60 stream down to somewhere between 1,6 Gbps or even 500 Mbps. On top, it still keeps the properties that we all love about TICO RDD35 - virtually no latency, a very low complexity, and an extremely low power consumption.

It does, and you are right, they are very much related. About the same time SMPTE ST2110 was coming up, the JPEG committee announced a call for proposals for a new lightweight compression standard, called JPEG XS. TICO was submitted and actually selected as the baseline for further development. After that, intoPIX’s engineers (working together with other JPEG committee members) used the original TICO-RDD35 as a basis to develop JPEG XS

So TICO-XS is in fact compliant with the upcoming ISO standard JPEG XS - a very important step for simple, industry-wide adoption

Summed up, you’re working with SDI or hybrid SDI/IP networks and want to upgrade to UHD?

TICO RDD35 is your solution! If you’re looking for higher compression efficiency, especially relevant for ST2110 systems? TICO-XS is your go-to option.

Therefore TICO XS is not replacing TICO, it’s merely an evolution that goes along with the technological development in the media industry. And best of all, it’s ISO standardized as JPEG XS!

NAB Show, Las Vegas, 8th April 2019: The TICO Alliance announced today that it will be displaying a multi-vendor interop demo for bandwidth-efficient live production on their booth at NAB 2019 (C8626). Additionally it will talk about the arrival of the new compression family member “TICO-XS”, as TICO is moving to JPEG-XS standardization.

Since the last big broadcast meetup IBC, several new members have joined the growing consortium. The TICO Alliance recently welcomed NCS, TheFine Co. Ltd., and IBEX Technology to their member list of nearly 50 industry-leading vendors and broadcasters.

Following the JT-NM roadmap of networked media open interoperability, the focus of technological advancement in broadcast networks has now preceded SDI-related workflows and step II “Elementary flows” is in full progress. Currently specified as SMPTE RDD35, TICO technology is under standardization as JPEG XS. An evolution that is in line with the industry’s move to IP and the new SMPTE ST2110 part 22 defining transport of compressed video essence over professional media networks. Already today, the alliance’s members serve lossless quality with microsecond-latency to their clients, in order to create bandwidth efficient workflows.

“The Alliance is of great help for the industry to make SDI and Hybrid-SDI workflows more efficient. On top of that, the move of TICO to JPEG XS standardization naturally follows the desire to create bandwidth-efficiency also in IP-based infrastructures for HD, 4K and 8K.” says the Alliance’s Chairman Jean-Baptiste Lorent.

Visitor’s to the TICO Alliance booth at NAB 2019 will get a look at equipment displays and product demonstrations emphasizing TICO’s benefits in SDI, SMPTE ST2022-6 and ST2110 workflows. Members will be on site to answer questions about the ongoing JPEG XS standardization and its additional benefits. For those interested in learning more about its impact on the SMPTE ST2110 standard, JPEG XS will be part of the IP showcase presentations Booth C12634.

About the TICO Alliance:

The Alliance is an open coalition of companies united to set the bar for next generation UHDTV infrastructures by establishing TICO compression in the new IP-based Live ecosystem. The group enables the industry to seamlessly update existing SDI-based workflows to increase bandwidth-efficiency in HD, 4k, and 8K. More on www.tico-alliance.org

Contact:

info@tico-alliance.org

Amsterdam, September 15, 2017 - This year again, DELTACAST will showcase its TICO products on the TICO ALLIANCE booth 10D31 at IBC 2017 in Amsterdam. 

This product will be connected to the GRASS VALLEY IPG-3901, from which it will receive 4K/UHD video over a 10GbE connection, to be visualized on a 4K screen.

Tokyo, JAPAN – March 21, 2017 – Village Island, a video equipment supplier and integrator headquartered in Japan, announces VICO-4 from the VICO series enabling UHD smart transport and powered by TICO, the revolutionary high-efficiency compression engine from intoPIX.

14 March 2016 -- Cobalt Digital has joined the TICO Alliance, a consortium of vendors and others, supporting TICO compression for use in IP-based live television ecosystems, the company said today.

The TICO compression and video-over-IP standards are intended to make it possible for the industry to update existing SDI-based workflows to IP and Ultra HD 4K without a complete operational overhaul.

Joining the alliance gives Cobalt access to the TICO technology. The company said it can quickly integrate TICO into its high-density FPGA-based hardware platforms. Cobalt TICO solutions will be available as openGear modular cards and as units in Cobalt’s BBG-1000 stand-alone systems, the press release said.

22 February 2016 -- LEADER Electronics Corporation has announced that is has joined the TICO Alliance – a move it said was part of its commitment to ensure that its hardware and software solutions conform to the IP-based data-exchange formats increasingly being used in broadcast television, radio and professional audio.

TICO technology allows UHD streams to be sent efficiently and with low latency while preserving high image quality. To support transportation of UHD TV streams across an IP network or the existing 3G-SDI infrastructure, new smart, fast and light compression is needed. 10 gigabit/s Ethernet or 3G-SDI networks are widely deployed and operated cost-effectively within the broadcast environment.

Implementing visually lossless compression up to 4:1, TICO enables the mapping of a 4K/UHD 2160p60 stream over a single 3G-SDI link. Up to three streams of 2160p60 can be transmitted simultaneously over 10 gigabit/s Ethernet,

TICO provides extremely low latency, preserves video quality across multiple generations of encoding/decoding, fits into compact FPGA devices and runs efficiently in software. This technology is designed to enhance live IP systems by increasing efficiency and reducing cost for both HD and 4K/UHD video.

