Sophia Antipolis, 19 December 2014

ETSI’s Powerline Telecommunications Technical Committee (TC PLT) has published a Technical Report assessing new video distribution services in a connected home environment.

ETSI TR 103 234 explores the benefits of three emerging technologies: the new generation of MIMO (Multiple Input-Multiple Output) powerline telecommunication modems, the recently standardized High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) video codec, the successor of MPEG-4, and Ultra High Definition Television (UHDTV) transmission. The Technical Report investigates the impact of new video compression standards on powerline networks and provides technical guidance to powerline equipment vendors to cope with very high bitrate services. This Technical Report was developed by an ETSI Specialist Task Force, a team of experts financed by ETSI and reporting to TC PLT.

This report takes into account the results of a previous study within ETSI TC PLT on MIMO-PLT, the results of which are published in ETSI TR 101 562. As gigabit home networking products based on MIMO-PLT modems enter the market, TC PLT explored additional channels provided by ground wiring, improving the performance of powerline telecommunication links. Measurements made in the electrical network within real homes in six European countries showed great improvements of MIMO-PLT networks on home coverage and robustness compared to existing Single Input-Single Output (SISO) PLT technologies.

Roger Samy, the Chair of ETSI TC PLT, stated that “Transmission of UHD Phase 1 video streams based on HEVC video compression over MIMO-PLT networks enables whole home coverage of current and forthcoming video services.

MIMO-PLT combined with HEVC encoded video will facilitate the distribution of UHD video-on-demand and 4K video streaming, linking home network gateways (DSL, cable, satellite and fibre to the home) to 4K UHD receiving devices (smart TV sets, set-top boxes, etc.)