HEVC, which stands for High Efficiency Video Coding, is also known as H.265. It’s a video compression standard that succeeds H.264/AVC, aiming to provide significantly better compression efficiency. Here’s a condensed overview of HEVC:
Objective: HEVC’s main goal is to achieve about double the data compression ratio of H.264/AVC while maintaining the same level of video quality. This translates to delivering high-quality video at about half the bit rate of H.264.
Block Structure: One of the key features of HEVC is its flexible block structure. While H.264 uses macroblocks up to 16×16 pixels, HEVC uses Coding Tree Units (CTUs) that can range from 16×16 to 64×64 pixels, providing better adaptability to different types of video content.
Improved Compression Techniques: HEVC introduces enhanced prediction modes, more directional modes for intra prediction, better motion compensation, and improved filtering.
Parallel Processing: Designed for modern hardware architectures, HEVC has features that support parallel processing, facilitating faster encoding and decoding.
Applications: Given its efficiency, HEVC is often used for:
- 4K and 8K UHD broadcasting and streaming
- Video storage and archiving
- Real-time video conferencing
- Surveillance systems
Licensing: One challenge with HEVC adoption is its complex licensing model. Multiple patent pools and individual entities hold patents essential to HEVC, leading to potential uncertainties about licensing costs.
Competition: While HEVC is a major step forward in video compression technology, it faces competition from codecs like AV1 and VP9. In particular, AV1 is promoted as a royalty-free alternative and is backed by major tech companies.
Future: As technology advances and demand for higher resolutions and more immersive video experiences (like VR) grows, the efficiency of HEVC will become increasingly critical. However, its long-term dominance is yet to be seen given the evolving codec landscape.
In a nutshell, HEVC/H.265 is a state-of-the-art video compression standard offering significant improvements over its predecessor, H.264. However, licensing challenges and the emergence of new codecs will play a role in determining its widespread adoption.