Belgian codec forge intoPIX announced yesterday that Nikon will support TicoRAW starting next year with a firmware update of the Z9. We had already reported a year ago on 
slashCAM about the background of TicoRAW and pondered why IntoPIX's new RAW codec could gain an advantage over other solutions on the market.
We appreciate that TicoRAW is a RAW format that is independent of other camera manufacturers, and technologically performs on par with ProRes RAW and Blackmagic RAW. Besides the usual compression rates, TicoRAW also offers a very efficient (and thus high-performance) algorithm as well as ready-to-use IP blocks for ASICS and FPGAs. At the same time, intoPIX also offers complete SDKs for integration into various applications.
For a camera manufacturer like Nikon, TicoRAW should be much easier and faster to integrate than an in-house development. It remains to be seen whether Nikon will also have to make patent payments to RED with TicoRAW, since TicoRAW itself holds some patents in the field.
To take full advantage of TicoRAW, Nikon would have to have integrated Tico-IP into their ASIC planning more than a year ago. Which in turn would mean that Nikon has been working with intoPIX for a very long time. If this is the case, it would also explain how Nikon manages the internal data streams for 8k60p, since the internal use of TicoRAW may already bring corresponding advantages here on the chip design level.
The press release from intoPIX also states, by way of introduction:
"intoPIX is pleased to announce today the successful integration of TicoRAW technology into the new generation of Nikon cameras, including the latest flagship Z 9 mirrorless camera."
I guess that means unequivocally that TicoRAW will be available not only for Nikon Z9, but for other models as well. So TicoRAW should play a bigger role in the future, at least at Nikon.
Thanks to Pillepalle for the hint at our forum
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