VBrick Systems wins digital video R&D grant

VBrick Systems Inc. won a $600,000 National Science Foundation grant to develop new technology for digital video applications, according to company officials based in Wallingford, Conn.

The company will work on technologies such as high-definition television for broadcast, DVD-quality video streaming for distance learning and video-on-demand for corporate training. VBrick provides video over IP network solutions.

The grant includes funds for research with the intent of commercializing a powerful, cost-effective network video product for the emerging H.264 digital video standard. The H.264 standard, also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, provides high-fidelity video using low bandwidth.

"Although the H.264 standard is providing enhanced IP video, the high price point is preventing widespread market adoption," said Bruce Webber, vice president of software engineering at VBrick. "We are committed to empowering users to capitalize on digital video while also addressing real-world drivers such as price, performance and flexibility."

The National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovative Research Program awarded VBrick the grant in two phases. Phase one, which is complete, was a proof of concept for mitigating H.264-compliant encoder performance bottlenecks. The grant's second phase supports VBrick research to develop a H.264-compliant prototype that provides high performance economically.