Recording standards H.265 and H.264 (MPEG4)
Compression standards for video have been around since the advent of the IP Internet Protocol and are used in a variety of areas, from Internet video conferencing and broadband communications networks to digital TV, video surveillance, and mobile IP networks.
At the moment, the most widespread and popular digital video encoding format is H.264, but manufacturers and consumers are paying more and more attention to the H.265 or HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) compression standard. Let’s take a look at its advantages and disadvantages.
H.264 and H.265 compression standards
What is the advantage of H.265?
The H.265 compression format uses only half the bit rate of the H.264 format, which means that you can transfer more information over the same bandwidth and reduce the cost of hardware “hardware”.
But despite this clear advantage, the H.265 format is still far from mainstream adoption. Can you do anything with the H.264 format so far? In fact, taking into account the growth of modern technologies and the popularity of video content, the bandwidth requirements of the channel and the amount of data stored are also growing.
The popular H.264 codec now doesn’t stand still, and its bitrate is optimized in three ways: predictive encoding, noise suppression, and “long-term” bitrate control. As a result, we managed to reduce the occupied video memory by up to 75%, which means that the H.264 codec will compete with the new H.265 codec for a long time.
H.265 Complexities
Since the H.264 codec is being finalized and has been used for a long time, manufacturers are in no rush to invest in equipment modernization. And according to the results of tests of the Н.265 codec by various teams, the conclusions turned out to be ambiguous. In a real comparison, the codecs did not differ much in the size of the video stream. But many gamers had trouble playing the new codec. The difference in video quality was noticeable only at the minimum setting (200 kbps). The H.265 image turned out to be more detailed, which can be useful in video surveillance to recognize license plates at the entrance.
An additional difficulty in the implementation of the H.265 codec is the higher cost of the patent, which means that the cost of the final product will also increase for the consumer, not everyone is ready for this. Modern video equipment is constantly evolving, the quality of the video signal is improving, and the cost of components is increasing.
Enhanced H.264 codec
Another reason for postponing H.265 was the introduction of optimized H.264 encoding technologies by popular manufacturers, using various modern technologies.
Optimized H.264 Technologies
Optimized H.264 technologies use predictive coding to reduce the bit rate spent on an unchanging background image.
Predictive coding
In a simplified version, this encoding is explained in the image. The static background is separated from moving objects and simplified, the bit rate is significantly reduced, the optimized encoding reduces the volume of video transmission.
H.264 + technology
Hikvision has developed a next-generation H.264 + compression standard. The video camera detects the moving parts of the frame and encodes them with higher bit rate content; less bit rate is assigned to static parts. In addition, the standard H.264 / AVC codec is used, with which you can view and store videos on compatible devices. The only thing is, H.264 + can’t add or subtract keyframes automatically.
Noise reduction
H.264 encoding can effectively suppress various noises that occur during signal recording and transmission. This could be unwanted electrical signals, blurry pixels caused by fluctuations in light, temperature, or other external interference. By intelligently coding foreground objects, the image becomes sharper and more accurate in color.
So is H.264 encoding better than H.265?
With the above in mind, let’s draw conclusions: H.264 encoding offers nothing less than the offerings of the H.265 standard. Also, H.264 is compatible with all existing systems, is more common, and costs less.
As a result, the H.265 standard offers up to a 50% advantage in video streaming compression: you will save on hard drive size or increase drive life.
