HDTV quality in CESNET2 network

High-speed networks built by the CESNET association allow video content to be distributed in High-Definition (HDTV) quality, which greatly surpasses the current quality of TV broadcasting. While standard TV works with an effective interlaced resolution of 720×586 pixels, HDTV offers resolutions up to 1920×1080 pixels, both interlaced and non-interlaced. The uncompressed data flow of this kind of video is typically 1.5 Gbps. Compressed formats using a bandwidth of 5 to 30 Mbps are then used for efficient distribution via the Internet.

The first original material completely recorded and processed under CESNET's control, now publicly posted on a video server in HDTV quality, was the recording of a fashion show called Edward Scissorhands in the style of Art Nouveau, which was held on the 27th of February by the Moravian Gallery in Brno together with the Edward Scissorhands salon and the MarLen fashion house on the occasion of the last day of an exhibition called Vienna's Art Nouveau and Modernism 1900-1925. The recording is posted in Real Video and Windows Media formats at the CESNET video server (http://videoserver.cesnet.cz/).

The pilot recording demonstrates that the network infrastructure and streaming (video-on-demand) servers freely available to the Czech academic community are ready to provide content in HD quality. The significantly higher picture resolution allows new scientific, research and educational applications, e.g. in medicine, where standard TV resolution is clearly insufficient or highly limiting.

The CESNET association was founded by universities and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. It is currently financed primarily by its members and the Research and Development Council. The association operates and develops CESNET2, the national gigabit optical network intended for research and education, and participates in the research and development of information and communication technologies. Thanks to its research activities and achieved results, the CESNET association represents the Czech Republic in the European GN2 project, as well as in other international projects. Among other countries, the association currently cooperates with Canada, the Netherlands, and the USA on the construction of GLIF (Global Lambda Integrated Facility), a global lambda network whose Czech section is called CzechLight.