LEADER'S European Regional Development Manager, Kevin Salvidge, said: "As well as being a trusted partner to broadcasters, LEADER is future-proofing its test and measurement products. We are allowing broadcasters to migrate from the traditional SDI world to the brave new IP world at their own pace, with a test and measurement products that operate in either or both infrastructures."

18 February 2016 -- Bluefish444, manufacturer of the industry's highest-quality uncompressed 4K/2K/HD/SD SDI video cards, announced it has become a member of the TICO alliance. The TICO lightweight 4:1 compression scheme, known as SMPTE RDD35, will allow Bluefish444 customers to access uncompressed quality video at one quarter of the bandwidth, to be transported over existing SDI infrastructure and emerging IP technologies.

"With TICO lightweight compression our customers will be able to provide products capable of delivering 4K 60fps video over a single 3G SDI cable, infrastructure which is already well established globally," states Tom Lithgow, Bluefish444 Product Manager.

"Making our customers solutions, which are based around Bluefish444 SDI IO hardware, compatible with TICO compression allows for the building of end to end Bluefish444 SDI solutions and also provides interoperability with other TICO compatible products."

The Epoch | 4K Neutron, Epoch | 4K Supernova and Epoch | 4K Supernova S+ cards will benefit from the TICO alliance, with Bluefish444 aiming to provide a number of new and exciting opportunities throughout 2016.

Some of the benefits of TICO compression to Bluefish444 customers include:

* A mezzanine compression scheme that is visually lossless at a ratio which can provide considerable bandwidth savings across multiple transports and technology platforms.

* Supported across existing 3G SDI Infrastructure, as well as emerging video over IP technology platforms.& A small footprint in both FPGA resources and in Software encode and decode operations.

* Backed by IntoPIX and implemented with the important goal of interoperability with existing and emerging technologies.

"By joining us, Bluefish444 will accelerate the transition to 4K and IP in broadcast and media facilities, promoting interoperability and a seamless transition. The TICO Alliance is glad to welcome Bluefish444 as a new member." said Jean-Baptiste Lorent, manager of the TICO Alliance.

Bluefish444 is committed to providing technology that solves tomorrow's technical hurdles today, ensuring customers sound investments in Bluefish444 hardware. Bluefish444 plans to integrate TICO throughout 2016.

12 October 2015, Stansted UK: Media Global Links Co., Ltd. (MGL), has announced it has joined the TICO Alliance; the growing coalition of companies united to set the bar for next generation UHD/4K infrastructure by establishing TICO compression in the new IP-based Live ecosystem.

The TICO Alliance was founded in April 2015 and brings together leading Broadcast equipment manufacturers, OEM providers, broadcasters, electronics brands and technology companies. The group is working to establish the TICO lightweight compression technology in the new IP-based Live production ecosystem that allows users to seamlessly leverage the existing SDI-based workflows to 4K/UHD without the cost of a complete renewal. Membership is open to any company active in the Broadcast industry.

John Dale, Director, Media Global Links said: “As more broadcasters explore the use of IP video, the alliance’s efforts have become part of a larger trend set by a variety of industry players to find better approaches for delivering IP video. Media Links is pleased to be part of this evolution.“TICO is promoting an approach using lightweight compression that it believes will ease the move to 4K and IP within broadcast production facilities,” continues Dale. “It looks like the TICO Lightweight Compression could enable some compelling new solutions for managing UHD links within and outside the studio while providing a great balance between performance and cost.”
Other existing Alliance members include Altera Corporation, Artel Video Systems, Belden Grass Valley, Embrionix, Deltacast, EVS Broadcast Equipment, Image Matters, Imagine Communications, Keisoku Giken, Macnica Americas, Nevion, Ross Video, Tektronix, and Xilinx.

3 September 2015 -- EVS, the leading provider of live video production systems, today announced that it has joined the TICO Alliance, which is working to establish a new visually lossless (up to 4:1) video compression standard that enables /UHD transport over existing SDI infrastructures as well as 10 GigE IP production and contribution networks.

EVS’ move to join the growing consortium is in line with its “IP4Live” IP-based approaches to live video infrastructure and open solutions that supports interoperability between technology providers and optimisation of existing customer infrastructures to meet new production standards.The TICO Alliance, which includes broadcast technology industry leaders such as Grass Valley, Imagine Communications, Artel Video Systems, Embrionix, intoPIX, and Ross, is supporting new UHD streams in existing systems and networks using available pipeline bandwidth with the lowest latency, smallest complexity and highest-quality preserved image quality.“With the steady transition to IP and the need to move /UHD and even higher resolutions and frame rates in the future, precise compression is essential to next-generation video production and distribution,” said Benoit Fevrier, CTO, EVS. “TICO is an important step in this evolution and we’re committed to developing the standard and to the larger IP-based live ecosystem.”Since January 2015, a Registered Disclosure Document (RDD) is under specification at defining TICO compression and mapping over active 3G-SDI and IP Networks (RTP). Developed by intoPIX, TICO compression technology is designed specifically for high bandwidth video transfer - HD to /8K Ultra HD - over IP.