Recordings available on the Internet and real-time broadcasts have become two of the main sources of communication today. H.264 is one of the video compression formats that enables this visual and digital revolution. Just analyze the amount of time you spend in front of broadcast channels or portals. In 2017, the average number of hours observed daily worldwide is one billion. In 2016, 500 million hours were counted. In just one year, the results doubled.
If the H.264 video compression format is capable of supporting and offering quality to so many people every day of the year, the same is true for surveillance and monitoring technologies. Video compression is as important for YouTube as it is for an IP CCTV system. Basically, video compression is done using technologies that allow captured data to be intelligently transmitted. To do this, they reduce the amount of information that is similar and that would be just an additional burden on the files.
The Importance of Standards in Video Compression
Video compression uses techniques that will make files less burdensome, without interfering with the quality and, above all, the accuracy of the information. Precisely because it prioritizes the maintenance of visual characteristics, it is so essential to know what technologies are used. Choosing one format or another can directly affect the sharpness and loading of images. Since you don’t need to keep all the data, the suggestion is to use an industry standard. Until then, H.264, also called advanced video encoding (AVC), is the predominant one.
H.264 is considered one of the most adaptable and high-level formats. However, there is already what would be its evolution, H.265 or High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). Both are standardized and approved by the responsible institutions. That is, they are two official standards. Before talking about the benefits that H.265 adds to video compression, it’s important to note that both are standards that will make partners and vendors maintain identical prerequisites. What guarantees compatibility and more options for the clients.
H.264: what are the advantages of video compression?
Video compression is based on a technology that analyzes images captured within frames. It is like looking at a photo and identifying what data is relevant and what is not. For example, if there are an equal number of frames that are not noticeable, they are discarded. For that to happen, there is a forecast that uses a “comparison basis”. The deleted image is opposed to what serves as a parameter and, with that, one perceives what is altered. Only changes in relation to the base frame remain. Those with the same values are not considered in the encoding, which reduces the size and number of pixels.
When using macroblock comparison, where each frame is decomposed and compared until it finds compatibility or modifications. Therefore, the similar ones are eliminated, or rather, the frame of reference is maintained. In H.264, macroblocks are used, with the division of images and, consequently, their segmentation into more blocks. Replays are considered redundancies and pixels do not count within video compression. What has changed with H.265?
H.265: what is the main change?
H.265 has a potential for video compression that significantly outperforms H.264, using less bandwidth and maintaining quality delivery. For this reason, you can stream higher-level content with the same amount of bandwidth that the other uses to do the same with more compact data.
There has been an evolution in compression, streaming and support capabilities, although H.265 uses the same video compression technique explained above. Macroblocks that make comparisons between divided frames of the same frame with a standard reference. So why is such a relevant technological advance?
The key issue for H.265 is the strategic use of macroblocks. There is also compatibility between similar pixels between frames, but with greater flexibility. There is no fixed area, it all depends on the type of image and your need. Greater attention to detail is paid only when necessary, making video compression even higher and more effective by reducing pixels and bytes.
In H.264, macroblocks do not exceed a 16-pixel standard, which are not best suited for certain situations and images. In H.265, there is an increase in the size of the blocks up to 64 pixels.
