H.266 / VVC video format introduced: same quality as H.265 / HEVC when compressed 2x
The Fraunhofer Institute fo
r Integrated Circuits in Germany, which developed the popular MP3 (MPEG-1 Layer 3) audio encoding format, as well as AVC and HEVC, announced a new video compression format: H.266 / VVC, or Encoding. versatile video player. Someday it should completely replace the current H.265 / HEVC.
The new H.266 claims twice the video stream compression efficiency with the same level of quality as H.265. As noted in the institute, in the case of 90 minute 4K video when using the H.265 / HEVC codec, approximately 10GB of data will need to be transferred, while H.266 / VVC provides identical video quality with half the volume of data.
“By reducing the [volume of] data requirements, H.266 / VVC makes video transmission on mobile networks (with limited traffic) more efficient. For example, the H.265 / HEVC standard above requires approximately 10GB of data for 90 minutes of recording in UHD resolution. The new H.266 / VVC will require only 5 GB while maintaining the same quality, ”said the Institute.
The Institute highlights that the new standard has been developed specifically for 4K (3840 × 2160) and 8K (7680 × 4320) ultra-high definition video, and is especially suitable for transmitting the corresponding signal to flat-screen televisions. The Institute also calls H.266 / VVC the “ideal solution” for all types of moving images, from high-resolution 360-degree panoramic images to screen sharing.
The most widely used codec now is H.264 / AVC, although the H.265 / HEVC standard has been around for quite some time. To avoid previous licensing problems, the developers will authorize the use of the new standard under FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms), which the Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) will enforce. The first VVC-compliant encoding program will be released in the fall. Hopefully the new H.266 / VVC will not follow the same fate as H.265 / HEVC and will be accepted by the market faster.
