HEVC Advance, an independent licensing administrator, today announced that Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (“Warner Bros.”) has become both a Licensor and Licensee of the HEVC Advance HEVC/H.265 Patent Pool. As a Licensor, Warner Bros. will make its essential patents available through the HEVC Advance patent pool, which provides a transparent and efficient licensing program for HEVC/H.265 essential patents. As a Licensee, Warner Bros. gains access to a large portfolio of valuable patents essential to implementing the HEVC/H.265 video compression standard.
HEVC/H.265 offers the ~ext generation video compression features needed to meet consumer’s immediate and rapidly growing demand for 4K Ultra High Definition (“4K UHD”) video delivered seamlessly to screens ranging from the largest monitors to the smallest smart phones. Warner Bros., one of the preeminent studios in the world, is leading the effort to bring UHD entertainment to consumers with plans to release at least 25 4K UHD Blu-ray movies, in addition to making at least 50 4K UHD movies available digitally to third-party distributors, by the end of 2016.
“We are pleased to continue our history of market leadership by making UHD technology available in our products,” said Warner Bros. Technology Solutions Executive Vice President and General Manager, Vicky Colf. “HEVC/H.265 enables delivery of a premium quality viewing experience. By gaining access to H.265 technology through HEVC Advance, while contributing our own essential patents for license, we can better concentrate our efforts on creating the most exciting entertainment experiences for our customers world-wide.”
“We are excited that Warner Bros. has chosen to lead in bringing UHD technology to the marketplace as well as supporting our efforts at HEVC Advance to facilitate the efficient licensing of the HEVC/H.265 IP that makes UHD technology possible,” said HEVC Advance CEO, Peter Moller. “Having the support of a major studio like Warner Bros. will help eliminate HEVC/H.265 IP barriers and greatly accelerate UHD adoption.
