Software Defined Ultra-low Latency Video-Over-IP System with Compression

Traditional Video-over-IP implementations in software either result in higher latency due to the processing time required for compression, or in high bandwidth required when transmitted as an uncompressed stream. With UHD-1 and UHD-2 video, this is even more of a challenge, as the uncompressed stream requires high-performance Ethernet networks or dedicated hardware implementing the compression. In some cases however, a software implementation and standard COTS equipment are beneficial to allow higher flexibility. With JPEG XS, a mezzanine compression codec was developed that can also be implemented as an ultra-low latency system in software. However, special attention must be paid how the data for processing is distributed across multiple threads, how large the number of threads is, in order to achieve optimal latency. Using a case study for UHD-1 Video-over-IP, this paper explains how such a system can be implemented with COTS components, which software architecture is necessary and how far the latency can be reduced.